28 Oct PARSHAS LECH LECHA: CHANGING THE NAME OF A CHOLEH

And your name will no
longer be called Avram,
and your name will be
Avraham for I have
made you the father of a
multitude of nations.
Bereishis 17:5
The Significance of

Names
Several teachings in Chazal express the spiritual
significance and power of a person’s name. The
Gemara (Berachos 7b) states that a person’s
name can determine his lot in life. As an
example, it mentions that Rus merited to be the
ancestor of Dovid at least partially due to her
name. The name “Rus” alludes to the phrase
“shiros v’tishbachos,” the songs and praises that
Dovid composed. Because of the influence of
one’s name, the midrash (Tanchuma, Ha’azinu
7) instructs parents to carefully choose a name
for their child, as the name may predispose him
to certain tendencies, whether good or bad. The
midrash goes on to explain how each of the spies
who slandered Eretz Yisrael had a name that
indicated a predisposition to this sin.
Similarly, the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 16b)
lists four methods for canceling a heavenly
decree issued against a person: giving charity,
crying out to G-d, changing one’s deeds, and
changing one’s name. Specifically, the Rema

(Y.D. 335:10) records the custom of changing
the name of a critically ill person in an attempt to
change the decree and save his life. Interestingly,
the Sefer Chasidim (245) also records the
practice of “selling the choleh to a different
family” instead of changing his name. The logic
behind this custom is that sometimes there is a
heavenly decree that a particular person’s son
should die, and by changing the family to whom
the patient belongs, he would no longer be
considered the son of that person, and the decree
would no longer apply. While the practice of
“selling sick children” does not continue today,
we still change the name of a choleh in the hope
of altering the course of his illness, leading to a
refuah sheleimah.
How to Pick a Name and Where to Place it
The Ta’amei HaMinhagim (p. 72) cites the
Rachamei Ha’Av that only a very righteous
person who can act with ruach hakodesh is
qualified to change a person’s name from the
one he was given at birth. For this reason, the
common custom today is not to remove a
person’s name given at birth, but to add a
different, additional name. Perhaps this is why
Avraham Avinu, who was renamed by Hashem,
had his new name replace his old name entirely,
whereas Yaakov Avinu, who was renamed by an
angel, received a new name, Yisrael, but did not
lose his original name, Yaakov.

Sefer Chasidim (ibid.) records a custom that
when choosing a new name for a sick person,
one should open a chumash to a random page
and choose the first name that appears on the
right-hand side of the page. This practice may be
based on the previous idea that humans are
unable to correctly change or choose a name that
is appropriate for this person. Instead, we entrust
this decision to Hashem and accept the first
name he presents. However, the Rambam
(Kovetz Teshuvos HaRambam V’igerosav 1:52)
writes that in general, people should not rely on
a chumash to determine the correct course of
action.
Our custom today is to add a name with a
positive connotation (e.g., Refael, Baruch,
Chaim, Shalom, Azriel, etc.) that would imply or
call for a forthcoming, positive change of mazal.
The Chida (D’vash Lefi) writes that when
adding a name for a woman, one should not add
the names Rachel, Batsheva, Tamar, or Leah, but
should instead choose Chanah, Sarah, or
Yocheved. However, it is not clear why the latter
group of names is preferred over the former.
The Minchas Elazar (4:27) rules that the new
name should become the first name of the
person, while his old name should become his
middle name. If, however, the person dies from
the illness, his son should be called to the Torah
with the order switched, with his father’s

original name
followed by the
new name.
However, the more common practice nowadays
is that if a person dies from the illness, the new
name is dropped entirely, as it has been proven
to be ineffective.
Changing Names for Other Reasons
Although the Shulchan Aruch only mentions a
custom to change a name in reference to a sick
person, the idea behind this practice in principle
applies in other areas as well. Rav Moshe
Sternbuch (Teshuvos V’Hanhagos 1:790) was
asked for various ideas and segulos to help a
couple that had been married for ten years
without having been blessed with children.
Among his many suggestions, Rav Sternbuch
mentions that the couple may not have been
granted the blessing of children because their
names may not have been compatible with each
other. He therefore suggests that one of them
change their name, with the hope that the new
combination of names would be more compatible
in the eyes of Hashem.
Additionally, the Rambam (Hil. Teshuvah 2:4)
writes that one of the methods of repentance is
for the sinner to change his name, thereby
suggesting that he is not the same person who
committed the sin. However, this also seems to
be a custom that is no longer practiced today.