The names tag has no wiki summary.
5
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2answers
137 views
Why would anyone name their daughter Yehudis? The first one vexed Isaac and Rebecca
The first Yehudis is mentioned in this week’s sedrah 26 (34–35).
“And Esau was forty years old, and he married Judith, the daughter of
Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of ...
2
votes
0answers
45 views
Why do we use the Babylonian month names? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why use Babylonian calendar instead of our own?
The Torah refers to the months of the near numerically, the names we employ for things like contracts, birkat hachodesh ...
0
votes
1answer
146 views
How could a man named Philip in USA have Hebrew name Yehoshua Falk?
My great-uncle from Eastern Europe had given name of Philip in America (came in 1880s), is shown in 1889 directory as Philip plus his surname. His gravestone gives his name as Yehoshua Falk [then ...
4
votes
1answer
151 views
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya?
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya? Sources please!
7
votes
4answers
149 views
Where can I find Prenumeraten/Prenumeranten?
A few years back I found an on-line source for "prenumeraten." Just to enlighten those who don't know, before a sefer was published years ago, it would seem that feelers were sent out to find out who ...
1
vote
4answers
207 views
Is there meaning in the name Miyah?
I named my daughter Miyah. I wanted to take her name back to times when names meant something. I joined the poetic form of the Creator's Name (Yahweh/YHWH). I've been doing name research lately to dig ...
7
votes
1answer
134 views
Binyamin spelled with or without a second Yud
In Tanach the name Binyomin appears 150 times as בנימן. It appears 16 times as בנימין. Why the difference?
The 16 times it appears with a Yud are as follows.
בראשית לה:יח
ויהי בצאת נפשה כי מתה ותקרא ...
3
votes
1answer
48 views
“פְּנִיאֵל” and “פְּנוּאֵל”
Is the פְּנִיאֵל of BeReishis 32:31 the same as the פְּנוּאֵל of 32:32? If so, why the change in term used to refer to it? If not, is there a story behind the two places with such similar names?
5
votes
1answer
118 views
Ben Drosai - what was his Zechus?
Gemara Shabbos 20a and in other locations mentions
כמאכל
בן דרוסאי
Rashi explains that Ben Drosai was a thief who ate his food when it was only cooked 1/3. Did Ben Drosai have some sort of Zechus ...
3
votes
1answer
100 views
Moshe being called Moshe Rabbeinu
We refer to Moshe as "Moshe Rabbeinu". (It's interesting about the avos as well that we say, for example, Avraham Avinu; however, I'll keep that for a separate question.)
When was the first time (and ...
3
votes
1answer
91 views
Naming after non religious relatives
Is it appropriate to name your children after relatives who were not Frum? Assuming that the relatives were good people and would fall under the category of "tinok sh'nishba". Would it be better to ...
9
votes
4answers
243 views
Naming after bad people
Why have there been famous(ly righteous) Jewish people named after Yishma'el, who, Chaza"l tell us, was evil and an enemy of Jews? Has anything similar happened with Esav? Korach? Others?
11
votes
2answers
126 views
David called “hamelech”, “hamelech David”, and “David”
My son noticed in Ⅱ Sh'muel chapters 5–6 that, although David is generally called "David", there are times he's called "hamelech" (="the king") or "hamelech David" (="the king David"). (I'm ...
2
votes
0answers
126 views
Does the name Daniel really mean: 'G-d is my judge'?
Most people pronounce the Hebrew name דניאל as Dani-el.
Surprisingly enough, when the name Daniel is mentioned in Tanach (in the book of Daniel) it is written with a Tzeirei under the Yud with no ...
3
votes
1answer
94 views
the land from which you brought us out = Egypt?
Dvarim 9:28 reads:
פֶּן יֹאמְרוּ הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתָנוּ מִשָּׁם מִבְּלִי יְכֹלֶת
יְהֹוָה לַהֲבִיאָם אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָהֶם וּמִשִּׂנְאָתוֹ
אוֹתָם הוֹצִיאָם לַהֲמִתָם ...
6
votes
1answer
121 views
What was the name of Rivka's mother?
