What's in a name?

Lech Lecha

Gen. 12:1 -17:27

Précis: This parasha, “get you up” or “go yourself” (lech lecha) begins with “the call” of Abram to leave his home and depart for a new land. At God’s command, Abram and Sarai journey to Canaan. When famine strikes, they travel to Egypt, where Sarai is taken into Pharaoh’s harem after Abram calls her his “sister,” but she escapes without harm. They then leave Egypt, with Abram now a rich man. To avoid family squabbles, Abram separates himself from his nephew Lot (who moves to Sodom), but Abram is forced to rescue Lot and reaches a negotiated settlement with the locals. God promises him an heir. Because Sarai is barren, she offers Abram her servant (Hagar), and Hagar gives birth to a son, Ishmael. Abram is then promised a son through Sarai, to be his true heir. Abram’s name is changed to Abraham, and Sarai’s to Sarah, in recognition of the new Covenant with God, which is then symbolized by Abraham’s circumcision.

Gen. 17:5 “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.”

            When names are changed in our text, something important is going on.  Abram’s name is extended to Abraham, in connection with God’s covenant. Sarai becomes Sarah, and the text tells us that it is because she will give birth to Abraham’s heir. (A note in Etz Hayim tells us that Sarah is actually a modernization of an older usage, Sarai, and that both names mean “princess.”)

            The Sages tell us that the changes denote a change in the status of the individuals, as is subsequently the case with Jacob’s name change to Israel.

             Tradition also tells us that we have different names: the name that our parents bestow upon us, and the name that our friends and acquaintances call us. However, the most important “name” we have is that which we earn during our lives - in other words, our reputations. And like Abraham, our reputations are based on the goodness we bring to our families and to our communities.