בס"ד

Lehava Sarah Devorah Rosenfield

We have first and foremost tremendous Hakarot Hatov to Hakadosh Baruch Hu for all of the brachot that we have been blessed with. It is not always מובן מאליו to have a happy and healthy pregnancy, labor and birth , and we are grateful to Hakadosh Baruch Hu for this little girl.  Now the fun task of  Gidul Banim begins...

Having a little baby has reminded us once again of the tremendous group of friends we have been blessed with.  It has brought both Halana and me a great feeling to know that we are surrounded by so many close friends, who care for each other deeply, who are genuinely happy for each other’s simchas, and  who are there in good time and in rough ones.  

We have been blessed Baruch Hashem with so much bracha and with such beautiful children,  Lilach, Chani, Eli, Maayan, Benaya and now Lehava.  Each of Lehava’s big brothers and sisters bring us to our faces each day.  Their wit, and funny comments, your great Divrei Torah, and simchat Hachayim brings us Baruch Hashem so much nachas, for which we have so much Hakarat hatov.  

And so we were trying to think of the appropriate name for our little girl.  We asked ourselves, ultimately, what is our message we want to impart to our little girl as she begins her life journey?

We wanted to name after my two grandmothers – my father’s mother Sarah Beila, or better known as ‘Sura Baiyla’,  and my mother’s mother Devorah, who among other things was a Bat Kohen, similar to Halana.  

We felt that it was a special zechut and segula that our little girl was born on the last day of Chanukah, on Shabbos Chanukah, and we searched for a meaningful name that would connect all of this together: Chanukah, Shabbos, Bubby Sarah Bayla and Bubby Devorah.

The idea of Lehava, meaning a flame, is clearly connected to Lehava  being born on the last day of Chanuka.  

But there is also surprisingly a reference to the word Lehava in the  Parshiyot that we have been reading lately about Yaakov and Yosef.  In the first Rashi on Parashat Vayashev, Rashi is seemingly addressing the same question on how we are to overcome our enemies, what is our secret recipe, which type of person do we need to be to successfully win this battle?

Rashi is mechadesh based on a Pasuk in Ovadya:
" מי יכול לכבוש את כולן?  מה כתיב למטה אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף, דכתיב והיה בית יעקב אש ובית יוסף להבה ובית עשו לקש. ניצוץ יוצא מיוסף שמכלה ושורף את כלם"

So it is a very unique thing to come along the word Lehava in the context of our Parshiyot.  But what is the message?  What is the significance of the Eish of  Beit Yaakov and what is the greatness of the Lehava of Beit Yosef?

The power lies within Beit Yosef, that secret weapon in order to overcome and be successful, is all summarized within the deepness of the  Lehava.   One little Nitzotz can overcome, as we know

 קצת מן האור דוחה הרבה מן החושך

The concept of the Lehava, of candles and bringing light into the world,  is also found in the personalities of  both of the biblical names of my grandmothers: Sarah and Deveorah.  This was also the life mission of my Bubby and Bubby as well.

The midrash writes of Sarah Imeinu’s home:  

"שכל זמן ששרה קיימת , היה נר דלוק מהרב שבת לערב שבת, וברכה מצויה בעיסה, וענן קשור על האהל"

The Ohel of Sarah was blessed with light always.  Sarah Imeinu was the ultimate Yiddishe Mamme.  It was always a house of Kedusha, a house always connected to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

This too was the light of my Bubby, Sarah Bayla.  Bubby was born in Ostrofse in Poland and moved to Toronto where she met my Zeide.    But Bubby was a true Yiddishe Bubby from the old country.  I was always asking her to repeat what she told me, as if she thought that I understood her Yiddish.  Bubby was the ultimate Yiddishe Mamme.  

Bubby’s bracha ba’issa extended to her famous honey cake and butter cake, to all of the unique Bubby specialties like her kreplach, galya, baked  apples,  nothings, and  of course to Bubby’s special jello that Halana still makes with our kids to this day.  

But great and unique cooking does not turn someone into an ultimate Yiddishe Mamme.  I witnessed Bubby’s own ענן קשור על האוהל  , as she did what I do not believe I have seen anywhere else:  My Bubby would be standing in her kitchen doing her thing and she would be talking to herself.  I came to realize and appreciate that Bubby was actually talking to the Aybershtier to the Ribono Shel Oylam.  My Bubby had an open line directly to Him.  Bubby also dedicated a great portion of her life towards Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael, through collecting maot chitin with a real mesirus, Emunah Women, and much more.  

   In Halana’s high school graduation yearbook they asked her what she wanted to grow up to be and Halana’s answer was that she wanted to be a Yiddishe Mamme.  It is our hope that Bubby will shine her light on our little Lehava Sarah Devorah.  

The name of my Bubbie, Devorah, is also connected to the light of the Lehava.  Devorah in Tanach is known as Devorah Haneviya Eshet Lapidot.  The mefarshim comment on these words ,Eishet Lapidot’ that she was an Eishet Chayil.  The Gemara brings on explanation that Devorah was called Eishet Lapidot  was due to the fact that she prepared the wicks to be used for the Meonorah in the Mishkan.  

