What's In a Name?

This week's parasha is called "Shmot", meaning "Names", and, of course, that is also what we call the whole second book of the Torah that this parasha inaugurates. Bereishit is the book of creation, while Shmot is the book of revelation and redemption, where we are freed from Mitzrayim and given the Torah. The Latin name for the book of Shmot is Exodus, which seems on the surface to be a more appropriate name for this book of going-out and redemption. So what is the connection between "names" and "redemption"?
The Torah lists the names of all the twelve tribes at the very beginning of the parasha, and then emphasizes that the slavery didn't begin until after that whole generation died. Once the slavery begins, there are no longer names, there are only numbers. Par'oh refers repeatedly to Am Yisrael as "rav": numerous. There is a striking absence of names when relating Moshe's parents' marriage: "A man went from the house of Levi and he took a daughter of Levi," and they give birth to "a son." Again, when Moshe goes out and sees the situation in Mitzrayim, he sees only anonymous figures - an Egyptian hitting a Hebrew, two Hebrews fighting. No names. And in the exceptions we see the rule, for who has a name during the slavery? The Hebrew midwives, Shifra and Puah have names. They who stood up against Par'oh's decree, who feared G-d and not people, they have names. And of course Moshe who will free us all has a name.
Why does the Torah tell us the names of the tribes again at the beginning of the parsha - we already know them all from Sefer Bereishit. Rashi tells us that G-d wanted "to count them again by their names to let them know how beloved they are to Him, that they are compared to stars", each of which is counted and named by G-d. This is an important point. A name is much more than just information. It can convey dignity, worth, and belovedness, especially when the name is repeated: "Moshe, Moshe" Hashem calls at the burning bush, just as he once called "Avraham, Avraham" - Rashi tells us these are calls of love.
In fact, the Midrash says that every time that G-d told Moshe a new piece of Torah, he called out to him "Moshe, Moshe" as he did at the burning bush. The Zohar states that the whole Torah is composed of names of G-d. Ways to call to G-d, to show our love of G-d. Yet before each piece of Torah, before each new name for Himself that He revealed to Moshe, G-d called Moshe's name. Because how can a Jew really receive a piece of Torah is he doesn't know that G-d loves him?
Reb Shlomo once said that the reason we call G-d "HaShem", the Name, is because the more one is aware of G-d, the more we see that nothing is just numbers, statistics, information. All of creation, and especially each human being created as we are in G-d's image, is a "star," possessed of great dignity and beloved.
Another Midrash: The Sages teach us that the names of the tribes are mentioned here again, because each of their names hints at the redemption. For example Reuven hints at G-d seeing our suffering, Shimon hints at G-d hearing our cries, Levi (which means to join or accompany) to G-d being together with us in our suffering. (The full midrash is Midrash Rabbah, Shmot, ä') My friend Leibish, who is joyously visiting Eretz Yisrael again now, pointed out that what this means is that the redemption of Am Yisrael was hidden in their names, and the redemption comes from each Jew finding his name again, touching that deep place of self.
Yet to call it "self" could be misleading. It's true that a name distinguishes a person from another. Yet the whole reason he needs a name is for the sake of another. Name means "my unique being, sharing and in relation to another." For this reason, it is said in Kabbalah that the purpose of creation was that G-d wanted to reveal his names, to share His being with others.
Everyone knows that the redemption really started when the Jews finally sighed and screamed out to G-d (2:23.) The Izhbitzer Rebbe says that this expression of pain didn't initiate the process of redemption, rather it showed that the redemption had already begun. We had already begun to sense that we have names, are unique and beloved - and that was why suddenly the state of slavery and alienation hurt so much. The midrash says the Jews didn't cry for hundreds of years - can you imagine, being enslaved, even the decree to kill all the Jewish boys, and no tears? We felt worthless, what do you expect, that's just reality. The beginning of redemption was sensing that we didn't deserve to be cut off from our souls, from our names. And from feeling the pain of that, we began to cry out and pray to G-d, and G-d saved us. Good Shabbos to all!