The descendants of Yaakov settled in Egypt and began to multiply and prosper. Originally, Yaakov came with seventy people and the Torah begins the book of Shemot by listing the names of the twelve sons of Yaakov. The Egyptians began to fear the Children of Israel since it was thought that they might become allied with a foreign power. Pharoah and the Egyptians choose to forget what Yosef did to save their kingdom. Instead, they enslave the Israelites and force them to build cities using mud and straw. Over the years, the bondage becomes increasingly severe.

The population of the Children of Israel, settled in the land of Goshen, continues to increase and Pharoah decides to kill all of the new born sons. He orders the midwives of the Israelites to carry at the task. Two of them, Shifrah and Puah, choose to ignore Pharoah, at great risk to their lives. When the rest of the midwives refuse to obey Pharoah, he orders that all of the new born males be drowned in the Nile.

Amram and Yocheved, from the tribe of Levi, give birth to son. He is the youngest of three children, the others being Aharon and Miriam. Fearing Pharoah’s decree, Yocheved places her infant in a basket and brings to the banks of the river. There, under Miriam’s supervision, the basket floats until it is discovered by the daughter of Pharoah. Pharoah’s daughter decides to keep the baby and Miriam volunteers to find a nurse for the baby and she returns with Yocheved. The baby is named Moshe (Moses) which means one who was “drawn out of the water”.

Moshe grows up in the house of Pharoah and witnesses the sufferings of the Israelites. He feels pity for them and one day kills and Egyptian beating an Israelite. He flees Egypt to save his own life and wanders in the wilderness of Sinai until he is welcomed by the shepherd chief Yitro, of Midian. He marries Zipporah, one of Yitro’s daughter’s and together they have two sons named Gershom and Eliezer.

Moshe become as shepherd as a new Pharoah makes life even more unbearable for the Children of Israel. They cry for deliverance. God hears their cry and comes down to a mountain in Chorev (Horeb) and appears to Moshe in a burning bush (which is not consumed). He proclaims Himself as the God of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov and commands Moshe to return to Egypt as God’s messenger. God is ready to redeem the Israelites and wants Moshe to be His messenger. Moshe is afraid and feels unworthy of this great task because he is “slow of speech” and has great humility. God promises to be with Moshe and guide him through all of his trials.

Moshe meets Aharon in the desert and together they go to Pharoah to demand that he release the Children of Israel. God warns Moshe that Pharoah will not let the people go and that God will judge the Egyptians and show them His awesome power. Moshe is armed with a divine staff and is granted the power of prophecy. Pharoah refuses to release the Children of Israel and their rigors are made even worse. The people complain that Moshe has only made things worse for them.

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And these are the names of Israel's sons who came to Egypt
with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher
        

Why does the Torah begin the book of Exodus (Shemot) with the listing of names of the twelve sons of Yaakov? First of all, the Midrash (Shemot Rabbah) points out that the order of names listed is not same in every location in the Torah (Yaakov’s blessings at the end of Sefer Bereshit):

“Rabbi Yehoshua of Siknin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Why are not the names of the tribes in the same order in all places, but sometimes one takes the precedence and sometimes another? So that you should not think that the children of the wives (Rachel and Leah) come first, and the children of the hand-maidens (Bilhah and Zilpah) last, but to teach you that these were not greater than the others. Another explanation of why some take precedence is because they are, as it were, the ceiling of the world and one who makes a ceiling properly puts the thick side of one beam next to the thinner side of the other; hence does one tribe come before the other. Whence do we know that they are ‘the ceiling of the world’? Because Isaiah says: ‘Hearken unto Me, O Jacob, and Israel My called’.” (There is a play on words in the Midrash between the word for “ceiling”, , and “My called”, )

Rashi writes: “Even though He had counted them during their lifetime by their names, He again counted them after their death, to make known His love for them. For they were compared to the stars which He brings out and brings in by number and by their names.”

In other words, by naming them while they were alive, honor and recognition is given to them. As the Children of Israel begin their descent into Egypt, It is important for us to remember who the progenitors of the tribes were and what each one represented. The Hebrew word “shemot” ( ) can be thought of as a contraction of the “shin” (as a prefix for “because of”) and the word “mot” ( ) meaning “death”. Hence Rashi’s interpretation takes on new meaning. We name someone as an acknowledgement for them after death so that they will not remain anonymous.

Names are a very powerful metaphor for people. In today’s society, we are reduced to numbers like our social security number or work ID number. A name is an identification of a concept with an idea. The concept is abstract, but the name gives the concept a tangible manifestation. We can picture a dog in our heads simply by hearing the word. But the name “perro” might mean nothing to us unless we know that “perro” mean ‘dog” in Spanish. Names are words used to describe someone or something. It says in the Midrash that the Jews merited redemption from Egypt because they kept their Hebrew names.

In Ashkenazi families, the custom is to name a child after a deceased relative. If that relative died young, a slight variation on the name is used to “fool” the Angel of Death. In the same way, in Eastern Europe and some traditional communities today, the custom was (and is) to change the name of someone who is ill to again fool the Angel of Death”. One might also name a child after a famous person (a scholar or a Rabbi) in the hope that the name will merit some transfer of good traits to the child.

In prison, one is stripped of his identity and reduced to a number. All sense of self is taken away. One’s freedom of movement is not only limited, but an inner psychological trauma exists as well. In fighting diseases, we sometimes feel better if we know the name of the disease we have. In the former Soviet Union, in an effort to eliminate titles of nobility, everyone was addressed as “comrade”.

