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By: Rabbi
Goldie Milgram
, award-winning author and innovator in the field of Jewish Spiritual Education
Part of this week’s Torah portion Shemot (Exodus 1-2:10) reads like a screenplay writer’s first draft of a script – in Chapter 2 verses 1-9, not even one character has a name. Take a look at the clever build up in this text toward the one name that matters to those redacting the Torah for us:
“A man of the house of Levi went and took a Levite’s daughter in marriage. The woman became pregnant and had a son. She realized how extraordinary [the child] was and she kept him hidden for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a papyrus box, coated it with asphalt and pitch, and placed the child in it. She put it in the rushes near the bank of the Nile. [The child’s] sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him…”
This familiar story goes on until its apex after the Pharaoh’s daughter finds the baby – who is named in the last verse of this otherwise nameless tale:
This familiar story goes on until its apex after the Pharaoh’s daughter finds the baby – who is named in the last verse of this otherwise nameless tale:
“When the child matured, [his Hebrew mother who had been called to nurse the baby by his sister at the Pharaoh’s daughter’s request], brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter. She adopted him as her own son, and named him Moses.” (Exodus 2:1-10)
Why Moses? There are many explanations. First let’s look at a midrash (traditional commentary in story form) about when all life forms were nameless:
“R. Aha says: “The Holy One of Blessing consulted the angels before creating the first human. The angels asked, ‘What will the human’s character be?’ The Holy One, Blessed Be replied: ‘This being, whom I desire to create, will have wisdom greater than yours.’ The angels were both offended and doubtful.
So The Holy One assembled all of the domesticated farm animals and pets, all wild beasts, and all fowl in a parade that passed in front of the angels, and asked them:
‘What are the names of these creatures?’ They did not know.
So The Holy One assembled all of the domesticated farm animals and pets, all wild beasts, and all fowl in a parade that passed in front of the angels, and asked them:
‘What are the names of these creatures?’ They did not know.
When the same parade was held for the first human and the same question was asked: What are the names of these creatures? the human replied: This one – the name ‘ox’ fits. That one – ‘donkey.’ The [tall] one – ‘horse.’ And the [humped] one – ‘camel.’ And this one over here, let’s call it ‘lion’. That one over there I’ll call…‘vulture’. For this reason it is written Genesis 2:20): “The human gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air…” [and much more!
When the same parade was held for the first human and the same question was asked: What are the names of these creatures? the human replied: This one – the name ‘ox’ fits. That one – ‘donkey.’ The [tall] one – ‘horse.’ And the [humped] one – ‘camel.’ And this one over here, let’s call it ‘lion’. That one over there I’ll call…‘vulture’. For this reason it is written Genesis 2:20): “The human gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air…” [and much more!
The next question for the human was: ‘And you, what is your name?’ The human responded, ‘The name Adam fits me.’
‘Why is that?’
‘Because I was fashioned out of the
adamah
, the earth.’
The Holy One then asked: And I, what is My Name?’
And Adam responded, ‘You can be called
Adonai
, for you are the “Lord” of all your creations.’” (Sources with appreciation to Peninnah Schram from whom I first heard this midrash:
Pesikta Rabbati, Tanhuma, Hukkat
#6;
Num. Rabbah
19:3)
And Adam responded, ‘You can be called
Adonai
, for you are the “Lord” of all your creations.’” (Sources with appreciation to Peninnah Schram from whom I first heard this midrash:
Pesikta Rabbati, Tanhuma, Hukkat
#6;
Num. Rabbah
19:3)
The same thing that makes humans smarter than angels in this Midrash, shows us the way forward in this challenging world in our Torah portion this week, Shemot, which means “names.” This human intelligence utilized by God in the midrash above is the capacity to put a name to something. The Pharaoh’s daughter gives the name Moses, in Hebrew Mosheh, meaning he was “drawn out” of the water.
Spiritually, the power of allowing some names to stand out is an important practice. The midwives are named: Shifra and Puah. They know and name oppression when they see it; refusing to murder the babies at birth as decreed by the Pharaoh. In a nice convergence with our theme, the words neshamah, soul, and neshimah, breath, share a common root: shem, name. The way in which we direct our breath, our soul, our ability to speak and name an injustice changes everything because then the cause can be rallied around and tikkun olam approaches to healing determining factors can be developed and commence.
This quarter has been auspicious for activism fostered by Jewish women. We remember the contributions to Jewish learning of Rabbi Judith Abrams, whose soul ascended on October 22, 2014. Her courses and more than twenty books (
Maqom
) surely brought tens of thousands toward heightened understanding and appreciation of Jewish learning and practice. Her work was non-denominational, everyone was welcome, and her hiddushim – previously untold revelations about the meaning of Torah – helped to transform even the most difficult of texts into meaningful experiences for so many of us.
And, the Kotel, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where on Friday, October 14, 2014, Sasha Lutt, a 12-year-old girl from Be’er Sheva celebrated her bat mitzvah. In a righteous act of yearning for the same rights to sacred text and leadership, inspired by Torah itself, she did so under the cover of dawn… The “crown of a good name” – the keter shem tov of Sasha Lutt is for us all a blessing! May her name be remembered for her courage and dedication to equal access and inclusion for all of us to worship at The Wall.
At NewCAJE this summer and at LimmudBoston in December, storyteller Peninnah Schram, who has inspired hundreds of thousands worldwide was honored with the presentation of a book created in her honor: Mitzvah Stories: Seeds for Inspiration and Learning, where over sixty leading authors, clergy and storytellers from across the full spectrum of Jewish practice donated juicy, inclusive, provocative stories and discussion points for this volume that has been honored by the National Jewish Book Awards. The crown of Peninnah Schram’s good name is also a blessing for us all!
We also celebrated the yarzeit, anniversary of the ascent of the soul, of songwriter and Cantor laureate of the Reform Movement, Debbie Friedman, may her name be remembered for a blessing every time we use her songs and melodies in prayer, celebration and ritual.
How and when did it become possible for Jewish women’s vision, views, voices and values to enter leadership of our organizations, religious life and liturgy? Many Jewish young people today are born into communities where equality across the spectrum of gender is normal. Do you remember our struggles to attain equality for women within Judaism? Be sure to journal about your journey to keep her story strong.
Whose music helped become aware of the need for gender inclusion in all possible Jewish roles and rituals? We learn that “each person has three names: The name given to us at birth; the name that others give us; and the name we give/make for ourselves” (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:3; Tanhumah Vayakhel 1; Midrash Shmuel 23). Most of us hope to earn a good name for “tov shem mishemen tov veyom hamavet miyom hivaldo – a good name is better than good oil…”
Whose truly feminist or inclusive music is important to you now? Full disclosure: I’m presently part of an editorial team creating a volume of sheet music documenting the addition of women’s voices to prayer, rites of passage, women of the Bible and beyond. Kindly let us know which songs and composers kindled your soul and continue to do so now by
contacting me