Wherefore ‘ben Alexander’?

Posted on by ben Alexander

Some basics of Jewish names

Most Jewish people have Jewish names, which they use in religious contexts, although they do not necessarily go by them in public. Some Jewish names like mine (David) are universal enough, but others do not roll off the gentile tongue so easily. Jewish names are typically of Jewish languages: primarily Hebrew, Yiddish, or Ladino.

Of course, as many Jews are secular; non-practicing; or unaffiliated with religious community, their Jewish names are not particularly relevant in their daily or weekly lives. It’s the Jews who somewhat regularly attend synagogue services who are most often called by their Jewish names.

Now, in the traditional religious context, one is not simply known by his/her Jewish first name. One is known as [first name] [son/daughter of] [parent’s name]. For prayers of healing, I would be called David [son of] [mother’s name]. When I am called to make a blessing upon the Torah scroll at the synagogue, I am traditionally called David [son of] [father’s name].

One notable thing regarding my personal Jewish identity is that neither of my parents were assigned specifically Jewish names at birth because they were both born into the militantly secular and institutionally antisemitic USSR; for the most part, Jews in the USSR were inclined to downplay their Jewish identities. My Mama is Svetlana. My Papa was Alexander.

‘ben Alexander’

As an adult, I became religious, and that’s when being called up to make blessings upon the Torah scroll at shul became relevant to me.

At the first, as I was learning the ropes, I was rather self-conscious about being called up as David [son of] Alexander. Nobody else in any of my Jewish communities had such a Jewish name, nor a father with such a Jewish name as Alexander. Being called David [son of] Svetlana would be even more uncommon, but I have never been sick enough to need or request prayers for health – so that situation has yet to arise.

Anyway, my proclivity for Jewish tradition and active involvement in religious Jewish community ultimately caused me to internalize Papa’s name as a significant part of my identity. His name was officially part of my name; and… perhaps you’ve already surmised that the Hebrew for [son of] is [‘ben’].

I am, therefore, the Jew known as David ben Alexander.

‘Alexander’

The Legend of the Gordian Knot

Papa the mathematician launched his educational mathematics website in 1996, shortly after the Internet had made its way into people’s homes around the world. But what to call it?

At the time, we were living on a street called Alexander Road, which amused Papa and somewhat excited his imagination; and he decided to call his website and company ‘Cut the Knot’ after the legend of Alexander the Great and the Gordian Knot. Papa’s vision was to present mathematics as only seemingly impossible to conquer. Much like the Gordian Knot, which Alexander the Great cleverly sliced apart, Papa believed that mathematics riddles all had comprehensible, straightforward solutions.

The name ‘Alexander’ among Eastern Europeans

I’ve come to learn that in Eastern Europe, some non-Jewish names are more common among Jews than others. To the trained ear, such names suggest that their owners could very well be Jewish. Boris, Mark, and Alexander are such names. (Other gentile names generally trigger the opposite assumption… for example: Fyodor, Nikolai, Vasily.)

I never thought to discuss Papa’s name with him, but he would certainly have been sensitive to this cultural nuance.

The name ‘Alexander’ among Jews

I couldn’t tell you exactly when I learned this, but it turns out that the name Alexander is, surprisingly, a Jewish name, even though it is of distinctly Greek origin; and – it entered Jewish culture because of Alexander the Great.

In the Talmud there is a popular Jewish story about an interaction between Alexander the Great and the Jewish High Priest Simeon the Just, in which Alexander bowed down to the Jew (Tractate Yoma 69a):

