What’s in a Name?

“What’s in a name?” William Shakespeare famously asks. He answers his own question: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Well, Bill, that may or may not be true in the botanical world, but for human beings, it’s just plain wrong.

Names matter.

Look at Tanach, where names from A to Z (Avraham to Zechariah, for example) are significant. In Sefer Shmuel, Avigayil states it clearly. Describing her husband, Naval, she says, k’shmo ken hu, he is like his name. In our everyday lives, we know that names can connect us to the past, can impact on how we see ourselves, and can affect how others see us.

Join the Sisters (who share the name Stark, which means strong!) as we look at some of the names we’ve encountered: the name of a child, the name of a “nameless” stranger, and the name of a grandfather whose name lives on in us.