Lech Lecha: The Names We Grow Into

When we think about Parashat Lech Lecha, we think of Abraham and the journey that begins with Hashem’s words: “Lech Lecha,” “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house.” Abraham leaves behind everything familiar and sets out toward an unknown future. Sarah, his wife, and Lot, his nephew, accompany him on this journey, facing the uncertainties of a completely new life together.

Let’s take a closer look at Sarah’s role. At the beginning of the parasha, she is called Sarai. Near the end of the parasha, in chapter 17, something remarkable happens. Hashem says to Abraham: “Your wife Sarai, you shall not call her Sarai, for Sarah is her name.” Rashi, drawing on the Talmud in Berakhot 13a, gives a beautiful interpretation of this change. Sarai means “my princess”, a princess to me, but not to others, to a small and exclusive circle. Sarah, without the possessive, becomes “princess” in a broader sense, a princess overall, for everyone. Her identity is no longer defined only in relation to one person or a small circle. Her significance expands, as she will become one of our Matriarchs, a figure for generations.

Abraham goes through a similar transformation. Abram becomes Abraham, and the Torah explains the new name itself: “Av Hamon Goyim,” “father of a multitude of nations.” Both names grow wider, while keeping a connection to the original.

But what I find even more interesting is not only that their names change. It is when they change.

Hashem tells Abraham to leave at the very beginning of the parasha, and only in chapter 17 do their names change. By then, they have been on the journey for many years, but they are still not at the end. They have experienced uncertainty, difficult decisions and moments of faith. Only then does Hashem give them names that reflect both the people they have become and the people they are still becoming. I think that is powerful, because we often imagine transformation as a single moment: We leave one place and arrive in another, we receive a new document, we choose a new name. We start or complete a process. But Sarah’s story suggests something different.

Her name changes because her journey has already changed her. And yet she is still in the middle of it. That is why the new names look in two directions at once. They recognize who Sarah and Abraham have become until now, and they call them toward who they will be. Abraham is called “father of a multitude of nations” before Isaac is even born. His new name describes not only what he is at that moment, but something he is still going to become.

Maybe this is also where we can draw a connection to the journey of giyur. Abraham’s Lech Lecha is not simply a journey from one place to another, but a journey that transforms his identity, his relationship with Hashem, and his place within the story of the Jewish people. In a similar way, a giyur is not merely a transition from one status to another, but a journey of learning and belonging. Like Abraham, those who embark on this journey do not need to have everything figured out from the beginning. Through study and the gradual discovery of what it means to live a Jewish life, their understanding of themselves and their relationship to the Jewish people continues to develop. Some may already have a Hebrew name, while others may choose one along the way. And just as Abraham and Sarah receive their new names while their journey is still unfolding, a person does not have to reach the end of their journey for their growth to be recognized. A name can reflect who a person has become along the way, while still pointing toward who they are yet to become.

So maybe the question is not only, “What will my new name be?”

It is also: “Who am I becoming as I carry that name?”