I Am More Than My Name

What You Do Isn’t What You Are

We tend to think we know a person just by hearing a word or two about them. Whether it’s a job description, physical characteristic, or nickname, all these labels do the same thing: they focus on a simple identity and ignore the essence.

And yet, we go through our days doing just that: pigeonholing people with a word or two.

What do you think of when you think of a gravedigger? It’s a job where brawn, not brains, is required. It’s an honest and necessary profession, but “nice Jewish girls” don’t dream of growing up and marrying gravediggers. Would it surprise you to know that one of the great Talmudic Sages, Abba Shaul, was a gravedigger? Or that Hillel, who became the leader of the Sanhedrin, chopped wood for a living? Or that Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists in history, worked for years as a clerk in a patent office?

Beyond the Name

Let’s get back to Moses and the Rebbe’s comment about names and essential identity. Although Moses’ name isn’t mentioned in the parshah, Mosesthe-person permeates it. The parshah describes building the Tabernacle and the inauguration of Aaron as the High Priest. Moses appears throughout the text, as he is not only the person transmitting the parshah to the people, he’s the one who will inaugurate the Tabernacle and install Aaron as Priest. Whether he is referred to by his name, “Moses,” or “you” (as in the parshah), there is no doubt he is the main character in the narrative. He is more than his name.

In fact, according to the Midrash, Moses had ten names! AndG-d also has many names. But when we think and talk of G-d, we all understand that none of those names defines G-d; they only reflect a particular attribute. Even stringing all those names together wouldn’t suffice. They are just a simple way to identify G-d in one of His aspects, but we all know He is not limited by any name.

We need to remind ourselves that we are all created in His image; we have souls containing a spark of Him within us. We, like G-d, are not limited by our names. Even if we added all of Moses’ ten names together, they wouldn’t add up to the person that is Moses.

So, next time you see a garbage collector, think of Abba Shaul the gravedigger. Think of Einstein the clerk. Think of Hillel the woodchopper. Think of Moses, our greatest teacher, whose name wasn’t even mentioned once in our parshah. And remember what the Rebbe taught: one’s name is not one’s essential identity.

We are all very much more than a name.

By Karen Kaplan, from Chabad.org

TNS - T ORAH N EWS S ERVICE Price: 1 Shekel