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  • Family and Society
  • Names and Name Changing

Naming after someone alive

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Rabbi Jonathan Blass

11 Tammuz 5763
Question
Why are Jewish children not named after someone who is alive?
Answer
This is an Ashkenazi custom that is not universally accepted (see Shu"t Yabiya Omer V Yoreh Deah 21 quoting Sefer HaChasiddim 420). There is an advantage in giving a baby the name of someone who has died since this is seen as giving satisfaction to the departed soul (Shu"t Yabiya Omer V Yoreh Deah 21).
את המידע הדפסתי באמצעות אתר yeshiva.org.il