Naming rites
What do you think of the name Esther? How about Lazar? Or maybe Yael? Or Noah?
What do you think of the name Esther? How about Lazar? Or maybe Yael? Or Noah?
The first Torah portion in Exodus is Shemot, Hebrew for \”names.\” \”These are the names of the Israelites coming to Egypt…\” (Exodus 1:1). That might be where we got the name of the parsha, but that is not where the parsha takes us. Namings take place throughout Shemot.
A few months ago I flew from Long Beach to Brooklyn. It was a long, sad and lonely trip. A few days earlier, my mother had turned 82 years old and was looking forward to a special birthday, when tragedy struck. A fire broke out in her home. Quickly, her life was taken by fire and smoke. No goodbyes or time to prepare for closure, just a cruel death.
My father survived the fire but lives daily with his memories. He now spends his time living a day or a week with different children and grandchildren. He recently came to California to join our family for the holidays. Even though the children and grandchildren were here something big was missing. Yes, our dear mother, the grandmother, was missed.