It When Yosef (Joseph) is appointed second to the king by Pharaoh he is given an Egyptian name.  In the words of the Torah; "and Pharaoh called Yosef - Tzafnat Paneach." (Genesis 41: 45)  The Torah then tags on an additional statement: "and Yosef went out over the land of Egypt."  If Yosef was given a new name why does the Torah not use that name when describing his going out to rule Egypt?

Perhaps the answer lies in evaluating Maimonides’ position that the person who sanctified God’s name most in the world (Kiddush Hashem) was Yosef.  (Laws of the Fundamentals of Torah 5:10)  This is strange, because after all, sanctifying God is commonly associated with dying for God.  Why did Maimonides not pick any of the myriad of Jews who gave their lives for the Almighty to embody this most important principle?  Why pick Yosef who did not die for God?

Rav Ahron Soloveitchik offers an interesting insight.  He argues that for Maimonides the greatest sanctification of God is not dying for Him but living for God.

In many ways dying for a cause is easier than living for one.  Dying takes a moment and is often associated with great honor.  Living for God requires an every day and every moment commitment.  Doing the small things that often go unnoticed is the true test of Kiddush Hashem.

Note Maimonides formulation of the laws of Kiddush Hashem.  What is Kiddush Hashem, he asks?  Rather than list the times that one should die for God, Maimonides first lists those times when one should transgress the law rather than die.  Only after explaining when life overrides the law, does Maimonides mention the few times when dying for God is mandated. (Laws of the Fundamentals of Torah 5:1,2)  Rav Ahron concludes that living for God is mentioned first, as it is paramount.

No wonder Yosef is the model of Kiddush Hashem.  True, he did not die for God. Still, although the only Jew living in Egypt he lived every moment for God -- never forsaking his Jewish identity.  In the most difficult of times he did not assimilate, he did not forget who he was. This is Kiddush Hashem par excellence.

Our original question is now answered: Pharaoh’s intent in giving Yosef an Egyptian name may have been to encourage him to lose his identity.  The Torah, however, is quick to point out that Yosef went out over the land of Egypt to underscore that Yosef remained Yosef.  He was not swept away by Pharaoh’s thinking; he remained true to his Jewish identity.

An important message for Jews living in the modern world.  When engaging modernity and gleaning from worldly wisdom and becoming involved in tikkun olam we dare not forget our roots, our names, our responsibility to see the world from the prism of Torah.  A good starting point in keeping our roots is to retain our Hebrew names.  Names reveal a great deal about character, about who we are.  Like Yosef who despite Pharaoh’s efforts to rename him, to redirect him, remained the same Yosef.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Avi Weiss