What's in a name? - Parshat Shemot

What's in a name? A name is a paradox. On one hand, it represents something's essence. A person who is unconscious can be woken up by simply hearing their name. The name has a certain influence on how a person acts, how he will be perceived... On the other hand, a name is nothing but a label and has no effect on a person's being. If my name were John, Jacob or David, I would still have the same personality. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

This week's parsha begins with the words "These are the names of the Children of Israel who are going down to Egypt". The verse can be interpreted as that it is the names of the Children of Israel who are going down to Egypt, not the Children of Israel themselves. This is because the Israelites were only superficially slaves to Pharaoh, in exile, while their souls belonged to G-d and to G-d alone. No Jew can ever truly be enslaved or ruled by a tyrant since our allegiance is to no man. Only our names can be oppressed, conquered, but never our being.

During the long two-thousand year exile, when hordes of anti-semites or pogroms were on raging outside the gates, the Jews retreated into their Talmuds. As they saw their subjugated status, instead on being ashamed, the Jews remembered their glorious pasts, the kingdoms of David and Solomon, the splendor of the Temples. During the Holocaust, rabbis in ghettos and concentration camps continued to produce scholarly works, oblivious to the death and despair around them. Through the Torah, they were free from any oppression or danger. Even though we were exiled far away from our home, whenever ten Jews gathered to pray in a synagogue, they were in Israel. They prayed towards Zion, spoke the language of Israel, Hebrew, and learned of their majestic passed while dreaming of their glorious future. Even though anti-semites were determined to crush their spirit, the Jews escaped their terrible conditions and lived in peace in the world of Torah.

The Sages tells us that the Jews were redeemed from Egypt through virtue of the fact that they kept their Jewish language, Jewish names and Jewish clothing. In Egypt, they continued to speak Hebrew and regarded Egyptian as a foreign tongue, only speaking it under duress. They kept their Hebrew names and dressed modestly, even as the Egyptians walked around half-exposed in the hot climate. Through all of these, the Israelites were able to keep their indentity and gave their soul's allegiance to the G-d of Israel, even as their bodies were held captive in the Auschwitz of Egypt.

Jews, know that we are an eternal people and can never be broken. Today, we are free physically but spiritually we often gives ourselves over to false gods, to assimilation, to foreign influences. Only by submitting ourselves completely to G-d can we escape any physical tribulations. HaShem, the G-d of Israel is King, and His kingdom is over all governance!"