Lech Lecha - My Name is.......and I am proud!

Lech Lecha - My Name is...and I am proud!

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.

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/ “Sarah”.

This really is Hollywood-esque…

And isn’t Hollywood associated with some pretty famous Jewish people?

So I ask, what is really in and behind a NAME?  Definition, History, Roots, Heritage!

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).

 

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

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

I happen to find this of disgraceful behavior and very shameful!  Our names are part of us; OUR BRAND!!!

For example - Mega sports agent when I was a kid, Ron Shapiro, pronounced his last name, Shaw-Pie-Ro, instead of Shapiro!

It isn’t “just” Hollywood or the sports arena ; this dates back for many, many years and is repetitive in nature.  In Napoléon times WE were ordered to take surnames(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.”  

Absolutely Horrific!

In today's world and modern time, we should be proud of who we are are, stand up for who we are, and be VERY PROUD OF WHO WE ARE...BLACK,. WHITE, PURPLE WITH POLKA DOTS, STRIPED, JEWISH, CHRISTIAN, MUSLIM, ETC.  . We all need to be loving,caring,show humanity and know peace,and BE PROUD!

So, I ask YOU, what is in a name? 

Shall we be shamed because of our names (ethnicity,color,belief )  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!!!