First, from the Everett Fox translation and commentary ...

Quote:28 Then he said:
What is your name?
And he said: Yaakov.

29 Then he said:
Not as Yaakov/Heel-Sneak shall your name be henceforth uttered,
but rather as Yisrael/God-Fighter.
for you have fought with God and men
and have prevailed.

29 God-Fighter The name may actually mean "God fights." Buber further conjectured that it means "God rules," containing the kernel of Israel's concept of itself, but he retained "Fighter of God" in the translation.

Quote:striven with God ... In fact, names with the 'rl ending generally make Gos the subject, not the object, of the verb in the name. This particular verb, sarah, is a rare one, and there is some question about its meaning, though an educated guess about the original sense of the name would be: "God will rule," or perhaps. "God will prevail."

Quote:Striven שָׂרִיתָ (sarita), connected with the first part of יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael). But the word may ay first have been יָשָׁרְאֵל (yashar-el, the one you God makes straight), as opposed to ya-akov-el, the one whom God makes limp.

I was curious to learn what the most popular names are in the world-wide Chabad-Lubavitch community. So I took a sampling of 8,680 names from Chabad engagement and birth announcements.

The names below represent the top ten names for males and females in the Chabad-Lubavitch community, exactly as they appear in English transliteration. Transliterations obviously vary ("Chani" and "Chanie," or "Sara" and "Sarah," for example). The frequency of each name variant represents the personal preferences of those who made their engagement or birth announcements. The frequency percentage (in parentheses) for each name below is calculated from the total of the sampling that I used.

I present this data for anyone who shares an interest in names and naming.

MALE:

1. Mendy (7%): A hypocorism of the Yiddish name Mendel, which is itself a hypocorism of the Hebrew name Menachem (see below).

2. Levi (6%): A Hebrew name, meaning "joined; attached."

3. Mendel (5%): A Yiddish hypocorism of the Hebrew name Menachem (see below).

4. Yossi (4%): A hypocorism of the Hebrew name Yosef (Joseph), meaning "the Lord will add."

5. Chaim (3%): Hebrew, meaning "life; living; alive."

6. Dovid (2%): A variant of the Hebrew name David, meaning "a friend; beloved."

7. Menachem (2%): Hebrew, meaning "comforter; to comfort." The popularity of the name Menachem (and its variations) is due to honoring Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), the much-beloved spiritual leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. "Menachem Mendel" is a popular combination name.

8. Sholom (2%): Hebrew, meaning "peace."

9. Eli (2%): Hebrew, meaning "my God." Eli can be a diminutive of many Hebrew names such as Eliyahu ("my God is Lord"), Eliezer ("my God helps"), and Elimelech ("my God is king").

10. Yisroel (2%): Hebrew, meaning "nobly contended with God and prevailed." The name that the Biblical Yaakov took for himself after he wrestled with an angel of God.

FEMALE:

1. Chaya (9%): Hebrew, meaning "life; living."

2. Chana (4%): Hebrew, meaning "gracious; graceful."

3. Mushky (4%): A hypocorism of the Yiddish name Mushka (see below).

4. Chani (2%): A hypocorism of Chana (see above).

5. Devorah (2%): Hebrew, meaning "a bee."

6. Mushka (2%): A name derived from the Yiddish word מושקאט, meaning "nutmeg." The popularity of the name Mushka (and its variations) is due to honoring Chaya Mushka Schneersohn (1901-1988), the wife of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. "Chaya Mushka" is a popular combination name.

7, Chanie (2%): A variant of Chani, which is a hypocorism of Chana (see above).

8. Sara (2%): Hebrew, meaning "ruler; chieftainess; princess."

9. Rochel (2%): A variant of the Hebrew name Rachel, meaning "a ewe."

10. Nechama (2%): Hebrew, meaning "comfort; rest from anguish."

So, I just finished preparing a goat crockpot. The key question? Do I cook with a red or a white wine? I chose the former. Wish me luck.

Channalee posted this link on our last forum. It's a great site. . . Very helpful and informative.

https://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/tombstones.html

May their memory always be a blessing !

http://thisdayinjewishhistory.blogspot.com/ = Great Resource for Knowledge

That link automatically rolls over every 24 hours into a new day. Bookmark or check back for updates.

Everything I've heard on the matter has me thinking it's more commonly used among the, obviously Ashkenzic, diaspora than among Israelis now.

Great 4 part seminar happening on Chabad: https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/course...-Truth.htm

It's free and features an excellent speaker. You'll need an account to sign up. It takes just a minute. We can discuss it within this thread if anyone decides to go all in. . . .

I listened to ' Love ' last evening. It was 26 minutes. A really great speech !



Meet the Instructor

Mrs. Menucha Schochet is a Chabad emissary, educator and motivational speaker. She travels extensively inspiring students and audiences with her words and gift of music.

Has anyone ever tried powdered peanut butter? I see it's kosher and it has much less fat calories than the regular stuff. But I'm wondering how it tastes?

At the risk of possibly duplicating other threads, I'd like a better sense of who's here. So, a couple of questions ...

• Are you Jewish? If so, to which Jewish 'movement' (i.e. Orthodox, Sephardi, Mizrahi, Traditional, Conservative, Reform, Liberal/Progressive, Reconstructionist, etc.) do you identify?
  
• What is your preferred Torah translation/commentary?