Torah Thoughts- Lekh Lekha

 Lekh Lekha

October 11 and 12,2013 

Cheshavan 7 and 8,5774

Let me share just a tiny part of this week’s portion with you, as it is SO full of IMPACT, full of meaning and a game changer for all peoples, and let’s explore it with a twist and have some fun, if we may!?!

G-d is talking to Avram, soon the be “Abraham” :

17:4

"As for Me, here is My covenant with you; you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.”

17:5 Velo-yikare od et-shimecha Avram vehayah shimcha Avraham ki av-hamon goyim netaticha.

No longer shall your name be called Avram, but your name shall be Avraham (Abraham), for the father of a multitude of nations I have appointed you."

17:6

I will make you most exceedingly fruitful, and make nations of you; and kings shall descend from you.

17:15

And G-d said to Avraham "[As for] Sarai your wife, do not call her by the name Sarai, for Sarah is her name.

This portion has a strong story line:

 The parsha really has Hollywood written all over it –

Some major players; Avram, Sarai,Lot,Ishmael,Isaac… and Haggar, and of course  some wicked Kings (Plural) who have deceit written all over them!

Some very strong themes: Man loves woman, woman can’t be fruitful, woman leaves , an affair of sorts(Bridges of Madison County-esque), she wants him back, he walks with G-d, they conceive of course, some sinister twists and turns occur…………circumcision is introduced as a sign of the covenant to G-d.

An awesome and beautiful location set: Egypt, Canaan, The city of “Sodom Valley”, a desolate area, a populous area full of greenery….

This sounds like a block buster movie with a great and powerful leader, in that of the newly “re-named” ABRAHAM..and his wife Sarai, I mean “Sarah”.

This really is Hollywoood-esque…

And isn’t Hollywood associated with Jewish people?

We ALL know the answer…..

So I ask, what is really in and behind a NAME?

Let’s explore a little:

Do you know the following?

Haim Witz? (Gene Simmons of Kiss Fame), Eugene Orowitz (Michael Landon of TV fame), Nathan Birnbaum (George Burns) , Bette Perske (Lauren Bacall), Jack Kubelsky (Jack Benny), Leonard Alfred Schneider (Lenny Bruce), Moses Horwitz (Moe Howard of the 3 stooges), Joseph Levitch(Jerry Lewis), Emmanuel Goldenberg (Edwar G. Robinson), Esther Friedman (Ann Landers).

 I can keep going on and on, as you all can see the trend here-

Is it just the impact of Hollywood and normal? I think NOT!..... Or is it identity as well, as a sign of the times of yester year?  I think both, but an underlying fear and some shame played in here, as well!  Mc…. McCarthyism, The thought that “Jews” owning Hollywood, Communism, War, etc. !

Even Modern day Hollywood, Winona Laura Horowitz  (Winona Ryder).

I find this Shameful!  Our names are part of us, OUR BRAND!!!

Mega sports agent when I was a kid, Ron Shapiro, pronounced his last name, Shaw-Pie-Ro, instead of Shapiro like most of are familiar…

It isn’t “just” Hollywood or the sports arena ; this dates back for many, many years and is repetitive!  In Napoléon times WE were ordered to take sur names(so Son of names came to be), Mendelson, Jacobson, Levinson,etc. . 

 Dating back in 1700's Hebrew sounding names, like Yaakov ben Yitzhak, became forbidden in many countries. The bureaucrats made lists of "acceptable" names, and even bribes occurred to secure "nice" family names, derived from that of precious things: Lilienthal, Edelstein, Saphir, Rosenthal. In fact, two very expensive names were Kluger (wiser) and Fröhlich (happy). Most Jews were put into categories  that officials assigned, and named accordingly: Weiss (white), Schwarz (black), Gross (big) and Klein (little) and worse YET, the  poorer had unpleasant and derogatory names cast upon them by malignant officers: Galgenstrick (gallow's rope), Eselkopf (donkey's head), Taschengregger (pick-pocket), Schmalz (grease), Borgenicht (don't borrow) etc.  Jews of ‘priestly-hood’ or Rabbinic in nature, could have a choice of names like Cohen, Kahn, Katz, Levi, BUT ….were forced to Germanise them: Katzman, Cohnstein, Aronstein, Rubenstein, Levinthal, etc;  A large group were given places of origin: Brody, Epstein, Ginzberg, Landau, Shapiro (Speyer), Dreyfus (Trier), Horowitz and Posner. Truly  pain-staking and VERY humiliating procedure, and the fact that the government's main objective was to make Jews easier to tax and keep track.”  

Utterly disgusting!

So, I ask YOU, what is in a name? 

Shall we be shamed because of our names are that of ethnic decent, or should we be so very proud? WE SHOULD AND SHALL BEAM and show today’s people that we are survivors OVER n OVER again, and that WE ARE of a VERY proud heritage!!! All persons should be proud of their ethnicity, heritage, and belief.

I am proud to flaunt MY JEWISH last name: FINEMAN!

BE PROUD AND WEAR YOUR NAME WITH PRIDE!!! Now, say your name out loud with extreme pride!

-Amen-