Choosing a Hebrew Name
When naming a child, parents are often faced with a great deal of outside pressure. Family, friends, co-workers--everybody has an opinion. Stressed-out parents should feel some relief knowing that, according to Jewish tradition, parents have ruach hakodesh , Divine inspiration, when choosing a name. In most Sephardi communities, it is customary to name children after grandparents (or relatives other than parents) either living or dead. In fact, there is even a preferred order: the first child is named after a paternal grandparent, the second after a maternal grandparent (a living grandparent may forgo the honor if they wish). The source for this custom in Genesis 38, when Jacob’s son Judah marries. The Torah explicitly states that Judah chose the name of the first child and his wife chose the name of the second. This verse is also the source of the common Ashkenazi custom that the father names the first child, the mother names the second, and they continue to alternate. It is interest...