Reply To: The name Shira – A Problem?

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#1160879
yichusdik
Participant

A few answers to questions that have been asked.

First, the name Feivel or Feivish. It’s actually worse than being from a christian name like Fabian. The name comes from medieval usage of the name Phoebus – one of the names of the Greek god Apollo! It was a kinui of the name Uri, meaning light, and Phoebus was a name associated with the sun. Don’t take my word for it, look it up. As someone who has researched Rabbinic genealogy for 20 years, it has come up commonly in both my family and many other yichusdik families.

Next; the name Leib may come from the German Loew, but it may also come from the Hebrew Lavi (lamed vet yud alef) for lion cub. There is actually an interesting discussion of where the old French, Latin, and Greek Leon/Leo/ and German Loew word came from, and most etymologists posit a Semitic (Hebrew or Phoenician, which are essentially the same) origin.

As to the issue with Zionist names. You know, I’d like to suggest that anyone who is able should go to visit the citadel in Akko where the old British prison was. It is now a museum. In that museum in one of the displays are the tallis and tfillin of a young man named Dov Gruner (a’h). Dov Gruner was a member of the Irgun, and he was hung in that prison by the British in 1947. He was yeshiva educated born lived and died as a frum Jew. One of the most important and meaningful elements of my first visit to eretz Yisroel was saying tehillim in the place where he was killed. My Brother is named Dov Pinchas. Dov, in honour of Dov Gruner, and Pinchas for our great great great great great grandfather Harav Pinchos Halevi Ish Horovitz, The Hafloh. From what I know of my ancestor Rav Pinchas, and his brother R’Shmuel Shmelke, and and all of our other illustrious forebears, they would have been proud of their descendant carrying the name of a gibor b’Yisroel like Dov Gruner.