With this month's column I am beginning a series on the Jewish Life Cycle. I will continue throughout the various stages of Jewish Life in future bulletin issues. I welcome your questions and comments. Please feel free to contact me at rabepach@bnaimoshe.org.

What to Name Your Jewish Baby

Selecting the name for another person is one of life's most exciting and challenging opportunities. Ever since Adam and Eve, the human being has been granted the privilege and responsibility for choosing names for plants, animals, and yes, for children. As Jews, we have the added task of selecting a Hebrew name. The following are some guidelines to help you in this most sacred of tasks:

  1. The child's Hebrew name should be chosen by his/her parents. Grandparents and clergy can give helpful advice, but ultimately the parents have the final word, and must not shirk this responsibility.

  2. Devote the same amount of time and energy in choosing a Hebrew name as you do in choosing a secular name. Your child deserves a Hebrew name which is selected with love and careful thought.

  3. The custom among Ashkenazim (including Jews from Russian, Polish and Hungarian descent) is to name a child after a deceased relative. While this is a good custom, you should nonetheless give your child a name which you really like.

  4. Use Hebrew, not Yiddish names. Hebrew is the eternal and universal language of the Jewish people. For a deceased relative with a Yiddish name, find a Hebrew name with a similar meaning and/or sound.

  5. You can use the deceased relative's name as your child's middle name, if necessary.

  6. Have your child's Hebrew and secular names be equivalent, or at least very similar. If you're calling your child David, then his Hebrew name must be David. Enough said!

  7. Naming a daughter after a man, or a son after a woman, is not impossible, but it's a bit tricky. Give your children names which are gender appropriate.

  8. Tell your child frequently about the person for whom he/she is named. Make sure the person you're naming after is someone you will be proud to talk about.

  9. Get yourself a good source for Hebrew names. A few I can recommend include:

    • The New Name Dictionary (Alfred J. Kolatch)
    • The Complete Book of Hebrew Names (Smadar Shir Sidi)
    • The Second Jewish Catalog (Michael and Sharon Strassfeld)
    • The Even-Shoshan Hebrew-Hebrew Dictionary
I wish each of you a sweet New Year. With this Rosh Hashanah, I begin my tenth year at Congregation B'nai Moshe, and I join my family in thanking you for the opportunity to share in your lives.