Questions tagged [names]
Questions about the purpose, meaning, halachos (rules), etc. of names.
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What does שכם mean
Where does the name שכם come from? What exactly does it mean? I believe that names in the tanach are symbolic of qualities of whoever is that name, so what does שכם mean in relation to the person? ...
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Question about Binyamin being named "Ben Oni" in Vayishlach
Vayishlach (35:18) says that Rachel named Binyamin "Ben-Oni" (according to Rashi "son of my pain"). Is this meant to be suggestive of a double meaning in that Binyamin was actually ...
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Whence Rabbi Yosei Manda'ah?
Shmuel Safrai in his book בימי הבית ובימי המשנה, p. 204, notes:
"בכפר זה חי גם אמורא בשם רבי יוסי מנדאה"
"In this village (Kfar Mandi) lived another amora by the name of Rabbi Yosei ...
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Different names for man
What is the difference between the Hebrew words 'adam', 'ish' and 'enosh'? In Genesis, the word adam is used until the woman is brought to him and then he calls her 'Ishah' and refers to himself as '...
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Sons of God or Heavenly Council
Who were the sons of God in Job 1 & 2? Could we say that they are the council of the elohim referred to in Psalm 82? Also alluded to in Psalm 89:5-7, 1 Kings 22 and in Daniel 4 referred to as the ...
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Not naming a child "Akiva" - minhag?
I recently spoke to a person who said that their rabbi advised them against naming their child "Akiva" because of his ill-fated death; it was some sort of negative omen. Regardless, the ...
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If we don't and can't know someone's full hebrew name when davening for them
It recently happened to me that I really wanted to daven for someone but I only knew their name and not their father or mothers name.
In general, how do we daven for someone whose hebrew name we ...
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Etymology of the name Azriel?
A quick Google search shows that most people hold this is the angel of death. Where are the sources for this (or any other sources of the name)? If there is a source for this, are people naming their ...
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Pharisees and name of God
I know the Scribes aka Sadducee (Heb. sōperêm, writers) had a habit of removing holy names from the scriptures but did the Pharisee also refuse to use God's personal name?
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Ben Avraham after conversion with jewish father
Are converts with a Jewish father (let's say Shmuel) also called ben Avraham (instead of ben Shmuel)?
Is this so, since your gentile descent is kind of wiped out through the act of conversion?
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Eltzafan or Elitzafan, son of Uziel?
I was wondering why the Torah uses two different spellings - with or without the letter Yod - to talk about the same character.
Twice the Torah says Eltzafan: shemot 6:22 and vayikra 10:4
and once ...
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Holy names and mystic things added to Jewish prayer from Shabatay Tzvi sect
I read that the name "di-carnosa" (Fleshy God) and other names and prayer texts derive from Shabbatay Tzvi Sect influence in Sephardic Liturgy. I couldn't find a compiled and organised ...
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What does loving/trusting in Hashem’s name mean? [closed]
I read in the siddur it says to love Hashem’s name or to trust in Hashem’s name. Why His name and not Hashem himself?
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Parshiot names together & meaning
I'm looking for sources and mefarshim that dealt with the Parshiot names and their meanings, not only for a single Parsha name alone, but all the Parshiot names of the Torah together or of a Sefer.
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Where does the variation "Batya" originate from? [duplicate]
From all my research I can see that "Batya" is actually "Bit(s)ya." Does anyone know where the name transformed in pronunciation?
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How did Moshe know the name of Hashem to kill the Egyptian?
We find in Parshas Shemos that Moshe killed the Egyptian with the name of G-d. Where did Moshe know this from? After all he grew up in Pharaohs palace....
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Miriam, Batya and Azubah
Sotah 12a says that Azubah is Miriam.
When I looked up I Chronicles 2:19 ( pic below ) , it said, 'And Azubah died, and Caleb took to himself Ephrath, and she bore him Hur'.
It seems from what I read ...
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What's the source that Eretz Yisroel has another name- Eretz Hakodesh
I am looking for an answer for the following question: Where do we find the source in the Tora that Eretz Hakodesh is another name for Eretz Yisroel? if you know the source I will greatly appreciate ...
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Are there any sefarim about Melech David
Today we named our son David at the Brit Mila and I realized I wanted to learn more about King David. Outside of Tehilim and Shmuel I&II (which are understandably the core sources), does anyone ...
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Why isn't anyone named in the story of the birth of Moshe?
In the story of the birth of Moshe (Shemot 2:1-10), several people are mentioned - himself, his parents, his sister, Pharaoh's Daughter, her slaves - but none of these are named. Only at the very end ...
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If you accidentally write the capitalized word "god", ought you delete the `o` and write a `-` in its place? [duplicate]
This question didnt provide a sufficient answer.
If I accidentally write Hashem's name, can I fix it?
If its true, that
he reason you don't write his name is so that nobody can destroy it.
and I ...
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Translating Name on Kesubah [closed]
Does anyone know the meaning/origin of the female name "וועלער," which I found in an old kesubah?
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Is the navi Yeshaya or Yeshayahu? [duplicate]
Why is the Navi sometimes referred to as ישעיה and sometimes ישעיהו? Same thing with Yirmiyah and Yirmiyahu?
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Could the word shem (שם) means anything other as ‘name’?
Shemot 6:3 reads: “And I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchak,
and to Ya'akov, by the name of God Almighty (El Shaddai), but
by My name, the Lord (the Tetragrammaton/Shem Hameforash) I was not known to ...
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Convert taking name of his adopted father
According to some opinions, an adopted convert can go by ben-his adopted father's name (in terms of calling to the Torah for instance), would this apply only to people adopted under a certain age?
If ...
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What does פ׳ ב׳ פ׳ stand for in the context of prayer (specifically related to prayer #8 of the Amidah)?
