Questions tagged [names]
Questions about the purpose, meaning, halachos (rules), etc. of names.
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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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Do Last Names from the "Lost" Tribes preserve actual tribal lineages? E.G. Naphthali, Asher
In high school (1960s), I had a friend whose last name was Asher, and other was named Naphtali. Is there information as to whether these names are thought to preserve actual lineages, like Levi does, ...
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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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Names as prophecy [duplicate]
I have heard it said that the last vestige of prophecy in this world is in the names that parents give to their children. Is there a source for this idea?
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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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How did Adam know which animal is domestic and which is not? [duplicate]
When naming 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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'Reuben and Shimon' as example names
Can anyone help me to find out where the custom of using the names 'Reuben and Shimon' as placeholders – eg in responsa – originated, or any other discussion on the custom?
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What is the proper voweling (Nikud) for Metatron?
I have seen many variations of this and wonder if anyone could tell me which is the most correct?
These variations include:
מֶטָטְרוֹן (Meṭāṭ'rōn)
מְטַטְרוֹן (Măṭaṭ'rōn)
מֵיטַטְרוֹן (Mēyṭaṭ'rōn)
...
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Why does the pronunciation of names change? [closed]
I am surprised I couldn’t find an answer to this. As we’ve seen in the first few parshiyos (Bereishis, Noach Lech Lecha) there are times when the Torah will write a name with one set of Nikkudot, and ...
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Can the definitive article, הַ וְ, be used in demonyms found in the Talmud?
Does the Talmud use the definitive article, הַ וְ, in demonyms?
For example, in English we can say both, "David the New Yorker" and "David of New York", the first form using the ...
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Where does the name Eve come from? [duplicate]
The English version of the name Chava, the first woman, is Eve. What is the meaning and etymology of Eve?
I heard in a class once that the name Eve is connected with the word "evil" because ...
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Is it forbidden to call grandparents by their first name?
I saw in the biography of R Shimshon Dovid Pincus references to "Zaidy Mann and Zaidy Pincus" and this got me wondering whether there was a prohibition to call grandparents by their first ...
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Where does "Yeshurun" come from?
Am Yisrael has a number of names in Tanach. "Yaakov" (such as "Beit Yaakov") and "Yisrael" ("Bnei Yisrael") come from the names of Yaakov Avinu. "Yehudim&...
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Yirmiyahu the Seer?
Last night, in Maariv of Yom Kippur, I noticed in Selichot a passage that I had never really noticed prior:
"אַל תַּעַזְבֵנוּ אָבִינוּ וְאַל תִּטְּשֵׁנוּ בּוֹרְאֵנוּ וְאַל תַּזְנִיחֵנוּ ...
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Names of Ishmael's 1st and 2nd wife
It seems there is a dispute regarding the names of Ishmael's 1st and 2nd wife.
According to Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer 30:6, Ishmael's first wife is Ayesha עישה from the daughters of Moav. ibid 2nd wife ...
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