Va'ee'ra וארא

וָאֵרָא

The different names for the 5 Books of Moses in Hebrew and English can even be quite confusing, as they are not simply translations like we are used to.

In English - Genesis; in Hebrew - ברשית.

B'seder, a similar concept is shared by both words: beginnings. As long as the English version is not referring to the British prog-rock band of the 70's, we are on solid ground.

What about ויקרא ? - meaning "he called" in Hebrew, and in English - Leviticus. The word Leviticus means something like "referring to the Levi's." If we are being imaginative, we can say that God CALLED to the Levites and commanded them to become priests, but we may be pushing our luck.

How about the book of Numbers, or במדבר , Hebrew for "in the desert"? I'll convince Rabbi Adam to give a piece of candy to whomever has the best explanation for this one.

As the Hebrew names for the books are derived from the first significant word in the initial portion, we have to use our creative reasoning to connect the Hebrew name to the theme of the book.

What about our current book, Shmot (in Hebrew - "Names", in English - Exodus)? This is very curious indeed. The biblical book that contains the most dramatic story in the history of the Jewish people begins with a seemingly dull list of names. Our current parsha, the second portion of Exodus, also contains a list of names - this time intermingled in the middle of God telling Moses and Aaron what they will need to do and say doing their first meeting with Pharaoh - not exactly an insignificant moment!

In Va'ee'ra, we read 13 verses of instructions, 14 verses of names, and then another 8 verses of instructions. This interlude of names is so disruptive to the flow of the story that Rashi feels the need to point out that "Scripture repeats here because it had interrupted the topic, and this is customary, similar to a person who says, “Let us return to the earlier [topic].”

Interesting. Obviously, there is something very significant about this list of names that the Torah wants us to pay attention to.

Just who makes up this list? In short, we read the genealogical progression from Levi, son of Jacob, all the way down to the current generation of Moses, Aaron and Miriam. On the way, we hear for the first time the name Yochebed, the mother of Moses and his siblings.

Ok, we have the who, which brings us to the why. The simplest explanation of why we read this list is to remind us of Moses' direct connection to his famous ancestors. To think of Moses as a legitimate prophet, and as the next standard-bearer of the covenant, we need to witness his direct connection to Abraham, Issac and Jacob, our distinguished forefathers who also communed with the Almighty.

It's kind of like when we are thinking of making a shidduch - "but does he come from a good family? His father is a lawyer and his mother is doctor - "Break out the chuppah!'"

The covenant was historically passed down from father to son. Here we seemingly have a break in the direct connection, but it's not like this Moses was a wandering klezmer- God forbid.

In all seriousness, we Jews take this business of names very seriously.

In Perkei Avot, chapter 4, Verse 13, we read:

רבי שמעון אומר: שלושה כתרים הם: כתר תורה, וכתר כהונה, וכתר מלכות. וכתר שם טוב עולה על גביהן.

"There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty. However, the crown of a good name is greater than all of them."

These days, a lot of people misinterpret a good name to mean "being famous." Reality TV is a great example of this. The idea is, 'if I can get my name out there, and people know who I am, then my life will have meaning.' The problem with trying anything to "get my name out there" is that that the foundation of my "fame" is built on very shaky ground. As soon as the next guy or gal in line does something more outrageous, I am back to where I started. Secondly, if I act without integrity, I may indeed get my 5 minutes of fame, but instead of serving as an inspiration to those around me, I may become an embarrassment or a laughingstock.

In contrast, the power of a good reputation, a good name, earned through a lifetime of good works and loving relationships, is eternal. Even after one passes away, the memory of a good person can enhance the lives of his/ or her loved ones, and possibly even the world at large.

A good name is not created overnight by sensational acts - it is built up gradually and naturally over time, even over multiple generations. Levi, Moses' very great grandfather, is a perfect example - he was once chastised harshly by his father for his murderous spree against those that raped his sister, but now his kin are about to become the greatest leaders B'nai Yisrael will ever know.

The connection between names and history is also seen in the tradition of naming children after those that came before - I am named Daniel, after my maternal grandfather (though he went by Dudley his entire life and only found out his real name on his deathbed).

Last week, I had the opportunity to listen to legendary Jewish educator Avraham Infeld give a lecture to a Birthright group. He says there are five legs that support the "table" of the Jewish people - and זכרון, - memory, was first on his list. Our peoplehood, perhaps more so than any other groups, is bound together by our difficult history and our unstoppable will to remember it.

Again, a personal example - I never even got to know the name of most of my father's family - they, like so many others disappeared into the Nazi death camps. The fact that I live here in Israel, and plan to spend my life dedicated to the study and propagation of our people and its holy books, is largely inspired by their memory - by their names.

So, next time we are reading Torah and come across a list of names, may we be inspired to read with reverence, learn our history, and be reminded of the vital link our ancestors played in allowing us to reach out this moment. May we all be worthy of OUR good names, and may we earn the right to pass down our good names to those that come after.