The Loss of My Hebrew Name in Israel

When I applied for an Israeli ID and passport as a new immigrant in 2017 the Israeli immigration official told me that I could not use the Hebrew name that had been given to me at birth in America, instead I had to transliterate my English name with Hebrew letters. I felt robbed, pickpocketed, fleeced. My Hebrew name was a legacy of the Bible, the Talmud, and even Hasidic song. I preferred my diploma from Hebrew School in Boston, Massachusetts to my Israeli passport (Click on attached document).

Diploma from Hebrew School in America

I loved my full Hebrew name Eliezer Simcha Sumchus which had Biblical and Talmudic echoes. For fun, I would sometimes introduce myself as Abraham’s servant Eliezer or the descendant of the Talmudic sage Sumchus, and perhaps sing the lyrics to “Simcha is a big mitzvah.” My father, a modern Orthodox Rabbi, with whom I had studied Talmud in my youth, told me that the sage Sumchus was not allowed to be ordained as a rabbi because he was a student of Rabbi Meir, and the other rabbis were afraid of Rabbi Meir’s sharp mind, and his students might control the outcome of every halacha. Sumchus claimed that a sage required the ability to argue both sides of an issue. Sumchus’s attitude suited me. I loved his decision in the case where two individuals hold onto the same object and assert ownership: according to Sumchus they divide its value. I was a socialist back then, an idealist.