{"id":67411,"date":"2019-12-22T12:12:04","date_gmt":"2019-12-22T10:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=67411"},"modified":"2023-07-16T11:55:13","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T08:55:13","slug":"do-you-feel-that-your-name-is-yours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/do-you-feel-that-your-name-is-yours\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Feel That Your Name Is Yours?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Isaiah teaches that God calls us by many names.<\/span><\/p>\n

Think about your name. Who gave you your name? Do you use the name you were born with, or have you changed it? Do you have multiple names? What does your name mean? What does your name communicate about you? Do you feel that your name is yours?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Names are complicated! Names signify us, identify us, and distinguish us from others. Names give us familial and communal identity. We call someone\u2019s name to get their attention. We speak the names of people not present and call them to mind. Even if a person has died, their name may live on. Names can be used to heal or hurt. Names are more than just words \u2013 they are words infused with power to change the world and who we are.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Isaiah 43 begins with God, \u201cHashem\u201d (\u201cThe Name\u201d) speaking words of compassion to the people of Israel as they are returning from exile in Babylon. In verse 1, the God who \u201ccreated Jacob\u201d and \u201cformed Israel\u201d begins speaking directly, saying \u201cDo not be afraid, because I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name \u2013 you are mine.\u201d God has called Israel by its name, but which name is that: is it Jacob or Israel? Despite the events in Gen. 32, Israel continues being known also as Jacob. Even more confusingly, we can also read God as calling Israel by the name \u201cyou are mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the next several verses, God expresses God\u2019s deep love for Israel. God will gather the descendants of Israel from all directions and bless them once again. Who is to be included in this ingathering? God clarifies in verse 7, \u201cEveryone who is called by my name, and whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.\u201d It is clear: Israel is not called by its own name(s), but by God\u2019s name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This idea will be expanded a few verses later in Isaiah 44:5. There, God describes how \u201cThis one will say, \u2018I am Hashem\u2019s,\u2019 another will be called by the name of Jacob, yet another will write on the hand, \u2018Hashem\u2019s,\u2019 and title themselves with the name of Israel.\u201d Here we understand how we might be called by God\u2019s name. We also learn that we have the power to change our names to reflect this identity in God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking all of these passages together, we learn from Isaiah that we have two kinds of names: (1) our human names (Jacob\/Israel) and (2) our divine name (Hashem\u2019s). These names do not appear to be in conflict with one another, but instead function in a complementary way. They signify that our lives are our own and yet not our own \u2013 they also belong to God.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine what our lives might look like if we lived with a greater awareness of our human and divine identities. If our names carry meaning and power to change the world, what might it mean that we bear God\u2019s name?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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