If my Bubbe was the ultimate Yiddishe Mamme, I think that my Bubbie was the ultimate Eishet Chayil.  Bubbie also of course made her famous “S” cookies and not to forget her sticky Pesach honey candy.  Unlike Bubby,  Bubbie was actually born in America, in New Haven Connecitcut.  Bubbie was a learned, accomplished women, who knew a lot of Torah.  Bubbie taught young children Torah, and was also a Hebrew School principal.  And, get this, she even taught Bar Mitzvah boys to lain.  Bubbie was known for her Hachnasat Orchim.  Being close to Yale University, my Zaidy would bring home any number of guests on any given Shabbos for meals.  

Bubbie shared channeled her own Eish, or Eish Hatorah, challenging the Rabbanim on their Drasha in shul each Sahbbos.  I mean Bubbie was the first one at shul each Shabbat morning – I mean the first one, even before the men.  Bubby was very proud also of a specific family whom she personally was mikarev to Yahadut.  As Devorah Haneviya, Bubby Devorah was a spiritual leader in New Haven in her own right, bringing her light to all those around her.  I spent a lot of quality time with Bubbie in New Haven and in Monsey and I cherish those times.

In fire, there is the need for Eish and for Ohr.  This is what my father quoted from Rav Zevin’s words at my nephew Chaim’s Bar Mitzvah on the same day Lehava was born.  We each sometimes need the Eish, the inner strength, but ultimately it is the aspect of Ohr, bringing light, that we aspire to.  Although Sarah Imeinu knew to use the Eish when needed to, like when she insisted on expelling Yishmael in order to save Klal Yisrael, however Sarah’s quality of Ohr was definitely primary and well outshone the Eish.  Sarah’s Ohel of light, or Hachnasat orchim and Kedusha is what she is known for.  And Devorah Haneviya too rose to the challenges and went out even to the battlefield, bringing her Eish when it was needed.  But ultimately, she was Deveorah Haneviya, the prophetess bringing the word of Hashem and His spiritual Light to the people.  

Klal Yisrael, and especially in Eretz Yisrael, I believe, also needs both of these qualities, the strength of the emes of the Eish, to stand up for what is true and right, while allowing the beauty of the Torah and Yahadut to shine the light of the Ohr Lagoyim.

I would say that each of my grandmothers each also had a fiery side to them.  This served them well when they were trying to bring up their children in America in the mid-90’s when everyone around them was working on Shabbos and was assimilating, my Bubby and Bubby stood strong and held everyone together true to Yiddishkeit.  And their strength of character, each in her own unique way, helped them through life’s pains and challenges which they were not unfortunately spared of throughout their lives.  BUT, ultimately both Bubby and Bubby are remembered for their tremendous light they brought into the world, their connection to Klal Yisrael.

The Maccabim used their inner strength, their Eish, their M I LaHashem Eylai,  to be successful in their physical battle in order to ultimately be able to come and light their spiritual light, to light the Menorah.  

Yaakov too had to use his strength of character time and again against Eisav, Lavan and others as thus his Bayit was one of Eish.  But Yosef successfully shone the light of Hashem in the world.  Everything is connected to Ribbono Shel Olam for Yosef.   Yosef understands that Hashem is running the world and his tafkid is to bring Hashem’s light into the world.  

Lehava – you have your own lehava.

On the Friday night before you were born we learned together the unbelievable Medrash Tanchuma from Parashat Pekudei where it describes what you have been doing in Ema’s belly for the last 9 months.  How the Mal’ach watched over you, took you around the world and showed you to choose the good and follow Hashem’s ways.  And the medrash tells of how for 9 months there was a  נר דלוק על ראשה , a type of Chavrusa by candle light,  and at the split second of birth the Mal’ach blows out the candle. Lehava – now you have your Lehava , your own unique lehava.  

And finally, my Bubby was well known for her acrostics or Rashei Teivot.  Bubby would speak at each grandchild’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah or Aufruf, and would spell out the psuikm and messages by utilizing each letter of their name,  

So today Bubby we have brought the Rashei Teivot.

Throughout the pregnancy, when brainstorming boys and girls names, we asked ourselves: “What do we want from our child?  What do we want her to be or accomplish in her 120 years on this world?”  

We came up with a name that we believed captured this message: Lemaan shemo b’ahava.  If our child would live their entire life “leman shemo b’ahava” then dayenu.  We agreed on an abbreviated Leishev, a Rashei Teivot of Lemaan sehmo b’ahava.  Somehow, however,  we did not think that would go over very well as a name for our little girl.  

So, as I was standing at mincha in Shaarei Tzedek what came to me was this same message: that she should live her life Lemaan Hakadosh Baruch Hu.  Rashei Teivot of Lehava – Lemaan Hakadosh Baruch Hu

 להבה = למען הקדוש ברוך הוא  .

And so, little Lehava Sarah Devorah, we hope and daven that you will grow to be a true Lehava.  You will continue the torch of your grandmothers and your biblical namesakes, and bring much light into the world.  Be strong and affirmed in your hashkafot, tapping into your inner Eish , your inner strength and Emunah.  You have the potential to do great things, and be a great Jewish woman as your grandmothers were, and bring your own unique light, your Lehava, and make a difference around you.

And so, if Lehava, you will take this message and not only lead your life in that way but also influence others around you to live their lives this way, we can all reach the final Rashei Teivot of Lehava: Leshana Haba’a Berushalayim Habenuya

להבה = לשנה הבאה בירושלים הבניוה .  

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