Baby-Naming Explanation: Amalia

And her name will be known as Amalia and here is why:

As we named our daughter today, this week’s Haftara¹ concludes by posing one of life’s most pertinent problems: “what is good and what does God seek from you?” The answer to this complex question is surprisingly simple, “performing justice, the love of kindness and walking humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). If there is one blessing we can give to our precious new child in this complicated world it is this. Ahavat chesed, the love of kindness, is embedded between asot mishpat, meaning performing justice (the letters of which are עמ [am]) and hatznea lechet im-elokecha, walking humbly with your God (with the letters לי-ה [lamed-yod-heh] and reinforcing its meaning). The Talmud ([b.] Sukkah 49b) explains this to basically mean that one should be a decent person and not seek out fanfare for the good and kindness we do in this world. Amalia serves as an acronym, containing this sacred task of every person, something that we pray our Amalia will live on a daily basis.

Each child is born at a specific time in a specific place for a specific reason. This last year has been one of the most significant in our lives for many reasons. We closed the chapter of the first stage of our children’s lives in Australia and opened a new chapter in Israel. Only this week, Renana’s parents made aliya, signifying for the first time in thousands of years, a moment when her entire family is living in Israel, with Amalia serving as the youngest—the greatest extension of this legacy. On my family’s side, Amalia is the first born-Israeli in thousands of years—the leader of the next generation in this exciting journey. From both perspectives, she completes and begins a new chapter in our familial story, representative of the odyssey of the Jewish people—something that could not have been imagined by our great-grandparents and one that serves as one of the greatest miracles of our time. For her to be born as the Jewish people is being reborn in our ancestral homeland underscores the unique promise and potential that her life represents.

Amalia contains within it the word aliya and the letter mem. The meaning here of aliya, ascending to Israel as our family has just done and ascending always in life as a value is qualified with the letter mem which is the numerical value of 40. The minimum measurement for a mikveh is 40 seah, the rain poured in the story of Noah for 40 days, Moses studied in Sinai for 40 days, and the examples continue of 40 representing purity and completion, something that we should always strive to ascend towards. But this, of course, acknowledges the work of the past and requires work for the future and this message is captured in Amalia’s name.

The name Amalia comes from two distinct words—amal meaning work or toil and y-a meaning God. There are two ways redemption can happen—one is referred to in Kabbalah as an itareruta dil’ela (awakening from above), that which is initiated by God, and the other is an itareruta dil’tata (awakening from below), that which is initiated by humans. Both can be separated as distinct processes, but we can never know which will occur or what to rely on. The ideal state is activating both, for God helps those that help themselves—our job is to work as hard as we possibly can to achieve the best we possibly can and at the same time, to have faith that God will ensure that which is meant to happen. Some read Amalia as “working for God” and others as “God’s work.” Our blessing to our daughter is embracing and balancing both.

We pray this equilibrium can be achieved not just in her personal or familial context, nor just our beloved state, but representing our incredible nation. Amalia can also be read as am l’y-a, the nation of God, (similar to a way we can read Yisrael [Israel], that is yashar e-l—straight to God). Encapsulating this national name within her personal name is a challenge to incorporate this national consciousness in her personal identity and vice versa. We live in a time of growing apathy and assimilation outside of Israel and division within Israel. When it comes to our communal past, our covenant of fate we come together, but it is time we reconnect to our common future, our covenant of faith. An am (nation) on its own is limited, but when it connects to a collective commitment, l’y-a, infinity, its potential is limitless. This requires true leadership—to allow us to attach ourselves beyond ourselves will free ourselves from ourselves and allow us to achieve anything.

We are here in this world to make a difference, “for man was born to work (amal)” (Job 5:7). We all work in something—we pray that Amalia works for a purpose and finds purpose in her work. As our first tzabarit, the pioneering Israeli-born Levy in thousands of years, taking a crucial role in the am l’y-a, nation of God, embracing the faith of purpose in amalia, God’s handiwork, through amalia, working for a higher purpose, may you merit to asot mishpat veahavat chesed v’hatzne’a lechet im elokecha, “performing justice, the love of kindness and walking humbly with your God,” and inspire us all to do the same!