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BH

14 Shevat 5769

Gavriel Tzvis Brit

Bsiman Tov uvMazal Tov!

Thank you all for coming today to join in our simcha!

To label something is to define its nature the act of naming labels something anddefines what it is and what its purpose is:

Gen 2:19 and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was itsname.

When G-d told Moshe to go to the Children of Israel and take them out of Egypt, the

verse says:

Ex 3:13 And Moses said to G-d, Behold, when I come to the people of

Israel, and shall say to them, The G-d of your fathers has sent me to you; and theyshall say to me, What is His name, what shall I say to them?

The Children of Israel werent going to ask for G-ds name they knew who G-d was.What they wanted to know was what His plans were, so to speak, what attribute He was

going to use to redeem them, either through strict justice or with mercy.

So to with peoples names whats in a name? Ideally, its the definition of theindividual, a description of his personality, and an interpretation of his traits.

A prayer that the person with the name live up to the potential expressed by it.

So, on the simple level, the name Gavriel indicates a wish that this boy grow up to be a

gibor, a strong and mighty hero:

Avot 4:1 Who is mighty? He who subdues his passions, as it is written

(Proverbs 16:32) "One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and one

whose temper is controlled than one who captures a city.

And on a numerical level, the value of the name Gavriel Tzvi is 348, which are the letters

shin/mem/chet, or sameyach/happy, indicating a wish that this boy grow up to be

always happy and rejoicing:

Avot 4:1 Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion, as it is written

(Psalm 128:2) "You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall behappy, and it shall go well with you." "You shall be" refers to this world; and "it

shall be well with you" refers to the world to come.

But theres a much deeper level than this.

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Theres an opinion that says you should not name children after angels because:

When a person says their names, they think they are being called and will come.When they see that they were being called for naught, they will become angry and

cause hurt and damage to the one that called them.

But Gavriel is different Gavriel is the angel who is seen traditionally as helping and

being beneficial to the Jews the man clothed in linen.

Theres a very odd passage in Tractate Yoma that tells of the angels trying to convince

G-d, so to speak, to destroy the Children of Israel after the destruction of the first Temple

and G-d is very angry indeed:

Yoma 77a I will burn them up and the good ones among them as well!

But Gavriel comes to their rescue:

Yoma 77a The Holy One, Blessed Be He said Who is it that is finding

merits for My children? They said to Him Master of the Universe, it is Gavriel.He said to them Let him come forth!

And Gavriel saves the Children of Israel from G-ds anger.

So too we wish for our son, Gavriel Tzvi in addition to the mightiness and happiness

his name implies, we wish him to be like his namesake and always find the good in

people, find their merits, to find merits for His children, and that Gavriel the angelhimself come and continue to find merits for us and all the Children of Israel, amen.