Below is the teaching of Chaplain (soon to be Rabbi) Adam Ruditsky in conjunction with the book Preparing yourself for the High Holidays.
רפואה מן התורה
Among the ways to repent for the one
turning is … to change his name, as of to say, I am a different person and not
the one who sinned (Maimonides Laws for Repentance)
Every day we pray and remember that it was God who
lead “Abram” out of his home of idolatry into a new land that included the name of
change to “Abraham.” “Abram” means exalted
father and “Abraham” means father of many. Each name says something about the man who would be the father of
the Jewish people, in fact the father for all monotheistic religions. He was not just the exalted father of
his own family, but he became the chosen servant for all of people, hence the father
of many. I wonder what that did
to his own mindset, how did he see himself after that name change? The Kohelet writes, “A good name is better than
precious oil; and the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth” (Ecc. 7:1). A good name is earned no matter what. The fact is having a good name does not
demand perfection, but integrity and honesty.
Mystically, the Sovereign of the Universe gives us all the opportunity,
as with Abraham, to change our name so to speak. Repenting is like changing our name, it is a
change of purpose and choice, a change of
repentance that is also birthed from integrity and honesty. It takes a great deal of courage to admit
when we are wrong that then on different levels requires needed changes.
That is what a good name looks like.
To go to the light we have to find out way through some darkness
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