17 Mar A CONVERT’S BELOVED NAME

I. A Jewish Name
When someone
converts to Judaism,
he chooses a Jewish
name with which to
be called for ritual
purposes. Should
he use that name in
common conversation and interactions?
That is a very personal decision and
includes many considerations, including
the psychological and social benefits of
identifying as Jewish in an obvious way.
Does halachah require it?
Rav Moshe Schick (19th cen., Hungary)
argues that a Jew is forbidden to use a
gentile name because using the name
amounts to pretending to be a gentile,
which is forbidden (Responsa Maharam
Schick, Yoreh De’ah 169). This is a
particularly surprising ruling because
centuries earlier, Rav Shmuel de Modina
(Maharshdam; 16th cen., Greece)
permitted conversos who returned to the
Jewish community after leaving Portugal
to use their Christian names in business and
correspondence with family that remained
in Portugal (Responsa Maharshdam, Yoreh

De’ah 199). He says that it is only an extra-
legal practice (midas chassidus) to refrain

from using a gentile name. He argues, in
addition to the specific circumstances he
was addressing, that using a Christian
name does not imply identification with
Christianity. Perhaps based on Rav Yosef
Kolon’s influential responsum (15th cen.,
Italy), which Maharshdam quotes, there is
even more reason to permit if the name was
not chosen in order to seem like a gentile
but rather because you or your parents like
the name (Responsa Maharik, no. 88).
II. Converts’ Names
Beyond the strict halachic question, what
does G-d want you to do? Normally we can
only infer from texts and practices what
G-d wants from us. In this case, the midrash
takes it a step further. Moshe has ten names,
the midrash tells us (Vayikra Rabbah 1:3).
They are: Moshe, Yered, Chever, Yekusiel,
Avigdor, Avisocho and Avizano’ach (the
last three each count as two because they
have two words, see also Megillah 13a).
Why does the Torah consistently use the
name Moshe? The book of Leviticus begins
“And G-d called to Moshe.” Why does
the Torah specifically choose this name?

The midrash (Vayikra
Rabbah 1:2) answers:
“‘Those who dwell in
His shade will return’
(Hos. 14:8) – these
are the proselytes who
come and take shelter
in the shade of G-d….
‘Its repute will be like
the wine of Lebanon’
(ibid.) – G-d said: ‘The
names of converts are
dear to me like wine
libations that are offered before Me on the
altar.’”
Rav Shmuel Yaffe Ashkenazi (16th cen.,
Turkey) asks why G-d loves the converts’
names. Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say
that G-d loves the converts? He explains
that G-d sees the future and ensures that,
even at birth, these future converts receive
appropriate names that reflect their future
greatness. Names like Yisro and Rus reflect
the greatness of their bearers. Additionally,
the names reflect the choice that these
converts made to worship G-d and join
the Jewish people. Just like wine can be
used for a variety of purposes, including
libations (nesachim) in the Temple, a
person can go in many different directions
in life, including toward holiness. The
gentile names of converts reflect their
holy choices (Yefeh To’ar, ad loc., s.v.
shemosan).
III. Biblical Gentile Names
This is relevant to Moshe because of all
his ten names, this name was chosen by
Pharaoh’s daughter. The Torah says:
“When the child grew up, she brought him
to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her
son. She named him Moshe, for she said,
‘I drew him from the water’” (Ex. 2:7).
Commentators debate whether Pharaoh’s
daughter named him Moshe and if
the name is in Hebrew. Rav Yitzchak
Abarbanel (15th cen., Spain-Italy) argues
that Yocheved, who returned the baby
to Pharaoh’s daughter, named the baby
Moshe from Hebrew (commentary, ad
loc.). However, Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah
Berlin (Netziv; 19th cen., Russia) points
out that this interpretation contradicts the
above midrash, which assumes the name
Moshe is a gentile name (Ha’amek Davar,
ad loc.). Rather, the name Moshe derives
from ancient Egyptian but it also has
meaning in Hebrew (see Torah Shelemah,
Shemos, ch. 2 n. 73 for different views).
According to the midrash, the name Moshe
itself is a gentile name! Rav Ya’akov
Kamenetsky (20th cen., US) suggests that
the name Ephraim is also an Egyptian

name (Emes Le-Ya’akov, Gen. 48:5). A
letter published in Rav Matis Blum’s Sefer
Torah La-Da’as (vol. 3, p. 288) suggests
that the name Pinchas is likewise Egyptian.
The Gemara offers multiple opinions on
why Hadassah was called Esther (Esther
2:7). R. Nechemiah says: “Hadassah was
her name. Why then was she called Esther?
The gentiles called her after Istahar.”
(Rashi says that Istahar refers to beauty
in the moonlight. Rav Ya’akov Emden, in
his glosses ad loc., explains that Istahar
means Venus, the planet which is also
the name of the goddess of beauty). Rav
Shlomo Alkabetz (16th cen., Israel) quotes
a Rav Yitzchak HaKohen who says: “It
seems more likely that Mordechai himself
changed her name to Esther, which is a
Persian name, before she was taken to
the king’s court so both the gentiles and
the Jews would not realize that she was
Jewish.”
Of course, it could be argued that all
these names were given due to specific
circumstances. Subsequently, the names
became Jewish because of their famous
bearers and no longer retain their gentile
origins. Indeed, that seems to be the point
of the midrash with which we began
this discussion. A convert’s name has
significance because of his circumstances.
This might be a step too far but I wonder
if future generations are named after the
convert, they can choose to use his gentile
name as a Jewish name, just like we do
with Moshe and Esther. Ask your local
Orthodox rabbi.
Of course, there are good reasons to use a
Jewish name, which Maharshdam calls a
midas chassidus. Everyone wants to feel like
they belong and that feeling of belonging
carries spiritual and psychological
importance. But there is room for thinking
about this in more than one way, even if
you end up using a Jewish name. Jewish
pride is important. A convert’s pride is also
important. As the midrash says, G-d takes
special pleasure in a convert’s name. (For
the record, my first name Gil is a Hebrew
name and common in Israel.)