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- A new person needs a new name. That is why the rabbis instituted that converts should choose Hebrew names for their new Jewish lives. Many rabbis hold that converts should not only add a Hebrew name but also modify the given name used in pre-conversion years.
www.myjewishlearning.com/article/choosing-a-hebrew-name/
Many rabbis hold that converts should not only add a Hebrew name but also modify the given name used in pre-conversion years. Other rabbis differ, pointing to Ruth, the most famous female convert to Judaism, who did not change her Moabite name at all.
- How to Pick a Hebrew Name
Most converts choose a biblical name. There are 2,800...
- Choosing a Hebrew Name After Conversion
Many converts choose the name Ruth, the biblical figure...
- How to Pick a Hebrew Name
Many converts choose the name Ruth, the biblical figure considered to be the first convert to Judaism, while others select the names of biblical figures who embody attributes they want to emulate. Lastly, many choose modern Israeli names, which is a powerful statement as well.
- Rabbi Rachel Ain
Most converts choose a biblical name. There are 2,800 personal names in the Hebrew Bible, and although fewer than 5 percent of those are in current use, all of them are yours to consider. Many of the names in the Bible are theophoric, meaning that they exalt God.
If your parents didn't give you a brit or didn't name you at a Torah reading — or if you're a non-Jew who's converting to Judaism — you can select any Hebrew name that resonates with you. Often, people will choose a name that is phonetically similar and/or of similar meaning to their "given" name (e.g., Bernie becomes Baruch or Validmir ...
- Consider names that are similar to your English name. My Jewish name is Chaim Ezra. Though both names have deep meaning for me (more on that in a minute), I also chose it because Chaim sort of sounds like my English name, Chris, and Ezra sounds like my legal middle name, Estell.
- Look for names that suit the person you are and want to be. When I chose my Jewish names, I asked myself, “Does this name resonate with the person I am or the qualities I try to embody?”
- Think about names that have special meaning to you. My friend Sara Wolf Molnar, who became a bat mitzvah as an adult, connects her Jewish name Elisheva (which some people understand be a derivative of Elizabeth, “God is my Oath”) to both Judaism and to her childhood.
- Reflect on names that reconnect you of loved ones you’ve lost. My English middle name, Estell, was also the name of my father, z”l; in choosing Ezra as my Jewish middle name, I paid a small tribute to his memory.
Jan 12, 2012 · There are several possible reasons, including, but not limited to the following: The desire to create a new identity separate from your prior Jewish identity. The desire to mark a distinction between one conversion to another. The desire to change your “mazal,” your luck.
People also ask
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Feb 1, 2011 · A Hebrew name is a new name that a convert will choose for himself or herself as a part of the conversion. The name may be Yiddish, Ladino (the Sephardic equivalent of Yiddish), or otherwise not Hebrew.