ื‘ืขืฉืจื™ื ื•ื—ืžืฉื” [ื‘ื˜ื‘ืช] ื™ื•ื ื”ืจ ื’ืจื–ื™ื [ื”ื•ื] ื“ืœื ืœืžืกืคื“ ื™ื•ื ืฉื‘ืงืฉื• ื›ื•ืชื™ื™ื ืืช ื‘ื™ืช ืืœื”ื™ื ื• ืžืืœื›ืกื ื“ืจื•ืก ืžื•ืงื“ื•ืŸ ืœื”ื—ืจื™ื‘ื• ื•ื ืชื ื• ืœื”ื ื‘ืื• ื•ื”ื•ื“ื™ืขื• ืืช ืฉืžืขื•ืŸ ื”ืฆื“ื™ืง ืžื” ืขืฉื” ืœื‘ืฉ ื‘ื’ื“ื™ ื›ื”ื•ื ื” ื•ื ืชืขื˜ืฃ ื‘ื‘ื’ื“ื™ ื›ื”ื•ื ื” ื•ืžื™ืงื™ืจื™ ื™ืฉืจืืœ ืขืžื• ื•ืื‘ื•ืงื•ืช ืฉืœ ืื•ืจ ื‘ื™ื“ื™ื”ืŸ ื•ื›ืœ ื”ืœื™ืœื” ื”ืœืœื• ื”ื•ืœื›ื™ื ืžืฆื“ ื–ื” ื•ื”ืœืœื• ื”ื•ืœื›ื™ื ืžืฆื“ ื–ื” ืขื“ ืฉืขืœื” ืขืžื•ื“ ื”ืฉื—ืจ ื›ื™ื•ืŸ ืฉืขืœื” ืขืžื•ื“ ื”ืฉื—ืจ ืืžืจ ืœื”ื ืžื™ ื”ืœืœื• ืืžืจื• ืœื• ื™ื”ื•ื“ื™ื ืฉืžืจื“ื• ื‘ืš ื›ื™ื•ืŸ ืฉื”ื’ื™ืข ืœืื ื˜ื™ืคื˜ืจืก ื–ืจื—ื” ื—ืžื” ื•ืคื’ืขื• ื–ื” ื‘ื–ื” ื›ื™ื•ืŸ ืฉืจืื” ืœืฉืžืขื•ืŸ ื”ืฆื“ื™ืง ื™ืจื“ ืžืžืจื›ื‘ืชื• ื•ื”ืฉืชื—ื•ื” ืœืคื ื™ื• ืืžืจื• ืœื• ืžืœืš ื’ื“ื•ืœ ื›ืžื•ืชืš ื™ืฉืชื—ื•ื” ืœื™ื”ื•ื“ื™ ื–ื” ืืžืจ ืœื”ื ื“ืžื•ืช ื“ื™ื•ืงื ื• ืฉืœ ื–ื” ืžื ืฆื—ืช ืœืคื ื™ ื‘ื‘ื™ืช ืžืœื—ืžืชื™ The twenty-fifth of Tebeth is the day of Mount Gerizim, on which no mourning is permitted. It is the day on which the Cutheans demanded the House of our God from Alexander the Macedonian so as to destroy it, and he had given them the permission, whereupon some people came and informed Simeon the Just. What did the latter do? He put on his priestly garments, robed himself in priestly garments, some of the noblemen of Israel went with him carrying fiery torches in their hands, they walked all the night, some walking on one side and others on the other side, until the dawn rose. When the dawn rose he [Alexander] said to them: Who are these [the Samaritans]? They answered: The Jews who rebelled against you. As he reached Antipatris, the sun having shone forth, they met. When he saw Simeon the Just, he descended from his carriage and bowed down before him. They said to him: A great king like yourself should bow down before this Jew? He answered: His image it is which wins for me in all my battles.

In brief, Alexander the Great bowed to the Jewish High Priest because the image of the Priest’s face would appear before him before his battles, leading him to victory when he was on the battlefields. Ultimately, according to legend, Alexander the Great left the Holy Temple in Jerusalem be.

Further adds Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin:

… for memorializing the occasion, [Simeon the Just] suggested… [that] all male [Jewish priests] born that year would be named โ€œAlexander.โ€

Alexander liked the idea, and the Jews, who were very thankful to Alexander for all that he did for them, including sparing the Holy Temple from destruction, gratefully named their children after him. Thus, the name Alexander forever became a Jewish name.

– ‘Why Is Alexander a Jewish Name?’ by Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin

I actually have no idea if Papa knew about this Talmudic story, but I get a real kick out of the fact that Papa’s name is, indeed, a Jewish one; and not only that – Papa’s name became a Jewish name because of the same great conqueror who inspired the culmination of Papa’s lifework: ‘Cut the Knot’.

‘Ben Alexander’ or ‘ben Alexander’

I haven’t made mention of this before, but I actually created this WordPress account in 2012, long before Papa died – long before I became ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’. Back then, my blog had a rather uninspired Jewish blog name; and – back then I was blogging anonymously.

I have always enjoyed writing, but it’s only been in the past several years that I’ve felt comfortable enough in my own voice to blog so very publicly about sensitive personal matters under my own name. Back in 2012, I deliberately called myself ‘Ben Alexander’ so that nobody would find me out. I deliberately chose it as my pen name, knowing that most people would parse ‘Ben’ as a common English name. That’s why I capitalized it back when.