In the Siddur I am using (Siddurenu, The Prayer Book Press, 1961), there is a supplemental prayer directly below prayer #8 of the Amida (on page 56) that prays for healing of specific individuals. (It ...
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How does Saadia Gaon explain עדה וצילה?
אבן עזרא על בראשית ד׳:י״ט:א׳ implies that Saadia Gaon has an explanation of the names עדה וצלה. Do you know where I could find that?
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Why is the King of Nineveh in Yonah unnamed?
To clarify, I'm not asking who the King of Nineveh in Sefer Yonah was. I'm simply wondering why he's unnamed (see Yonah 3:6-7). He was probably some sort of Assyrian ruler, and several of those were ...
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What is the first notable use of the name Chaim (חיים) [closed]
What is the first notable use of the name Chaim (חיים) and what is its origin?
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Meaning (and Source) of the names of the Imahos
What is the meaning (and source) of the names of the Imahos - Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah?
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Verse with name
Saw a post about this so it reminded me of my question- we say that you say a Torah verse at the end of shemoneh esrei that begins with the first letter of your name and ends in the last letter of ...
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Verse corresponding to name [duplicate]
I have checked other posts about this topic, but I can't find my answer:
I am writing a storyboard for a short film, and the main character is 'Binyamin ben Yosef.' Throughout the film, he memorizes ...
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Were names of children often chosen as a reminder an essence or attribute of God?
Such examples might be Abel and Daniel. Such names would yield meaning and recall of Truth, such as Daniel's name meaning "God Judges" or for Abel's meaning "God breathes" or "...
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Why did Adam attribute himself to dirt rather than God's soul?
"And you, [God said], what is your name? [Adam] said to him: It would be right to be called Adam, since I was created from the dirt (adamah)." Bereishit_Rabbah.17.4
It would be logical that ...
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Why didn't Adam name fish and insects? [duplicate]
When Adam named animals, the Torah mentions three categories: cattle, wild animals, and birds:
"וַיִּקְרָא הָאָדָם שֵׁמוֹת לְכָל־הַבְּהֵמָה וּלְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְכֹל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה..."
...
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Do you call a yid who's had a giyur LECHUMRA "Ben/Bat Avraham Avinu"?
Do you call a yid who's had a giyur LECHUMRA "Ben/Bat Avraham Avinu"?
So basically if a yid grows up with the Hebrew name Shlomo ben Chaim or something like that then finds out his yichus is ...
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Replacement kesubah but the father had a name change
I heard an interesting question but didn't hear the answer. There are laws about what to do when someone loses their Kesubah. They write something new called a kesubah d'irkesa, which is a document ...
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Naming after others
I started an organization named Mekim Sheim B'Yisrael (www.lzichron.org).
There was a childless widow in the neighborhood of Rav Elyashiv who was distressed over her lack of descendents to perpetuate ...
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Source for Rava's first name
According to Wikipedia and Encyclopedia.com, Rava's real first name was Abba and "Rava" is a portmanteau of R' Abba. However, both claims are sourceless (Encyclopedia.com refers to Eruvin ...
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Kohanim names. Am I a Kohan [closed]
My last name is Herskowitz. I was told that I am a Kohan. After reading Kohan names are Cohen and Katz. Am I truly a Kohan?
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I need to know if it is the ketuvah of my parents, what does it say? Dates, names, etc
I have to travel to Israel and they ask me for a marriage certificate from my parents or grandparents I have this document but I don't know if it is and I don't have anyone who can translate it for me,...
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What is the meaning of the name Yishai (Hebrew: יִשַׁי – Yišay, in pausa יִשָׁי – Yišāy) translated into English as Jesse
The question arises from research I have been conducting into Jesse, who came from Bethlehem in Judah, and who was the father of David.
1 Sam 17:12 (JPS): Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of ...
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Why does the speaker not attribute to ALL sources?
On 16b of Masechet Avodah Zarah, the gemara recounts a situation in which R' Zeira tells of a fact he learned from R' Yehudah. R' Yehudah learned it from someone important but doesn't recall if it was ...
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Rambam or the Rambam? [duplicate]
It has become regular that when referring to Rambam (and many Rishonim like Rosh, Tosfos etc) people say THE Rambam instead of omitting the seemingly redundant THE.
Is there are a reason for this? Why ...
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Rav Kook's full name
Recently, I discovered that when the Rav Kook was sick before he died, a third name was added to his name - Yechizkiyahu. This can be seen in this sign calling to people to pray for him:
(image taken ...
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Is the Prophet Malachi the same person as Ezra Hasofer?
I saw in a few places that when they write Malachi, in parentheses they write Ezra. Does that mean that some people agree that they are one person?
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Who was Channah? [duplicate]
Throughout the Gemara we find grandchildren of Channah. There's Rabbah bar bar Channah, and R Yitzchak bar bar Channah, both quoted extensively, and maybe others that I don't know about because I don'...
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Avner ben Ner: significance of "Ner" in both parts of his name?
King Saul had a general named Avner ben Ner.
The "ner" in his first name is very similar to his last name.
His name thus means father of light/son of light.
Is there any commentary/...
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Is there significance in the Torah calling Yaakov "Yaakov" at the start of Miketz, then switching to "Yisrael" in the middle
In parsha Miketz, in chapter 42 Jacob is referred to by the name יעקב several times. then in chapter 43, starting in sentence 6, it switches to ישראל and uses that a couple of times. Is there any ...
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Why were the shevatim named by their mothers, not Yaakov
Yitzchok and Yishmael were named by Avraham. Yaakov and Eisav were seemingly named by Yitzchok. Yet all of the Shevatim were named by their mothers, based on their situation at the time, without any ...
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