accomplishments because remaining in the course depended on my team’s vote. How they viewed me and the name I gained through my actions served as a determining factor for my success. Later in life, while working with teenagers, I witnessed again how crucial is the name we create simply by behaving in a certain way. I had countless conversations with teens as well as adults regarding the importance of their actions as a true portrayal of who they are.
The rabbis concluded that the name we make for ourselves is the best one of all. What makes it best of all? The name we create for ourselves is the sum of all the actions we have engaged in throughout our lives. The good deeds we did, the interactions we had, and the conversations in which we took part.
With the hope that all of us desire to create a name for ourselves that will not only make us proud, but also be truthful to who we are, let’s come up with a few thoughts and actions to illuminate the name we have chosen for ourselves.
Your Personal Lev Moment
1 1.If you do not know whom you were named after or for, do a bit of research. Why did your parents give you this name?
2 2.Ask friends and family you trust: What are the names they have given you? It will usually be adjectives that remind them of you. Ask them why they gave this name to you? How did you earn that name?
3 3.What name would you give yourself?
4 4.Using the concept “name” in the broadest sense (to reflect a person’s identity), what are your three names? Which names would you want? What might you want your children’s names to be?
5 5.What makes the name you have given yourself the best of all? When might it not be the best name of all? On what does it depend?
6 6.Explain the nature of your three names and observe their differences and similarities.
Where Are You Going?
I am always fascinated at how the Hebrew language conveys more meaning than meets the eye. The Hebrew language is a root-based language, meaning words in the Hebrew language are mostly constructed using three main consonants. Since there are a finite number of roots, there are many words that share the same root. This means words may be connected in a meaningful and particular way.
Let’s take, for example, two words that share the same root, conscience and compass. In Hebrew, the word for conscience is matzpoon, written in Hebrew as
What is a “conscience”? It is that inner voice or feeling telling us the direction of where we want to go, i.e., the difference between right and wrong. I truly believe human beings are born with this ability, the ability to know intuitively where they need to go, both spiritually and physically. Often, Jewish writings indicate that if you really listen to what your conscience whispers, you will know the correct next step to take.
Although in English these two words, conscience and compass, have nothing in common (at least not in their spelling), in Hebrew they are very much related. By using our matzpen, or compass, we can know the direction we are going, and if we follow our matzpoon, or conscience, we will arrive there safely.
Wait, there is more! This three-letter root also makes up the word that means “hidden,” tzafoon (
Your Personal Lev Moment
1 1.Have you had a time in your life when you needed to go somewhere but your conscience resisted you? How did you convince yourself to do the right thing? Did you go to someone you trust to ask their advice? If a similar situation happens again, would you have a clearer direction?
2 2.Have you had instances in your life when you felt your spiritual destination, your soul destiny, was hidden from you? What happened that eventually shed light onto the situation? What did you do to find clarity? Did you pray for guidance? At what point did you leave it to the universe, or God, to show you the way? How did it feel to let go of your need to know and be in control?
3 3.This week, focus on the concept of your destination. What destination will make you feel you have used your compass and your conscience to make known all that is hidden to you right now?
4 4.Can you make peace with the idea of not knowing where you are going at times? Can you be satisfied living with situations that seem unclear? Can you hang out in a place that is unknown? How does it make you feel?
Focus on and nourish your conscience this week and make it a week in which you realize your direction, a week when the hidden will become revealed.
Know Your Roots!
If you haven’t figured out by now, I love the Hebrew language. No surprise, of course—I am, after all, an Israeli!
As I have mentioned before, Hebrew is a root-based language, meaning every word in the Hebrew language has three or four Hebrew letters that constitute its root. A combination of root letters can be shared in many different words, creating connection between words. This is something unique only to the Hebrew language.
Let’s take another example I love—the word masoret, which in English means “tradition.” The root for the word masoret consists of the three Hebrew letters mem, samech, and reish (
On the other hand, the word kadima in Hebrew, meaning “forward,” consists of three Hebrew letters kaf, dalet, and mem (
The more you learn Hebrew, the more you will love it!
Your Personal Lev Moment
1 1.What traditions do you pass forward to your family? From whom did you learn them? Why do you still practice these traditions? How do they reflect your values? Which ones make you feel most proud? When you pass your traditions onto your family, what is their reaction? What are the ways you pass them on? Does your family find the traditions as meaningful as you do?
2 2.Can you create a new tradition to pass on to your