Unnamed women in the Torah, so far: Noach's wife-Naama, Yishmoel's wife-Riva, Lot's wife-Iris, any suggestions for Rivka's mother? she is mentioned many times in this weeks sedra but not by name
3
votes
2answers
183 views
Why is it called “Zos Chanukah”
Why is the eighth, and last, day of Chanukah called "Zos Chanukah" and what is it significance?
4
votes
0answers
86 views
Origin/meaning of common surname Naiman (or similar)
What is the origin and/or meaning of the common Jewish surname Naiman (or Neiman, Najman, etc.)?
According to this site the common Jewish name is of Germanic origin, meaning "Newcomer".
However, ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
The (female) name Freeda amongst Sefardim
I am under the impression that the name Freeda is a female Yiddish name. For some reason it seems to be very popular amongst the Sephardim. How did this happen?
14
votes
3answers
144 views
Why did Avraham name his son before the Bris (circumcision)?
Why does the Torah seem to imply that Avraham named his son before the bris?
First:
וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם אֶת שֶׁם בְּנוֹ הַנּוֹלַד לוֹ אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לּוֹ שָׂרָה יִצְחָק
And Abraham called ...
11
votes
1answer
248 views
What is a “Sephardic Jew”?
My name is Paul Avila (yea, I know, doesn't sound Jewish at all) I was born in the Azores Portugal and moved to the United States when I was 2. People always ask me if I am Persian. Never ...
5
votes
1answer
93 views
Reason why the name Ben Tziyon is a Segula for a long life
I saw in Igros Kodesh 11, page 73 mentioned in the Chida in the name of the Yerushalmi that the name Ben Tziyon is a Segula for a long life and good years. What is the reason that this name has such a ...
4
votes
1answer
91 views
Can an adopted child call birth parents by first name?
Consider someone adopted by Jewish parents, whom he grew up calling 'mom' and 'dad'. After he reaches adulthood, he meets his biological parents. Can he call them by their first names, if 'mom' and ...
11
votes
2answers
276 views
What is a “Rabbi Meir Bal Hanes” tzedaka?
I have seen several Tzedaka organizations calling themselves something like "Colel Chabad (or Kupas Ha'Ir) Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charity".
What does it mean that it is a "Rabbi Meir Baal Haness" ...
2
votes
2answers
97 views
Why is Eretz Yisrael called “Eretz Tzvi”?
Why is Eretz Yisrael called "Eretz Tzvi"? What does this mean exactly? Why? and Where does it say this?
4
votes
0answers
44 views
Different names for Dovid in regular Selichos vs Yom Kippur Selichos
Why do we refer to Dovid Hamelech as "Mashiach Tzidkecha" in Selichos (towards the end, paragraph begins with those words) except on Yom Kippur when we refer to him as "Dovid Avdecha" (in the same ...
5
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4answers
344 views
Cheshvan or MarCheshvan?
The month of Cheshvan is called by many MarCheshvan. Are both correct or which one is more correct?
0
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2answers
169 views
Pronunciation for אלוהים הוא אלוהים שלי
I got this from translating 'G-d is my G-d' on Google Translate. However I don't know how to pronounce the Hebrew. Can somebody give me the pronunciation on this and is there a Hebrew name that means ...
8
votes
3answers
405 views
What is the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton?
I come from Christianity.SE, where I asked almost the same question. Isaac Moses assured me that the question would not be disrespectful and could be asked here.
God's name is written as the ...
7
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2answers
229 views
Naming your child using a dead relative's initial
Is there a Jewish tradition of naming your child using the first letter of the name of a recently deceased relative?
11
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2answers
195 views
Why name but five creations?
God is described as creating many things in B'reshis chapter 1: animals, people, stars, plants, etc. However, about only five of his creations does it say that he called them by a name:
"וַיִּקְרָא ...
10
votes
1answer
128 views
How to call up a ger who converted with his father?
In general a Ger is called up as [name] Ben Avraham. However, what if the Ger converted as a child together with his parents? I would think it is the same but I recently saw someone who is in that ...
