Words from our Temple President, Ricki Bauman
April 2025
What’s in a name? If you are named after an ancestor – it means a lot. It is about the family, the clan, the tribe – any and all of that. Some of us have names that our parents just liked rather than being named after someone. That is true for my first name – my middle name is from my Great Aunt Clara. But regardless of our English names, some of us also have Hebrew or even Yiddish names that are actually ceremonial. These names, if known, can be used to call you to the Torah, be on our Hebrew Mi Shebeirach list, or may even be on our grave markers when we are no longer here. Your Hebrew name can tell you a lot, as it consists of 3 portions: the name, the sex, and finally, the parent(s). It may also include certain honorifics: Rabbi,
Levite, Hazzan (Cantor), or Kohein. My Hebrew name is Yosifa bat Mordechai; Mordechai is my dad and Yosifa is a feminine version of Joseph, my Great Uncle murdered by the Nazis.
Some of you may have heard from me recently about your Hebrew name, as I have called a significant number of congregants to update our Hebrew name list. Many had listed only their name on our membership application, not knowing the parents’ Hebrew names. There are ways to figure it out – and if, at the end of the day, it isn’t known, we can approximate it to the parents’ English name. But there are a significant number of congregants who don’t have a Hebrew name at all! But that is not a problem either – as we can select a name and have a special naming ceremony, at services or in private. So, if you don’t have one, not to worry!
Contact me and we can get you one!
L’shalom,
Ricki