D’var Torah: Lech-Lecha 2025/5786 לך-לך

Rabbi Tirza Covel, Chaplain at Boston Medical Center-Brighton, Schechter Parent and Alumni Parent, and Lior Schmelzer (Grade 6)

Mom: What do you think I should write about?

Lior: How about the sentence that goes…well, I can’t remember how it goes. It’s either going up in smallness or gets larger. You know, about m’artzecha, mimolad’t’hka, mibeit avicha.

[We look up the verse: Gen 12:1 – And God said to Avram, ‘Go forth from your land, the land of your birth, from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.’

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃

(Who else is singing Debbie Friedman right about now?)

Mom: Okay, so what’s your theory on why God says it like that?

Lior: Well, I know but I can’t say yet.

Mom: It’s secret?

Lior: No, because I haven’t figured it out yet.

Not sure everyone has figured it out, kiddo, so let’s see what some of the other commentators have to say first. Let’s start with Rashi, the granddaddy of them all. He points out that Avram and family have already left their native land: Gen 11:31 says, “…they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there.” So Avram and family were already heading in the direction of Canaan by the time he received God’s calling. God needs to be more explicit about expectations for Avram: Not only do you need to leave the land, you also need to leave your father’s ways behind. Avram’s father, Terah, was an idol worshiper: God did not want that influence on Avram any longer. 

Most of the other commentators follow Rashi’s lead in logical thinking: Although the journey is a physical one, it’s also an emotional and spiritual one. The break that God requires from Avram is a complete one from his old life and habits. In order to make Avram’s name great and be the blessing he should be, God needs Avram to prepare for a whole new life, a whole new identity. That new identity is solidified as Avram and Sarai get name changes in chapter 17 to Avraham and Sarah, reflecting the promise God made to make them parents of future multitudes. 

And, to borrow a phrase, what is in a name? The concept of changing one’s name to change one’s fate is as old as the hills. Plenty of folks in the Tanakh receive a name change or go by different ones: Jacob to Israel; Moses’ father-in-law has at least 4 different names; Solomon is also Yedidyah; Esther is also called Hadassah. Jews all over history have changed names, particularly -but not necessarily- upon leaving a homeland: Szmuel Gelbfisz, Anatoly Shcharansky and Izel Pintoya.* Most of the time the name change is to fit in, assimilate, but not always: There’s a Jewish tradition to change the name of someone who is very ill, thereby confusing the Angel of Death. 

“Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: A good name is more beloved than the Ark of the Covenant, as the Ark of the Covenant went only three days, as it is stated: “And the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord traveled before them [three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them]” (Numbers 10:33), and a good name goes from one end of the world to the other end. From where do we derive it? It is from David, as it is stated: “The name of David went out to all the lands; and the Lord imposed fear of him upon all the nations” (I Chronicles 14:17). [Kohelet Rabbah 7:1]

What is it about a name that travels around the world even if our bodies stay in one place? The power of a name can evoke love, such as naming a child after a beloved family member; or fear (Genghis Attila is what my father jokingly wanted to name one of us so we wouldn’t get beaten up on the playground); admiration (Mother Theresa); or respect (George Washington Carver). And, particularly here in Boston, sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name – your good name. Earning and keeping a good reputation is even more important in the digital age where good and bad news travels fast. 

I always felt like choosing my children’s names (in partnership with Albert, of course) was one of the heaviest responsibilities a parent has: Names are powerful, names carry weight, and names can empower us. For a totally secular example, Lior considers how Professor Dumbledore never shies away from using Voldemort’s birth name in the Harry Potter series. To his face, even!! Dumbledore wanted to remind Voldemort that he was human not supernatural, mortal not invincible. We named Lior, ‘my light,’ after Albert’s beloved grandfather, Phillip/Shraga, whose name means ‘candle’; it also reflected our value of using a modern Hebrew name. 

The concept of nomen omen, your name is your fate, is on full display in our parsha: Changing your name can change your fate. God wants Avram and Sarai to change the fate of the world and breaking with their past is the only way forward for these ancestors. God chose the new names for Abraham and Sarah to stand out, to make a name for a new nation.  May their names always be for a blessing to us.

*Szmuel Gelbfisz became Samuel Goldwyn; Anatoly Shcharansky became Natan Sharansky; and Izel Pintoya became Izzet Pinto (he’s a leading TV producer in Turkey and my “brother”)—In Turkey, Spanish-sounding names are often Jewish ones.