4
votes
4answers
205 views
What's the origin of the name “Jew”?
Why are we called "the Jews"? Did Hashem pick out this name for us? What does the word "Jew" mean?
11
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6answers
302 views
14
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2answers
840 views
Abbreviations before/after names
What are the more common abbreviations one might see printed before or after a person's name, and what do they mean? Please include honorifics (R'=Rabbi) as well as memorial - or prayerful - suffixes ...
10
votes
3answers
149 views
Jarchi = Rashi?
Is Rabbi Solomon Jarchi the same as Rashi? I saw Jarchi on the Internet on a Google search awhile ago, that it was Salomo son of Isaac, a French Biblical commentator and was wondering if it was the ...
8
votes
3answers
131 views
What is the etymology of סמאל?
I've heard that סמאל (Samael, a "bad" angel) is related to the word שמאל (left). Is there any basis for this, and are there any other explanations for his name?
The Hebrew Wikipedia claims that it is ...
4
votes
5answers
480 views
ALL Names of God
Where can I find an exhaustive list of all of the names of Hashem (preferably שמות and כינוים) in תנ"ך (Tanakh) and elsewhere?
Is this too ill-defined a topic to have an exhaustive answer?
Do the 70 ...
0
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0answers
15 views
What are the names of God used in Judaism? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
ALL Names of God
What are names used to refer to God in Judaism? How many of them are there? If there are many, what are the most used one? Please consider providing ...
11
votes
2answers
137 views
Promised to name son Shimon - now husband is Shimon!?
A woman who desperately wanted to get married traveled to Meron, the burial place of Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai, and vowed that if she found her match, she would name her first son Shimon in his merit. ...
4
votes
3answers
143 views
The essence of a thing is in its Hebrew name?
Based on this comment here.
According to Kabbalah, how do physical objects derive their life-force from their Hebrew name, if Hebrew doesn't have names for everything?
2
votes
2answers
160 views
From the Torah itself how do we know that various names of God points to the same God?
Jews believe that God, while having many names, is actually one.
So the idea is that El Elyon, Elohim, El Shadai, YHWH, Adonai, El, are just names mostly referring to the same being.
Is there any ...
1
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2answers
70 views
The Names of the Rulers of Sedom
What were the names of the governors of Sedom, and what is the significance of those names?
6
votes
2answers
245 views
Why Do Converts Change Their Names?
Rabbi Avigdor Miller said that it used to be that gerim (converts) and baalei teshuvah (repentants) who had been given non-Jewish names did not change their names when they became part of the Jewish ...
2
votes
1answer
56 views
Formulation of name(s) when praying for non-Jews
When praying for non-Jews, how should one formulate the name of the sick individual if he or she as a Hebrew-derived (vernacular) name? Eg., Jack ben Rebecca vs. Ya'akov ben Rivkah?
14
votes
7answers
669 views
Phrasing of refuah prayer when praying for a non-Jew
How would you phrase a refuah (recovery from illness) tefillah (prayer) for a sick gentile?
"Thomas ben [=son of] Mary"?
"Thomas Smith"?
Is it appropriate to include the name during the ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
Why was Rabbi Isaac Luria called “G-dly”?
R' Luria's acronym is the AR"I. The Hebrew of that roughly translates to Godly Rabbi Isaac. Why is he called Godly, and many other great rabbis are not?
Related: Why refer to Isaac Luria as the ...
4
votes
1answer
111 views
Why refer to Isaac Luria as the Arizal, and not Arizatzal?
One of the common ways to refer to the R' Isaac Luria is "the Arizal". I understand this to mean, The Ari, zecher L'bracha (may he be mentioned/remembered for blessing).
However, one usually refers ...
6
votes
2answers
118 views
Changing someone else's name
In parshas Shlach Moshe changes Yehoshua's name.
Does this mean his name really changed? IE was he called up to the torah as Yehoshua? Were his kids "ben Yehoshua"?
Are there any other examples in ...
6
votes
5answers
907 views
Why isn't “Adam” a traditional Hebrew name?
I can't think of many people who go by the Hebrew name Adam. Any guesses why?
