"ותחיין את הילדים"(א,יז)
About 25 years ago in Israel, a family had a very sick little girl. Her only chance for recovery was to be treated by a special doctor in America. The family placed ads asking for donations to cover the cost of the trip and the treatment which was $150,000.
Eventually, Mr. Shimoni, who represented an anonymous donor, Mr. H, approached the family to offer them a donation of the entire sum needed…on the condition that they (or someone they find) agree to accept responsibility for all of Mr. H’s considerable sins and thereby enable Mr. H. entry into Olam Habah!
The desperate family had to ask Rav Asher Weiss:
Is it legitimate to “buy” Mr. H’s sins and should they do it to save their child’s life?
Rav Asher’s answer:
As Shlomo Hamelech famously said “There is nothing new under the sun”. About 120 years ago there was a similar story of a desperately poor man who could barely afford to buy food and clothes for his family. One day he came home to his wife and told her they now had enough money to live comfortably. His overjoyed, yet suspicious wife demanded to know how he became so wealthy. He had to admit to her that he took some wealthy man’s money in exchange for accepting all of the man’s sins. The wife became furious that their own Olam Habah was in jeopardy and refused to accept the deal.
The couple went to their Rav who consulted with four great Rabanim of the time:
מהרש"ם, מחנה חיים, חבלים בנעימים, אבן יקרה
They all agreed that this was nonsense.
Rav Asher concluded that so too, this arrangement is illegitimate and Mr. Shimoni should tell that to Mr. H. However, he should also tell Mr. H that he need not “sell his sins” in this manner; that if he gives such a tremendous amount of tzedakah (to save the sick child) and also does teshuvah and vidui for his sins, Hashem will surely forgive his sins and he may then merit entry into Olam Habah.
Fortunately, in the end, the kupat cholim (medical insurance) paid for everything and there was no need to take any money/
*****
ואלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים - ר"ת שביה שאפילו כשהיו בשביה "שמות בני ישראל", שלא שינו שמותם. וזהו שאמרו חז"ל (פדר"א מח) בשביל ג' דברים נגאלו ממצרים, בשביל שלא שינו שמותם וכו'
(בעל הטורים שמות פרק א פסוק א)
Charlie came from England to live in Israel about 20 years ago. Unfortunately, his Aliyah did not go very smoothly; He faced difficulties and obstacles in all aspects of his life-including not finding a job, or a wife- despite his perseverance.
One day Charlie was chatting with an Israeli boy who asked him how his name was spelled. When Charlie spelled it out for him, the young boy commented that his name actually means “I have tzores (troubles)” ---in Hebrew, "צר לי"
It occurred to Charlie that maybe his name was the source of his bad mazel. He also felt that it might be better to have a name that is a Jewish name. He started to think more about changing his name and asked Harav Ovadiah Yosef what to do. -Should Charlie change his English name (with a negative meaning) to a Jewish name?
Answer:
Harav Ovadiah Yosef: there is no need to change his name because of the meaning (Charlie – tzar li). However, it is כדאי (worthwhile) to change his name to a Jewish one since it is preferable to have a Jewish name.
Comment: In his book, מנחת אשר שמות סימן א, Rav Asher Weiss discusses this topic at length, quoting several different sources; this is a summary of what he says;
According to the Mahram Shik and some other Poskim, It is assur from the Torah to use a non-Jewish name (as it is a prohibition of “בחקותיהם לא תלכו”)
Rav Moshe Feinstein disagrees and holds that it is permissible to have a non-Jewish name. Rav Moshe points out that, in fact, even many Gedolai Yisrael had non-Jewish names; among them were: Rabbi Chiah Ben Rabbi Titus (mentioned in the Yerushalmi Talmud), and in the times of the Rishonim, Rabbi Peter (mentioned in Tosefot Gitin), and Rabbi Vidal (the author of the commentary on the Rambam ‘Magid Mishneh’).
Rav Asher adds that although it is halachically permissible to use a non-Jewish name (especially if needed for business purposes) it is advisable for Jewish people to refer to each other using their Jewish names (if they have one). The reason is that there are many sources in the Gemara and from the Poskim that suggest that a person’s name has much influence on him (see Yoma 83 רבי מאיר מדייק בשמא..." ) .
