I used to work at a dental office in Williamsburg. I found it funny every time a frum chasseedish mother walked in with her kids in tow, curly peyos at their ears, and said, "This is Barry, this is Joseph, this is Henry." Like, really? Who are you kidding?
Or when I call up a company that is run by frum guys and the guy who answers, in a heavy Yidish accent, says his name is 'Jake'.
I don't understand why parents give their children English names at birth. You should be proud of your Hebrew name. Maybe some people find it hard to pronounce the 'ch' sound, but so what. A name is the essence of a person. It connects to your soul. Does 'Barry' connect to your soul?
My brother adopted an English name for his job. My co-worker recently decided to introduce himself as Richard to customers. No idea why he picked that particular name.
Maybe when people do it they just want to fit in, they just want to make it easier for secular people to say their name. But in Egypt, one of the three things it says the Jews did not change was their names. So why should we? Especially these days, when freedom of religion is so accepted everywhere, we do not have a need to hide.
Be Yoel, or Yossi, or Yitchok, or Chaya, or whatever your parents named you. Your name is special, and you shouldn't change it.
When my mother was in Eastern Europe, everyone went by their legal names. It was the norm.
ReplyDeleteMy legal name is the same one my great-grandmother had, who was killed in Auschwitz. I am known both by her legal and her Hebrew names. Both give me identity and a connection to her.
If your name is Yoel and you are also called Joel, it's the same thing. It means the same thing. It's not like a name change is now the slippery slope to irreligiosity. It's culturally accepted as being a non-threat to our way of life.
In the Torah plenty of individuals are known by many names. Each name represents different parts of them. Someone is given a name at birth; does it necessarily represent them throughout the entirety of their lives? Our names are meaningful only in as much emphasis we place on them.
We have been floating around in galus a long time. I'm sure plenty of other things we do would horrify the ancestors of 2,000 years past; we just don't know it. Moshiach will set everything straight.
My parents are both baal teshuva and they are both more comfortable with their English names. However, the point I am trying to make involves mainly when a person was never given an English name at birth, and decided to adopt one to be more a part of the secular scene. In that case, my opinion is that rather then trying to adapt, why not stand out with your unique Hebrew name?
ReplyDeleteIt serves the same purpose as having being given a legal name at birth. It saves a lot of awkward moments.
ReplyDelete"Name?"
"Rochel."
"Huh? Roger?"
"No, Rochel - R-O-C-H-E-L."
"Uh-huh . . . and how is that pronounced again?"
In college I had a classmate who went by her Yiddish name, Frummie. Our professor was raised in a Yiddish-speaking home, his brother was a rabbi, and he turned purple every day trying to say her name. "Fruh? Froo?"
It's not about being ashamed. It's about not having to say the same thing a hundred times.
Yes, this is precisely the point. It is a matter of fact that many people - both uneducated Jews and gentiles at large - cannot pronounce the "ch" sound of a chet or chaf in a name, nor the sound of a tzadi unless its at the end of a word (like mats).
DeleteGoing by an English/secular name is merely out of convenience and courtesy to co-workers, partners, customers, clients, patients, etc.
I don't think there is anything wrong with that, especially if it is an Anglicized version of the Hebrew name, Joel vs. Yoel as mentioned above.
I see what you are saying, but I disagree. I have always only used my real name for professional purposes, and while I have had to spell it out a few times, or people have mispronounced it, I have also gotten compliments on its uniqueness. To me, a name is more than a pronunciation or convenience, it is an identity.
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