Parshat Shemot: The Power of Names
Original author - Udi Hammerman, edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021
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I always find it a bit funny, a curiosity of naming conventions perhaps, that Sefer Shemot, referred to so much more respectably in English as “Exodus,” simply means “names.” As funny as it is, it rightfully draws attention to the significance of names in the unfolding saga of Jewish slavery, redemption, and revelation.
Shemot opens with a list of the names of Bnei Yisrael as they came down to Mitzrayim, counting each individual within those families. These names highlight the value of each individual: “Now all those descended from Yaakov were seventy souls, and Yosef, who was in Mitzrayim.”[1] The book of Shemot does not just start with a list of names or of people, but of “souls”.
Following this list, we learn of the harm that comes from Pharaoh’s ignorance of names and of individuals. The text tells us that the new Pharaoh did not know Yoseph, and without knowledge of him, Paroh views Bnei Yisrael as a threatening, unnamed mass. As if anticipating Paroh’s next move, the Torah sets the stage by describing Bnei Yisrael as if it were a colony of insects: “Bnei Yisrael were fruitful and swarmed and increased and became very strong, and the land became filled with them.”[2] This ignorance and fear is what lies behind his multi-staged plan of isolation and oppression in order to estrange them from Egyptian society, and ultimately what lies behind the command for his people to drown all male babies in the Nile.[3]
The significance of names is apparent from the beginning of the Torah. Seeking a helpmate for the first man, Hashem brings all of the animals of the world before him, “To see what the man would call them.” [4] The process of naming is the first sign of recognition and connection between man and animal, between humans and the world around us. It is a core expression of humankind’s role in the world: as a part of tending to Gan Eden and the world, we must be cognizant and appreciative of each creature that we are responsible for.
When woman is created, Adam says “This is bone from my bones, flesh from my flesh, therefore let her be called Ishah (woman) for she was taken out of Ish (man).”[5] Later, the first woman is given an even more specific name—Chava (Eve)—because of her universal role: “the mother of all the living.”[6] Both acts of naming open the potential for a relationship: first between Ish and Isha, and subsequently between Chava and the generations of the world that are connected to her.
Names are fundamental to our individuality, our souls, and ultimately our ability to live together in the world. The loss of names would be devastating; if we had to call each other “Hey you: tall guy, smart guy, guy with red hair…,” there could be no real relationship.
But if the removal of names can lead to the destruction of a people, then Shemot also shows that the appropriate use of names can bring redemption. Hashem’s desire to liberate the slaves is aroused, in part, by the names with which Shemot opens.[7] By keeping their Hebrew names during the period of enslavement, Bnei Yisrael prevented total assimilation into Egyptian culture and retained their connections to each other and Hashem.[8]
The interpersonal and environmental takeaway here is one and the same: the knowledge and acknowledgment of names is the foundation to fully relating to each other and with each element of the natural world. When we do this, we truly fulfill our Divine purpose. When we do not, we risk destroying Hashem’s world.
In the modern industrial supply chain, we have systematically obscured the names of so many people, places, and plants. The people who sell us the finished product frequently go unnamed; the people who grow or make it are almost always nameless; those who package and transport it invariably are. Usually, you can know where the product is first made, but the names of countless places along the way are lost. Even the natural elements put into the products we buy, from food to furniture, are often obscure: just think of “natural flavors.”
Though we are linked to all these people, places, and parts of nature through our consumption, our ignorance of their names makes it hard to be in a relationship with them. How do I relate to the world beyond my immediate surroundings if I do not know where they are? To the cows at an unknown dairy farm whose milk I drink every morning? To the chickens at the industrial poultry shed? When I buy brand new sneakers, do I consider who made them? How was that individual human being treated while he or she made my shoes?
If we deny the names—the unique identity—of other people, creatures, plants, and places of the earth, we risk becoming like Pharaoh. Threatened by the complexity and variety of the world, he chose to see others as nameless resources, as nothing more than a means towards his own goals. Such a path, while often seeming to increase comfort and efficiency in the present, ultimately leads to relegation and oblivion. This namelessness is an important dimension of our environmental crisis: from farms to landfills, we frequently outsource harm, remove ourselves from being in a relationship with it, and in doing so, enable our further contributions towards it. [9]
But through naming, through the acknowledgment of the uniqueness of every part of Hashem’s world, we can begin to find redemption, coming into full relationship with each other and our world.
Suggested Action:
There are many opportunities to engage more deeply with the names and identities of life around us.
Seek out locally-produced, natural food products, even visit the site and meet the people and animals involved in creating the food that nourishes you and your family.
Learn the names of the trees and plants that grow in your neighborhood.
Learn the names of the sanitation employees, maintenance workers, and gardeners who service your neighborhood, apartment building, school, or workplace.
Find out which major retailers and manufacturers utilize dehumanizing sweatshop labor, and reduce your interactions with these companies.
Original Canfei Nesharim Sponsorships:
The parsha of Shemot is dedicated by Shoshana Shinnar in honor of the Flatbush Women’s Tefillah.
Click here to sponsor a parsha.
Notes:
[1] Shemot 1:5
[2] Shemot 1:7
[3] Shemot 1:22. Rashi notes that the verse says “every son who is born,” not “every son who is born to the Israelites.” Pharoah’s mania to destroy Israel was so great that he decreed against his own people as well.
[4] Bereishit 2:19
[5] Bereshit 2:23
[6] Bereshit 3:20. The Hebrew for Eve, Chava, is connected to the word for living, chai. It is interesting to note that the first man is not referred to by a proper name, Adam, until after Chava is named. Until then, he is called haAdam- “the man.”
[7] Shemot Rabbah 1:5: These are the names of the Children of Israel– for the sake of the redemption are they mentioned here. Reuven, as it says-I have surely seen the affliction of my people in Mitzrayim. Shimon, as it says- And God heard their cries, etc (quoting Exodus 3:7).
[8] Vayikra Rabbah 32:5
[9] To read about the experiences of farmworkers in America, see here. For research on the impacts of living near a landfill, see here.
