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In a Name: Commentary on Parashat BeShallach 5785
By Dr. Shari Salzhauer Berkowitz, Hebrew Seminary Pararabbinic Student
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet
— Juliet, in Act II, Scene II of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
In this week’s Torah portion, Beshallach (בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח, “in having sent away,” when Pharaoh sent off the people Israel), we join the Children of Israel as they take the long way around to escape Egypt and head for the Land of Promise. Variously called in this parashah Elohim (אֱלֹהִ֗ים, “God”) or YHVH (יְהֹוָ֖ה, a name we do not say, often pronounced today as Adonai [אֲדֹנָי], meaning “my Lord;” like in Exodus 13:7 and 14:1), and recently describing Godself as “I Will Be what I Will Be” (or maybe “I am Becoming”) at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14)—God is now leading the people onwards as a column of cloud by day and a column of fire by night (Exodus 13:21).
You’ve seen the movie: At the edge of the Sea of Reeds, Moshe stretches out his hand and YHVH causes the sea to split. The Children of Israel walk through on dry ground, but the pursuing Egyptian soldiers, horses, and chariots are all drowned in the sea as the waters close over them. As Exodus 14:28 puts it, “לֹֽא־נִשְׁאַ֥ר בָּהֶ֖ם עַד־אֶחָֽד” (“Not even one of them remained”).
The Children of Israel burst out into song, expressing their joy at surviving this ordeal. They realize they are finally out from under Pharaoh’s fist. In this song, they call God by a flurry of names; in Exodus 15:2 alone, God is called Yah (יָ֔הּ, shortened from YHVH), Eli (אֵלִי֙, “my God”), Elohey Avi (אֱלֹהֵ֥י אָבִ֖י, “God of my father”). The next verse declares, “יְהֹוָ֖ה אִ֣ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה יְהֹוָ֖ה שְׁמֽוֹ׃” (“YHVH is a man [or being] of war; YHVH is His name”). Does God earn all these specific names because of the miracle at the Sea? Later, in our same parashah, God makes manna rain down from Heaven and sends the people Israel quail to eat; we see God as a miraculous and caring provider of food, but the only name used in all of these verses is YHVH.
So what’s in a name? As a child, I was taught to call God by a nickname, Hashem (הַשֵּׁם), which literally means “The Name.” I still use this nickname when I talk to God extemporaneously, whether in thanks, or in anger, or in awe. But I recently met someone who felt that all the names of God that were taught in their childhood had been used to harm them. None of the names felt right. Certainly, many people struggle with thinking of God as “Lord” or “King.” Does it help to think of God as a Ruler? Maybe, for some.
So I invite you to look for Names that suit you. Perhaps Divinity lies lightly on your tongue (get it? It’s candy). Or perhaps you wish to go with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg’s descriptive name for God, The Big Bigness. I have to say, when feeling awe and feeling connected to the Universe and everything in it, The Big Bigness really works for me. Or just The One. Maybe you want to connect to a particular person and the name they used, or a particular Biblical event. For example, in Genesis 16:13, Hagar calls God El Ro’i (אֵ֣ל רֳאִ֑י, “God of Vision”) when God shows her the well that saves her and her son, Ishmael, in the desert. Maybe you have a favorite prayer, whether from daily prayers or a specific holiday, that gives you a deep feeling of attachment. Avinu Malkeinu (אָבִינוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ, “Our Father, Our King”) is about as old-school as it gets, but I can’t get more than a line or two in before I’m crying; all the versions of Avinu Malkeinu from my whole life are banging around in my brain all at once, and out come the tears.
Some people look to Kabbalah for a Name that works. Shekhinah (שְׁכִינָה, literally “Presence”) is the aspect of God that dwells with us and within us; some like to treat this as the feminine aspect of God. Some like the anagram HVYH (הֲוָיָה, Havayah), which sounds feminine and evokes “becoming” and flowing. I first heard this Name in the music of Nava Tehila, who reworked Psalms 16:8 in a beautiful, singable way. Others like Ruach (רוּחַ, “Spirit”), which I have heard used in Modah Ani, the prayer for waking up, as a substitute for Melech (מֶלֶךְ, “King”). At the end of the Amidah, we call God “my Rock and my Redeemer,” Names that both resonate with me; I don’t want to stand on shifting sand, but on a steady Rock, and, although I’m never sure what redemption might be, I want some. Still, God is Our Shepherd, Protector of Orphans, and so much more. In my own counting, I’ve accumulated a list of over 60 Names. ( I should have kept better track of where I found them!)
Never, however, could I imagine myself praying to אִ֣ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה (Ish Milchamah, the “Warrior” as referenced in our parashah at Exodus 15:3). Midrash teaches us that God admonished the angels when they celebrated the destruction of the Egyptians (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 10b); these souls, too, were made by God. We continue to honor the death of the Egyptian army at our Passover seders, when we reduce the wine in our cup in memory of them. Yet as I wait for the hostages to trickle out in 3s and 4s from Gaza, I can see how a person coming out from the Sea of Reeds or from long captivity would reach for this name. We all hope to reach for the name Oseh HaShalom (עוֹשֵׂה הַשָּׁלוֹם), “Maker of Peace.”
Shakespeare was wrong. Names can help, and names can hurt. Find a Name you can use, or experiment with a few, and find your way into connection.
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