Shabbat Parshat Vayera - 5763
“VeYikare Shemo BeYisrael”
“And Let his Name be Called in Israel”

The highlight of Parshat VaYera is the Akeidah, where Avraham agreed (with Yitzchak’s permission), to sacrifice his son, at the command of HaShem. When the Angel of the L-rd called to him to stop the act of sacrifice, the language used is “Vayikra elav...vayomer ‘Avraham, Avraham,...’ ” “And an angel of HaShem called to him from heaven, and said ‘Avraham! Avraham!’...” And RASHI comments, “A language of love, for he doubled his name.”

To see that it is not only the doubling of the name that indicates “a language of love,” we look at the beginning of Sefer VaYikra, where we find (VaYikra 1:1), “VaYikra el Moshe...,” “And He called to Moshe, ...” and RASHI comments, “For all utterances and sayings, the Torah opened with the language of ‘Kriah,’ an expression of love, the language that the Ministering Angels use, as it says, ‘And each would call (“ve-kara”) to the next and say, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy ...’ (Yeshayahu 6:3) But when dealing with the prophets of the nations of the world, He appeared to them with a language of randomness and uncleanness, as it says in BaMidbar 23:4, ‘VaYiker E-lohim el Bilaam,’ ‘G-d happened upon Bilaam.’ ”

We find, in another context, that there is a difference between reality and proclaimed reality. Biologically, Yishmael was also of the “seed of Avraham,” as the verse in Bereshit 21:13 indicates, where HaShem says to Avraham, “And also the son of the handmaiden will I make into a great nation, for he is your seed.” But Yitzchak is not only biologically the “seed of Avraham,” he is the one who is called the “seed of Avraham,” as Bereshit 21:12 says, “...Everything that Sarah, the mother of Yitzchak, says, listen to her, for in Yitzchak your seed will be called.”

We find a similar idea in the “Adon Olam” Prayer:

“Master of the Universe,
Who ruled before any creature was formed;
But when everything was created in accordance with His will,
Then he was called the King.”

It is uniquely the task of the human being to “conquer nature” and gain insight into all of its phenomena, allowing the giving of appropriate names to each creature in the “beriah,” the creation. As we find in Bereshit 2:20, “And Adam gave names to all the cattle and the birds of heaven, and to all the beasts of the field.”

But in the rest of Sefer Bereshit, it is HaShem Himself Who confers names. First, Avram’s name is changed in Bereshit 17:5, “Your name shall no longer be called Avram (which, meaning the ‘majestic father,’ did not conform to Avraham’s self-image of “And I am dust and ashes” (Bereshit 18:27)) to Avraham, which means “Father of a multitude of nations,” (Bereshit 17:5) that reflected the historical destiny of Avraham’s descendants, rather than the greatness of the ancestor.

The name of Avraham’s wife, initially Sarai, was changed by HaShem to Sarah, to reflect her nobility of character. HaShem declares that Sarah’s son should be called Yitzchak, and RASHI comments “because the name contains the root ‘tzchok,’ laughter,” perhaps because both his parents laughed with joy and incredulity, upon hearing that they would be granted a son in their old age. And/Or perhaps to indicate the sense of the absurd, that is the root of humor, that is a necessary ingredient in dealing with the vicissitudes of life.

When Yaakov is born to Rivkah and Yitzchak, he emerges into the world clinging to his older twin, Esav’s ankle; hence, the name Yaakov (ankle is “akev” in Hebrew). Yaakov is also involved in some unusual transactions, that on the surface seem questionable; another reason for the name (crooked is “akov” in Hebrew). But HaShem is impressed by the way that Yaakov has spent his youth in spiritual growth, and his steadfastness in the spiritually toxic atmosphere of Lavan’s household, and changes his name to “Yisrael,” containing the roots of triumph (“serarah”) and straightness (“yashar”), declares him the representative of Truth in the world, and the “bechir she-be-avot,” the most favored of the forefathers.

Giving a name is also a central part of the “Brit Milah,” Circumcision, ceremony, where a name is given to the new soul that has come into the world:

“Our G-d and G-d of our fathers, preserve this child for its father and its mother. And let its name be called in Israel ____.”

We hope that the time is not far off when the prophetic words of Yeshayahu to the People of Israel will be fulfilled, “And the nations will see your righteousness, and all the kings will experience your glory, and they will call you by a new name, that the mouth of the L-rd will confer.” (Yeshayahu 62:2)

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel

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