Lech Lecha: What's In A Name?

One of my favorite Shakespeare quotes comes from Othello, Act 3, Scene 3:

Good name in man and woman, 

dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls.
Who steals my purse steals trash; 

'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, 

and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me 

my good name
Robs me of that 

which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.

I've always been intrigued by the importance of naming; both the names by which we call ourselves, and the notion of 'A Good Name,' referring to reputation and esteem. In fact, you could really study the entire Bible just from the point-of-view of naming, and discover an entire world of interpretation unto itself. Let's delve into that for a moment, shall we?

Right away in the first chapter of the Bible, in verse five of the story of Creation, God begins naming things. "Day" and "Night" are labels which God assigns to light and dark to make them known. And then,

as the world begins to develop, Adam takes over the role of naming, and passes on that privilege to his descendants. But as we are introduced this week to Abram and Sarai, two individuals named by their parents, we see God taking back control of human destiny, wanting to make these two the progenitors of a new people. In order to indicate a new beginning, God changes their names to Abraham and Sarah. The Biblical commentator, Nahum Sarna, informs us that the new names themselves aren't necessarily so significant, but rather, "The very fact of a new name distinguishes and even effectuates, to an extent, the transformation of destiny." So it would seem that BOTH Abraham and Sarah are heading towards a new future.

One thing that I don't see talked about too much is the fact that Sarah's name was changed as well. Nahum Sarna informs us that many other people were renamed in the Bible, including Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, the Judean Kings Eliakim and Mattaniah, and the prophet Daniel and his friends. 

But I can't help but notice that Sarah is the lone woman. What is her new destiny? Besides birthing Isaac in her old age... We learn so little about her life, yet surely there must have been more going on, since God took the time to rename her? By making the covenant with the two of them together, God has given us the potential for equality. Sadly, we are the ones who impose dominance and subservience on our relationships. Just last week, I was devastated by the news of a woman in Israel, Anat Hoffman, being imprisoned for chanting the Shema. How can we justify such behavior, when God's covenant was formed with BOTH Sarah and Abraham? 

There is a fabulous documentary on PBS called "Half the Sky," about the oppression of women around the world. It is absolutely incredible;

incredibly sad in its depiction of inequality worldwide, and incredibly inspiring with stories of women achieving great things and defying expectations. The story of Abraham and Sarah reminds us that we all have a name, that our names and destinies are incredibly precious, and that God's love and caring extends to ALL people. Continuing oppression is making the whole world 'poor indeed.' Naming that oppression and then starting to change it can truly help us all make a name for ourselves, and begin to build towards a better future.

Photos in this blog post:

 

1. CC image courtesy of dullhunk on Flickr.

2. CC image courtesy of Alan O'Rourke on Flickr.

3. Image courtesy of Debbie Gerber. Photo taken during an attack on the Women of the Wall, 1988. 

4. CC image courtesy of John Loo on Flickr.