“Because while naming is fascinating thing worthy of much conversation, it also turns out that some people enjoy a particular parlor game of learning the birth names of transpeople.”

“For me my change of name was not and continues not to be related to my change in gender.”

“But perhaps there is a line of newness beyond which a new name is demanded.”

I found the new essays regarding Dr. S Bear Bergman’s experience as a trans person in a Jewish community to be interesting. Bear Bergman’s relationship with his name seemed very unique to me. As he discusses birth names are often a source of great dysphoria for trans individuals and they do not wish to be addressed as such, especially by their family. On the contrary Bear allows his parents, his Grandmothers, and a few old family friends to refer to him as Sharon. He also describes carrying this first name around, and that for banking and traveling purposes he uses the Israeli pronunciation, Sha-RONE. I also found it interesting that his change in name is not at all related to his gender, but his associated to how he views himself and feels. The act of naming carries a lot of power which Bear highlights throughout his essay. One thing that I did not know that I found interesting was how Askenazi Jews do not name a newborn after a living relative out of the belief that the Angel of Death is searching for elders whose time are are up and might accidentally take the child instead. There is also the tradition renaming the child if they become gravely ill. This tradition in itself highlights the power of naming, and the weight various cultures view a name having.