Hayom Yom: Tackling Life's Tasks - 7 Nissan

To Fill In the Background

East European Jews found no particular use for family names until, in the time of the Alter Rebbe, they were compelled by the law of the land to use them for civil registration. (Even when family names were then adopted, their spellings and even the names themselves were not necessarily fixed.) Until that time, in the absence of family names, people bearing identical personal names had been informally identified among their acquaintances by their occupation, township, father’s or mother’s name, distinguishing features, and the like.

We find that the Talmud, the Kabbalah and Chassidus commonly relate to the significance of personal names. For example, it is recorded that R. Meir drew conclusions about a person’s integrity by examining his personal name.5 Similarly, it is written that the Divine life-force that animates any individual is drawn down to him via the letters that constitute his name in the Holy Tongue.6 Likewise, in the case (G‑d forbid) of a person who is seriously ill, it is customary in some circles to change his name. These statements all relate to personal names.

Nevertheless, nothing is mere coincidence; everything can teach a lesson in our Divine service. Accordingly, family names also carry significance. Thus, in a few cases, the Rebbe advised a chassid to change his Yiddish-based familyname because it had a harsh connotation, and he once spoke at a farbrengen7 about the positive connotations of the Yiddish-based family name of one of his prominent emissaries who had recently passed away.