Shakespeare wrote, “What is a rose? That which we call a rose by any other name, would smell as sweet”. In our own world, we have names for many objects and ideas. In Mathematics, a concept is given a label (called a variable) to have it represent the concept during an algorithmic manipulation. We might use “x”, or “y”, or “a” to represent the quantity. In the end, it’s not what you call something, it’s what it is. Names can serve as “garments” which reflect our inner self. At home we may be Mom, Dad, Jonathan, or Karen. At work, we might be known as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” or even “Ms”. We may have a degree title such as “Dr.” or “Professor” or “Counselor”. We address a judge as “you honor”. We can change our name (legally or not) and try to assume a new identity. But like changing our clothes, there is only so much that can change externally.

The Talmud states that there are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty. But, says the Talmud, the crown of a good name surpasses them all. Having a good “name” is associated with attributes and behaviors. One mention of a person’s name and reputation can be of harm or benefit. Slander and gossip (loshen hara and reichelis) can ruin a person’s reputation and harm their “good name “(shem tov). According to tradition, the founder of Chassidim was Rabbi Yisroel, the Baal Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name). Thus names play a vital part of every culture.

In the Torah, we see that each name has a meaning. The name Moshe, derives from a word meaning “to be drawn from the water”. Yaakov, comes from “ekev” which meant “heel”. Avraham, means “the father of many nations”, and so on. This is no less true for God.

Does God need a name? Applying anthropomorphisms (human attributes) to God is a double edged sword. On the one hand, God is infinite and without form or limit. Trying to describe the essence of God in words is both meaningless and limiting (even blasphemous to some people). Still, the sages tell us that the Torah speaks “in the language of Man” and so we often see attributes given to God. These names of God (and there are many) are so revered that the Torah commands us “you shall not take the name of the Lord in vain”. So great of a sin, was this commandment, that many martyrs went to their deaths, rather than defile or desecrate the Holy Name of God (Chilul Hashem). They died instead sanctifying God’s Name (al Kiddush Hashem).

In Bereshit, we saw how God was referred to as “Elohim”, or “Hashem” (YHVH sometimes pronounced “Adonai”), or even “El Shaddai” to the patriarchs. These names, the sages tell us, refer to God’s attributes. The four lettered name refers to God’s “Attribute of Mercy” while the name “Elohim” refers to the “Attribute of Justice”. Does knowing God’s name make Him any more understandable or knowable (if such a thing is possible)?

The Rambam writes if Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah (1:10):

“What did Moshe, our teacher, want to comprehend when he requested (of God), ‘Please show me Your Glory?’(Shemot 33:18) he asked to know the truth of the existence of the Holy One, Blessed be He, to the extent that it could be internalized within his mind, as one knows a particular person whose face he saw and whose image has been engraved within one’s heart. Thus, this person’s identity is distinguished within one’s mind from that of other men. Similarly, Moshe, our teacher, asked that the existence of the Holy One, Blessed be He, be distinguished in his mind from the existence of other entities to the extent that he would know the truth of His existence as it is…He (God) replied to him that it is not within the potential of a living man, a creature of body and soul, to comprehend this matter in its entirety.”

According to the Rambam, when God replies to Moshe (Shemot 33:23): “You shall see My back, but you shall not see My face”, God is referring to revealing enough aspects of an idea that could be comprehended in such a way as, by analogy, one can distinguish a person by looking at his back, his clothes, and his gait.

In our parsha (Shemot 3:13-14), Moshe asks God to reveal His name: “And Moshe said unto God (Elohim): Behold, when I come unto the Children of Israel, and I shall say unto them that the God of their fathers has sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, ‘What is His name?’, what shall I say to them. And God (Elohim) said: I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE (EHYEH ASHER EHYEH); and thou shalt say I WILL BE has sent me unto you.” Why would the people ask for God’s name? Didn’t they have a tradition from the patriarch’s about the divine name? Maybe what they are asking for is through which of God’s names, meaning through which of God’s Attributes, will the redemption come? Rashi writes that the phrase “EHYEH ASHER EHYEH” means: “I will be”, meaning I will be with them in this trouble; “what I will be”, meaning with them in their bondage by other kingdoms.”

In our verse, the name “Elohim” is used indicating the Attribute of Strict Judgment. Maybe the people will be found unworthy of redemption. The sages say that they sunk to the forty ninth level of defilement. One more level and no redemption would have been possible. It was in the merit of the midwives, the Midrash says, that Israel was redeemed.

Perhaps, the name mentioned in verse 13 means “I will be whatever I want to be; not what you want me to be”. God is, was, and always will be as it is said in Adon Olam:
   

The Rambam writes that there are seven names for God:

The name which is written YHVH and pronounced “Adonai”.

The name “eil”

The name “Elo’ah”

The name “Elohim”

The name “Elohai”

The name “Shaddai”

The name “Tz’vaot”

The sages derive many more names from the kabbalah and we will not go into them here. The point of this whole discussion is that the entire book of Exodus begins with a recitation of names. The significance of this is that the Israelites will need to make a “name” for themselves. They are not yet a nation. In order to be worthy of redemption they must endure many trials. Only then will they be ready to accept God’s Law. Even the lowly thorn bush, which burned with fire but was not consumed, was a metaphor for God’s power to infuse anything with divine holiness.

Like the wick of a candle that stays the same length even as the candle melts, the Jewish flame will always burn with the love of God and Torah. As it is written in Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs;  Chapter 8:7): “Many waters cannot extinguish the love, and rivers cannot wash it away.” Rashi writes that this verse refers to the nations of the world (“many waters”) that try to pull Israel away from God and Torah ( “wash it away”). That love, began with Avraham and it is about to be re-enforced as the Israelites prepare to be redeemed and receive the Torah. May we all strive to achieve a good name and be worthy of the future redemption!