Shabbat Parashat Shemot 5784

Parashat Hashavua: What’s in a Name? – About Shem, Sham, and Makom

As we begin Sefer Shemot (Names), it is a good time to clarify what a shem is, as well as appreciate the significance of its being used together with the identically spelled sham (there).

Adam’s first activity after being created was to give names to all of the other animals created, and the Torah immediately points out that Adam did not find a mate (Bereishit 1:19-20). What is the significance of the naming and how is it connected to his wife, whom he called Chava after she was created (ibid. 3:20)?

Adam unfortunately did not “call out in Shem Hashem.” Avraham was the first one to do so, and he did so in conjunction with erecting altars for the service of Hashem (ibid. 12:7-8). In those p’sukim, the Torah repeatedly uses the word sham to stress the places where he acted in service of Hashem. Thus, there is a uniting of the words of shem and sham. What is their logical connection?

When the Torah discusses the place he chose for the Beit Hamikdash, it is called the “makom (place) he chose to place His Name there (lasum shemo sham).” The Torah continues with the mitzva to go shama and sacrifice shama (Devarim 12:5-6).

In order to understand sham, let us look at the first time its root comes up, actually in the first pasuk of the Torah, referring to shamayim, the heavens. Among the many attempts to explain the word shamayim, let us suggest that it is the plural, so to speak, of sham. In other words, the heavens represents all of the places where Hashem appears in the physical world. Having the heavens (or Heavens) represent Hashem is famous in expressions like yirat shamayim and “min hashamayim tenuchamu.”

Regarding Adam’s naming, giving a name is an expression of touching its essence, which is first and foremost, its connection with Hashem. This is true of every person’s name, so that the naming of a baby so early in his life is of great significance. It is also one of the first questions a person is asked after his death (Semachot, Chibut Hakever 1:6). After Adam named all the animals, he realized that he needed a wife who could connect him to Hashem through the close relationship between them.

Avraham realized upon coming to Eretz Yisrael that this was the place in which he could successfully call out in the Name of Hashem. His activities of this nature are captured with the use of the words: shem, sham, and makom, which is parallel to shamayim. The presence of these words hints at the Divine Presence.

Shemot, the book of the Chumash that announces the emergence of a holy nation, not just holy individuals, tells of an unbreakable bond created between the nation and Hashem. May we merit Divine Presence in our home by virtue of succeeding in building a family that gives a home for the Presence to dwell. May the nation as a whole and every individual within it, always remember that we have a special name and a special connection to Hashem.

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