Names

This week we begin with a new book of the Torah, the second, whose name is Shmot, names. Although the classic Spanish name for this book is “Exodus”, however, the literal translation of the word is “names”.

This book begins with the servitude of the Jewish people in Egypt, continues through the redemption and giving of the Torah, and ends with matters related to Mishkan, the mobile sanctuary of the Jewish people in the desert.

All of this is related to Shmot, Names. That is, if the entire book bears that name, it means it has a relationship with the whole book, not just with a part or simply with being the first. parashah (section) of the book.

To understand this, we need to analyze what a name is. This week, someone posted an ad on Facebook that said something like, "Your qualities according to your name." I don't know where they get their information, and they probably attribute nice things to all the names—would they say anything negative about anyone? However, the idea is real... a name indicates the essence of something.

The Torah recounts creation and tells us that humankind was created last. Then God brought each creature to him, and humankind gave each one a name. But not just any name. Our sages explain that everything in the universe is created and sustained by the word of God, which is invested within that creature. That word of God is the name of that thing. Thus, the name is what gives life to each thing and therefore expresses its essence.

This obviously applies to the Hebrew name, since Hebrew was the language God used to create the world. In fact, Hebrew is different from all other languages on earth in that all the others are commonly agreed upon by people, while Hebrew is a language given by God.

With these ideas we can understand the relationship between the name of this book, Shmot, and the events that occur within it. Each person's life goes through the variations we see in the book of Shmot.

At the beginning, there is a period of servitude, a refinement process related to life's difficulties and the conflicts everyone experiences. Then there is a period of redemption from those difficulties, a personal growth that leads to elevation and a closer connection with God, similar to the Giving of the Torah. Finally, one reaches complete refinement, where the person becomes a Temple for God, corresponding to the building of the Temple in the desert (it's worth noting that the Tabernacle was built in the desert, so in our example, it symbolizes that even if a person's environment is barren in terms of Torah and Mitzvot, they can still become a Temple for God). This same process is repeated collectively, as the Jewish people, individually for each person, and specifically for each problem!

This growth process is achieved when a person discovers their own name, which points to their very essence. In this sense, the name leads the person to find themselves, to discover who they are, where they come from, and where they are going. With such a clear roadmap, this process can be successfully navigated.

That's why the book is called Shmot, Because precisely in this way, with the name, we manage to go through this process and arrive, collectively, at the final redemption, with the coming of Messiah soon in our days.