2021/5782
Believe it or not, the legendary “Uncle Moishy” was originally known as “Uncle Milty” until he heard that the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l stressed the significance of Jews going by their Hebrew names. Henceforth, he went by the title “Uncle Moishy”, alluding to his Hebrew name as opposed to his secular name. Similarly, the legendary Moshe Rabbeinu has an interesting story behind the balance between his secular name and his Jewish name. In fact, we might not even know Moshe Rabbeinu’s true name.
The Torah states :וַיִּגְדַּ֣ל הַיֶּ֗לֶד וַתְּבִאֵ֙הוּ֙ לְבַת־פַּרְעֹ֔ה וַֽיְהִי־לָ֖הּ לְבֵ֑ן וַתִּקְרָ֤א שְׁמוֹ֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַתֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֥י מִן־הַמַּ֖יִם מְשִׁיתִֽהוּ (Shemot 2:10). The simple explanation is that Bat Paroh named the child “Moshe,” which means “to take out,” because she “took him out of the water.” However, many question this explanation because it is odd for the daughter of Paroh to give a Hebrew name to the baby. Specifically, it is logical to assume that Batya did not even know the Hebrew language, and even if she did know Hebrew, why would she select a Hebrew name for the baby? These questions lead the Mefarshim to a variety of explanations.
In a surprising, yet logical comment, both Ibn Ezra and Da’at Zekeinim suggest that the name “Moshe” was not really the name given. Rather, “Moshe” is the Torah’s Hebrew translation of the Egyptian name that was given to Moshe. This means that Moshe had an Egyptian name which meant “to take out.” The Ibn Ezra even cites documentation to prove that Moshe’s name in Egyptian was “מוניוס.” A drastically different explanation is given by the Abarbanel.
The Abarbanel understands that it was Yocheved, not Bataya, who named Moshe. When Yocheved handed Moshe to Batya, she informed her that the baby had been given the Hebrew name “Moshe” in honor of Batya having “drawn Moshe out” of the Nile River. While this view may seem the most traditional, the Netziv disagrees and it is upon the Netziv’s view that I wish to “draw out” a lesson.
According to the Netziv, the name “Moshe” is an Egyptian name which means “child.” In other words, Batya named the child “child,” and she felt that she had the right to give him a name since “she drew him from the water” and saved his life. What emerges from the Netziv’s explanation is that the name “Moshe,” the most classical Jewish name, is Egyptian in origin. Is it not ironic that the greatest leader of our people had a secular name? Perhaps, the lesson to be learned from this comment of the Netziv is that we all have the potential to define our own names. It was not the name that made Moshe great, but Moshe Rabbeinu’s life success which elevated his Egyptian name and transformed it into the iconic, Jewish name that we know today.
In a Teshuvah about the use of secular names, Rav Moshe Feinstein points out that many of the greatest Rabbis in history did not have Jewish names, which proves that there is no formal, Halachic prohibition against using secular names. (Rav Moshe does point out that it is certainly preferable to give a child a traditional, Jewish name.) What I find most inspiring is that Rav Moshe recommends that “one searching for a name should pick the name of a Tzaddik in his generation.” My understanding of this advice from Rav Moshe Feinstein is that the very fact that a particular name is associated with a Tzaddik of the generation certifies the name as “kosher.” This means that one who has a secular name but proves himself to be worthy of being named after has elevated the status of his name.
The lesson to draw from Rav Moshe Feinstein, Moshe Rabbeinu, and Uncle Moishy is that we are capable of giving a new definition to our names. We are not bound by letters but rather have the capability of expanding the font size based on the decisions we make. We can highlight our own names through the Torah and mitzvot that we produce. May we all merit the creation of the most ideal definitions of the names given to us as we begin “Sefer Shemot,” the book of Names.