Every Jew Has Three Names

Synopsis: The Confident and Jew!

The Jewish people are a riddle. We are funny, we are wise, we are kevtchy, we are stubborn. Today, at the beginning of the Jewish New Year, let us try to understand ourselves a bit better. Who are we? And what is our purpose?

In the Bible, we are known by many names: Jew. Israelite. Hebrew.

In the Torah, names are fraught with meaning. They signify certain aspects of an individual’s or nation’s character and destiny. And so the names by which we are known — Jew, Hebrew, Israelite — were not given to us indiscriminately. They represent certain values and philosophies that guide our lives, as individuals and as a people.

In The Confident Jew, we explore these three names and how they guide us toward truly living Jewishly in the modern world. These lessons are brought home with fascinating and uplifting anecdotes and vignettes, including:

• The Jew who didn’t like being a Jew but ended up saving the day in 1948
• The rabbi who outsmarted the attorney
• The Jewish attorney that stuck to his principles
• The fascinating social experiment with an inspiring caveat
• The businessman whose business was snuffed out, but not his soul

Help your community identify more deeply with their Jewishness and enable them to become The Confident and Jew!