This afternoon, we welcomed our daughter Nomi into the covenant of the Jewish people and gave her her Hebrew name. Below are the remarks we shared about her name.
Our sweet Nomi,
Your name, Nomi Yael, is after two of the strongest women in the Hebrew Bible.
Your first name, Nomi, is a character in the Book of Ruth who discovers her strength through acts of kindness. Nomi’s life is one that is marked by tragedy. And yet despite her life’s many challenges, “nevertheless, she persisted.” Nomi finds strength through her relationship with her daughter-in-law, Ruth. The two women go through life caring for one another, and discover that acts of kindness enable them to overcome adversity and heal.
Your middle name, Yael, is a character in the Book of Judges. In Hebrew, Yael literally means “ibex” -- which is a type of mountain goat with great, majestic horns. Standing atop a desert cliff, guarding her territory with her horns upraised, an ibex is a symbol of might and power. So too with the character Yael. She is a symbol of power -- a warrior, who uses her cunning and bravery to slay her people’s greatest foe.
Nomi Yael. Your name carries the legacy of two strong Jewish women: Nomi, who symbolizes kindness, and Yael, who symbolizes power.
As Nomi shows us, we must learn to be kind -- to practice empathy, listening, compassion, and big-heartedness. And although these qualities might sometimes be perceived as “soft,” there is a true strength in kindness -- a gentle strength that can mend what has been broken.
And as Yael shows us, we must also learn to embrace our power -- to be bold, to take a stand, to raise our voice, to protest and resist. And although these qualities are often perceived as brash when they are worn by women, the historical moment that you have been born into shows, maybe even demands, that women must step boldly into their power.
We have found, and we hope that you will find too, that life requires both of these qualities: both kindness and power, both the gentle and the bold -- Nomi and Yael.
Your middle name, Yael, is also after my [Leah's] dad, your Papa Jonny -- whose Hebrew name was Yonatan.
Your Papa Jonny had a certain magic about him -- a spark that transformed even the most everyday of activities into the most amazing adventure. If he took you out to a restaurant, he called it not just a good restaurant or his favorite restaurant -- it was “the greatest restaurant in the history of the world.” He was so taken with the magic of the iPhone that he would call you from his iPhone just to tell you that he was calling from his iPhone. And he knew how to deliver a killer toast and write a heartfelt letter -- never missing an opportunity to put pen to paper and tell the people he loved just how much they meant to him. He believed that life can and ought to feel special, to feel magical, and he wanted everyone to come along for the ride.
This magic -- his gregariousness, his playfulness, his generosity of heart -- was magnetic. People were drawn to him because he made the ordinary feel extraordinary. He was beloved everywhere he went, but it was us, his family, who were the recipients of his most spectacular magic -- his everyday, ordinary love. And although he did have a tendency for the hyperbolic, he would have actually thought that you and your sister were “the greatest in the history of the world.” And I have no doubt that you would have felt the same way about him.
Nomi Yael -- we hope that like your biblical namesakes, you will cultivate both kindness and power, recognizing the strength in both.
And we hope that like your Papa Jonny, you will discover that life can, and perhaps ought to feel magical.
But most importantly, we hope that as you carry these names with you, that you will make for yourself your own name in the world.
We love you.
***
Our sweet Nomi,
Your name, Nomi Yael, is after two of the strongest women in the Hebrew Bible.
Your first name, Nomi, is a character in the Book of Ruth who discovers her strength through acts of kindness. Nomi’s life is one that is marked by tragedy. And yet despite her life’s many challenges, “nevertheless, she persisted.” Nomi finds strength through her relationship with her daughter-in-law, Ruth. The two women go through life caring for one another, and discover that acts of kindness enable them to overcome adversity and heal.
Your middle name, Yael, is a character in the Book of Judges. In Hebrew, Yael literally means “ibex” -- which is a type of mountain goat with great, majestic horns. Standing atop a desert cliff, guarding her territory with her horns upraised, an ibex is a symbol of might and power. So too with the character Yael. She is a symbol of power -- a warrior, who uses her cunning and bravery to slay her people’s greatest foe.
Nomi Yael. Your name carries the legacy of two strong Jewish women: Nomi, who symbolizes kindness, and Yael, who symbolizes power.
As Nomi shows us, we must learn to be kind -- to practice empathy, listening, compassion, and big-heartedness. And although these qualities might sometimes be perceived as “soft,” there is a true strength in kindness -- a gentle strength that can mend what has been broken.
And as Yael shows us, we must also learn to embrace our power -- to be bold, to take a stand, to raise our voice, to protest and resist. And although these qualities are often perceived as brash when they are worn by women, the historical moment that you have been born into shows, maybe even demands, that women must step boldly into their power.
We have found, and we hope that you will find too, that life requires both of these qualities: both kindness and power, both the gentle and the bold -- Nomi and Yael.
***
Your middle name, Yael, is also after my [Leah's] dad, your Papa Jonny -- whose Hebrew name was Yonatan.
Your Papa Jonny had a certain magic about him -- a spark that transformed even the most everyday of activities into the most amazing adventure. If he took you out to a restaurant, he called it not just a good restaurant or his favorite restaurant -- it was “the greatest restaurant in the history of the world.” He was so taken with the magic of the iPhone that he would call you from his iPhone just to tell you that he was calling from his iPhone. And he knew how to deliver a killer toast and write a heartfelt letter -- never missing an opportunity to put pen to paper and tell the people he loved just how much they meant to him. He believed that life can and ought to feel special, to feel magical, and he wanted everyone to come along for the ride.
This magic -- his gregariousness, his playfulness, his generosity of heart -- was magnetic. People were drawn to him because he made the ordinary feel extraordinary. He was beloved everywhere he went, but it was us, his family, who were the recipients of his most spectacular magic -- his everyday, ordinary love. And although he did have a tendency for the hyperbolic, he would have actually thought that you and your sister were “the greatest in the history of the world.” And I have no doubt that you would have felt the same way about him.
***
Nomi Yael -- we hope that like your biblical namesakes, you will cultivate both kindness and power, recognizing the strength in both.
And we hope that like your Papa Jonny, you will discover that life can, and perhaps ought to feel magical.
But most importantly, we hope that as you carry these names with you, that you will make for yourself your own name in the world.
We love you.
