Shmot 2021
Isaac’s Parsha Corner · 2021
“And these are the names of the children of Israel. [These are the ones] who are coming to Mitzrayim. [They came] with Jacob. [They came] each man and his house. They came. [‘They came’ appears at the end of the Pasuk but was inserted earlier to make the Pasuk more readable]. Reuvaine, Shimone etc. “ (Ex 1:1-2)
The difficulties associated with this the first Pasuk of Shmot are enumerated by the Midrash and by the commentators as follows:
1/ The names of the twelve sons of Yaakov were mentioned at the very end of Vayechi so why repeat them?
2/ Why mention them at all?
3/ What is the meaning of the Pasuk saying that the children of Israel “are coming” to Mitzrayim. Furthermore, the tense of the word “Ba- to come” changes in the Pasuk from present tense “are coming” to past tense “came”. Why is this?
4/ Why refer to these individuals as “Names”? Why not just say “These are the children of Israel”? The parsha and the book is called the book of Shmot or Names. What does this mean?
If I were choosing the term “Book of Names” I would prefer it being used to describe the book of Bereishit. There names are central to each story. In creation, “And God called the light Day and the dark He called Night”. The name calling continues throughout the story. “And Adam named all the domestic land animals and the birds and the wild animals but for Adam there was no “Ezer Kenegdo” helper to be opposite him”. Later when meeting his real “Ezer Kenegdo”, “She shall be called ‘eishah (woman)’ for from ‘eish (man)’ she was taken. Later,” And the man called his wife Chava for she was the mother of all life”. Adam was the man’s name and his description. “Adam” is both his Name and a description of him as being “The adam”, the man that God created. The same with his female counterpart. Her Name was Chava but she is described as the first eishah (woman). The significance of a name is important throughout the entire book. Abram, Sarai, and Jacob all receive name upgrades directly from God. The new name is sometimes so significant that we are forbidden to use the old name. Each of Jacob’s twelve son’s is receives his name based on some event or experience. “Reu-vein is a hybrid word built on two words Re-u and Bain – “See a son”. The name is a statement that means ‘see Jacob, I am worthy for I have produced a son for you.’ The naming of each son continues reflecting Leah’s feelings at each birth. Joseph receives a new name from his new boss “He who reveals that which is hidden”. On the other hand, the names in Shmot are mostly obscured, “And a man came from the house of Levi and took a daughter of Levi”. Only Moshe and his two boys receive the full measure of the naming process. “And she called him Moshe for he was drawn from the water.” (Ex 2:10) Her two children the one whose name was Gershom for I was a Ger (stranger) in a foreign land. And the second was named Eliezer for the God of my father was my salvation and saved me from Pharaoh’s sword” (Ex 18:3-4). So why is this the book of Names and what does it mean?
“A person has three names, one assigned to him by God that being Adam, the one given by parents, and the one that he calls his self”. (Midrash Tanchumah on the above Pasuk)
“And these are the names” (Ex 1:1) The Ramban comments that the term “And “connects these two first books of the Torah. The connection associated with the names can be understood in this way. These twelve names or qualities will stay with the children of Jacob throughout the bitter enslavement and into the redemption and beyond. It will be the descriptive qualities assigned to each of Jacob’s children in Parshat Vayechei that will pervade and infuse the people with ability to withstand the great diminishment associate with over two hundred years of slavery. Jacob’s blessing will carry the people forward. The most important of those names is the one at the end of the list. “And Joseph was in Mitzrayim”. Joseph famously maintained his dignity and commitment to his father’s teachings despite the years of suffering as a slave “Nisayone Haoni” His commitment to these values continued despite being in Pharaoh’s inner circle and the power and prestige associated therewith. “Nisayone Haosher”. The Talmud tells us “Jacob never died”. Although physically not here his teachings live on long after his body was gone. These are and were the Names of the children of the one who did not die and his name and his teachings lived on long after he passed so to did the names and the teachings of the twelve children live on long after their death.
Dedicated on the occasion of the Yahrzeit of my father R Chayim ben Pinchas Eliyahu Shulman who lives on through his children and grandchildren whom he infused with his love of Torah. May his memory be a blessing.