pictured from left to right TOM, LAEH, RABBI SHAPIRO, STEPHEN,CHRISTINA WITH HARRIET MINNETTE aka Chava Laeh, and ADAM.The Holy Days are a time I love because we sharing time those we care about. I am so happy to have an opportunity to have my friends and family as guests in our home to celebrate the NEW YEAR: 5771 and visit with Tom and I, our son's Adam and Stephen, our daughter-in-law Christina, meet our little Harriet Minnette.
It was especially meaningful this year as our beloved friend and rabbi, Rabbi Ronald Shapiro along with Stephen and Christina gave our first grandchild a Hebrew name in front of the arch at synagogue.
Some history of this tradition:
The Torah tells us that Abraham was blessed with "everything" (Genesis 24:1). The Talmud says this refers to Abraham having a baby girl (Baba Batra 16b). when it says that God gave Abraham this big blessing, it was a baby girl. The daughter was singled out for this great praise.
Why is a baby girl considered "everything?"
With the blessing of a baby daughter comes a realization of the fullness of life. The song says: "thank heaven for little girls." The Jewish people have always 'thanked heaven' for Jewish women, because our survival as a nation has been primarily because of Jewish women. From the birth of our nation, as our Matriarchs guided us through familial challenges, to the slavery in Egypt when the women kept their faith, and the heroines of Esther in Purim and Yael in Chanukah. At every crucial juncture in our history, Jewish women have come to the forefront, steering the Jewish people in the right direction.
The naming of a baby girl is a statement of her character, her specialness, and her path in life. For at the beginning of life we give a name, and at the end of life the Torah teaches us that a "Good Name" is what we take with us. (see Talmud - Brachot 7b, and the Arizal - Sha'ar HaGilgulim 24b)
Naming a Jewish baby is not only a statement of what we hope she will be, but also where she comes from. The Ashkenazi tradition is to name a new baby after a relative that has passed away. In this way, we acknowledge the strong roots that have produced the tree of the Jewish people, and of our own family's character. The Sephardic tradition is similar in philosophy, however the custom is to name after living relatives.
Our granddaughters shares both traditions: Ashkenazi and Sephardic:
She is named for our beloved Aunt Eva Swerdlow (of blessed memory) CHAVA
and me LAEH.
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