Naming children can be intense. Some parents peruse through hundreds of names in search for the perfect sound while others agonize over which ancestor to honor. The rules can differ based on communities. Ashkenazim traditionally never name after a living ancestor while Sefardim consider it the greatest honor. Baby naming can be the source of much speculation and drama but it's a small price to pay for the joy of welcoming new life into the world.
Rest assured whichever name the parents settle on is certainly meant to be. The Kabbalistic masters explain that an individual's name is their conduit to divine life, energy and inspiration, and naming a child is a mini prophecy gifted to each child's parents.
In this week's parsha we learn how Yaakov built the first Jewish family. He ended up having twelve boys and one girl and each time the respective mother gave the name based on her unique experience with that child's birth. Our matriarchs were prophetesses and the names they gave their children came to define their lineage in so many ways.
Leah was the first to have children, and she named her first son to reflect her relief at being able to have children despite her anguish (Reuven) and the fourth to simply give thanks for the gift (Yehuda).
Rachel experienced much drama in having children. While her sister Leah gave birth immediately after marriage, she was infertile for many years.Rachel cried and prayed for seven years until she finally conceived and gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She named him Yosef which means "addition" and simply said "Oh G-d, please give me another one!"
Rachel's prayer was not simply the desperate wish of a mother to have at least one more child. She articulated a profound rallying cry that would come to define how Jews would forever ensure a Jewish future.
The words of her prayer can be read like this: “May G-d grant that I transform a stranger into a son.” Judaism is a family and at times some children can feel estranged from their heritage and home. They have no access to the language and the specifics of our glorious traditions seem foreign and archaic to them.
The mitzvah of “Having Another One” obviously means bringing more children to the world, but this mitzvah is relevant even to those who are not yet or no longer at the age and stage of growing their families. Seek out a Jew who feels like a “stranger” to Judaism and transform them into a “child” of Judaism. When we ensure that every Jew feels at home in the synagogue, at the seder table and at a Torah class, we are doing our part to grow the Jewish family. And like Rachel, when you succeed with one, pray to G-d that you can do the same for another.