Comments on: My Name is Not Neil

By: Gershon Seif

Gershon Seif — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 17:14:56 +0000

I thought it was totally frum from birth

By: Ora

Ora — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 15:36:57 +0000

For those who can read Hebrew, this is an awesome names site: http://www.moriya.org.il/Name/Name1.asp

from Moriya–it gives the meaning of various names (including some that aren’t recommended, so be sure to check), and also a link (on the right) to a list of possible pasukim for each name. I’ve always used the same two pasukim that were in my siddur, and I feel connected to them so I’m keeping them, but apparently I could have chosen from a few hundred different ones as well.

By: Chaya Houpt

Chaya Houpt — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 11:37:13 +0000

Rishona–Yay, that’s great news about your conversion. If you want name help, as I said, I’m super into namees, so feel free to email me at chaya dot houpt at gmail.

As for the pasuk thing, I LOVE my pasuk. It’s from eshet chayil. When I was a madricha, my girls got me a shtender with that verse printed on it. Very cute. I don’t think it particularly describes me or anything, I just find it inspiring, like all of eshet chayil.

By: tffb

tffb — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 12:25:35 +0000

token frum from birth :-)

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 02:43:48 +0000

tffb (theoretically frum from birth?)

I believe that it’s recommended to use the first name.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 02:39:32 +0000

tffb,
I have two names and use two pesukim, one for each name. I started doing this when I was very young and my father found the pesukim (before Artscroll existed).

By: tffb

tffb — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 01:47:36 +0000

what do you do for people with two names? do you use the first letter of the first name and the last letter of the second name? Use a posuk associated with the first name only? Or two psukim?

By: Fern R

Fern R — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:31:56 +0000

I had looked up the verse for my name a long time ago, but I had forgotten it. So I just looked it up again. I’m not sure I’m worthy of the verse associated with my Hebrew name:

“Fortunate is he who is thoughtful of the poor, [for] the Lord will save him on the day of evil.”
–41:2

By: Rishona

Rishona — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 18:26:32 +0000

The “Hebrew Name” issue has been on my mind lately. I know that converts take on a Hebrew name; and I’ve been going through…looking and I can’t seem to find any that I’ve taken a likely to.

This week, for the first time, I met with the Av Beis Din who will be overseeing my conversion. It was just an informal first meeting; in that I am not a member of his synagogue, and he wanted to meet me (B’ezras Hashem, he said that I should be able to convert in a few months!). He also commented that I have a Hebrew name already, which is amazing. I wonder what that means? Perhaps I won’t get a new name?

If anything, I would like to move my first name to be a middle name; to be grammatically correct Hebrew…it’s an adjective that means “first” so whatever it follows it would mean “First…”. Just have to figure out what the other name should be!

By: Neil Harris

Neil Harris — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:41:11 +0000

It’s a little weird how these pasukim seem to work…thanks for commenting.

By: Jeff Neckonoff

Jeff Neckonoff — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:29:09 +0000

Wow. It is pretty much right on target.

This week especially I’ve been in some heavy duty online skirmishes with some messies, one in particular…. named “Shmekel”.

With Hashem’s help, I’ll emerge victorious.

By: Neil Harris

Neil Harris — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:15:47 +0000

“120:2 O Lord, save my soul from false lips, from a deceitful tongue.” (from chabad.org, whhich has the JPS library online w/ Rashi)

If this is your pasuk..how cool! In light of your current projects!!!

By: Jeff Neckonoff

Jeff Neckonoff — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:07:34 +0000

Now you asked for it.

I just looked in the back of my Artscroll Siddur, and ARGH!

My Hebrew reading skills are not much better than they were after Bar Mitzvah in 1979.

So, would I be Yud/Hed, corresponding to Tehillim 120:2?

My Hebrew name is Yehudah Mikel.
If I am wrong, can you please tell me what my verse is.

Thank you,
Jeff

By: JR

JR — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 13:29:40 +0000

Yes, your name expresses your essence but I haven’t heard that the pasuk does. In fact, there can be multiple pesukim that one could possibly pick for their name which start and end with those letters.

I don’t see anything particularly revealing about the pasuk I chose for my name: “O Israel, hope in HaShem; for with HaShem there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

By: Chaya Houpt

Chaya Houpt — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 13:29:07 +0000

Cousins of ours called us last night and asked for help in choosing their daughter’s Hebrew name. My husband put me on the phone, because I am into names. I am generating some ideas, but it’s overwhelming for the precise reasons that Neil raises. How do you make suggestions for something that will speak to a person’s essence. Ack.