Get Think Jewish Delivered to your Home or Office
HOME | CONTACT US | DONATE LoginLOGIN Ask the RabbiASK THE RABBI
Chabad.org - Torah, Judaism and Jewish Info Ask the Rabbi
 
Chabad.org » Learning & Values » Questions & Answers » Ask the Rabbi » Latest Questions » The Details » Why Simcha Bunim?
PrintSend this page to a friendShare this
CommentComment

Why Simcha Bunim?


Question:

My grandfather's name was Simcha Bunim. I know Simcha means happiness, but what does Bunim mean, and why are these names a pair?

Response:

Some explain that Bunim is a Yiddishized version of Bonhomme, the French name meaning "good man" (similar to the German/Yiddish name Guttman). Accordingly, they write, there is no apparent reason why this name is paired up with Simcha.

However, I found a fascinating explanation brought in the Beis Shmuel.

(Authored by Rabbi Shmuel ben Uri Shraga Faivesh, a seventeenth century Torah scholar who served various communities in Poland and Germany, this work is one of the primary commentaries to the part of the Shulchan Aruch dealing with the laws of Marriage and Divorce. Since the names in a divorce documents must all be spelled accurately, as a supplement to the laws of divorce, the work includes a list of the correct ways to spell many common and not-so-common Jewish names.)

He writes that the name Bunim is actually a diminutive of Benjamin, Jacob's youngest son. After he was born, his mother Rachel named him Ben Oni, meaning "son of my pain," since she was about to die from childbirth. His father changed it to Benjamin (alternatively translated as "son of my old age" or "son of the right"), and this became his name. It is therefore common to join Bunim to Simcha, which means joy and happiness, to temper the sadness and pain with which it is normally associated.

PrintSend this page to a friendShare this
CommentComment

By Baruch S. Davidson   More articles...  |   RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author
Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson is a member of the Chabad.org Ask the Rabbi team.
All names of persons and locations or other identifying features referenced in these questions have been omitted or changed to preserve the anonymity of the questioners.

The content on this page is copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org, and is produced by Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with the copyright policy.
 



 


The Details
What's up with the dots in Hebrew letters?
What blessings should I say on rice?
Can I collect debts after a Shemitah year?
Can we get married between Yom Kippur and Sukkot?
Why are Ammonite and Moabite men punished?
What is so special about Rosh Chodesh?
Why say "gezuntheit" after a sneeze?
Why Simcha Bunim?
Did Joseph Marry Out?
Where Was Isaac After the Binding?
Why Wear Tzitzit If We Are Not Obligated?
Do Contradictions in Scripture Prove Human Authorship?
Who Engraved the Second Tablets?
Why Don’t Jews Say G‑d’s Name?
Is Animal Testing Permitted in Judaism?
Showing 217 - 231 of 319