Then – in April of 2020 when I was transferring the many posts I had written about reciting kaddish for Papa to this website, I made a seemingly slight change to my handle. I changed the first letter to lower case, rendering myself ‘ben Alexander’, and thereby deemphasizing the ‘Ben’.

Of course, people still continue to assume that my full name is actually ‘Ben Alexander’, but that is okay with me. For those who are curious enough to explore my website and get to know me, I have an ‘about’ page with my full name available therein. I am, as they say, hiding in plain sight.

This version of my name continues to feel so very right and comfortable… I am deeply proud to be known as:

David ben Alexander.

66 thoughts on “Wherefore ‘ben Alexander’?”

  2. Very interesting. I never knew how Jewish names are used in prayer. Quite the coincidence that your father’s name turned out to be a “proper” Jewish name.

  3. David, your piece is rich in information, history, and heritage and made me think about how important our names are… one of the few things that cannot be taken away from us. Adding to Ingrid’s comment, my father wanted a grandson named Benjamin Charles (his grandfather and father’s names, respectively). I had a girl. Sorry dad. Even if we had a boy, I still would have disappointed him, because a boy born to us would have been named Stone Alexander. So, no surprise, I love your name!

    1. Michele,

      ‘David’ in my case comes from my mother’s father’s father – David.

      My grandfather wanted a male child to name David but he had 3 daughters so the youngest he named ‘Dina’ – to at least use the letter ‘D’.

      ๐Ÿงก
      David

      1. That is better than nothing! Dina may not have appreciated being called David. ๐Ÿ˜† I am often called Michael. People see the one l and mistake it for the male version. It could be worse!

  4. Wow, I was always curious before but this post serves well as an insight to your worldviews and beliefs. Names have such significances, it’s good to come across such deeply thought out ones. ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿคฉ

      1. You’re welcome! ๐Ÿ˜
        Shrubaboti is actually a very Bengali name, it means someone who has both wisdom and power or resources. I’m lucky it’s such a unique one that I get to have almost every account directly under my name without trying hard to find an uncommon username haha. ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿคญ

  5. That was really informative!!! Loved the history and now I get it.
    Love this “I am, as they say, hiding in plain sight” Glad you came out of the closet so to speak and are in full view David Ben Alexander! โค๏ธ.

  6. Fascinating. And marvelous connections. Your father and the Macedonian king so often known as Iskender in the Near East where I lived. Granted, your father never knew fully the history or the Jewish significance of his name. Neither did my mother fully appreciate the history of the Stewart clan she descended from. Or why her father insisted on being called Charlie–not Charles–Stewart. But then, perhaps that is why we are here. Learners, possessors, conveyors of knowledge that should not be forgotten.

      1. Sorry David. The Stewarts were the only Scottish clan to produce kings who ruled over both Scotland and England, but they were rather quickly overthrown. Not surprisingly. They were not the wisest of kings, although it was James Stewart who commissioned the English translation of the Bible that still exists as the King James version of the Bible. Twice they sought to retake the thrown. The last effort was led by the Bonnie Prince Charlie Stewart, which I believe is why my grandfather, who settled in the mid-West of the U.S., was insistent that his name was not Charles Stewart, but Charlie Stewart. … So many odd and often lost details in our personal–let alone, national–histories. Names are fascinating. And I took it all as a challenge, I guess, to understand why. To acquire as much knowledge as I could about family and culture and nation. And world. I will never know as much as I wish I could. But the journey has been amazing.

  7. โ€ฆ for memorializing the occasion, [Simeon the Just] suggestedโ€ฆ [that] all male [Jewish priests] born that year would be named โ€œAlexander.โ€

    Alexander liked the idea, and the Jews, who were very thankful to Alexander for all that he did for them, including sparing the Holy Temple from destruction, gratefully named their children after him. Thus, the name Alexander forever became a Jewish name.
    Not Alexander the Great!!!then

  11. This was a very interesting and informative post, David ben Alexander! Our eldest son is called โ€˜Benjaminโ€™ which Iโ€™ve heard translated as โ€˜son of the right handโ€™ or โ€˜favourite sonโ€™ – does it mean one or the other, or do the two mean the same thing? Iโ€™d be interested to know!

    1. Ingrid – I love that name! ๐Ÿ˜€

      In Judaism, there are always multiple interpretations for such things…

      Check this webpage out: http://www.jtsa.edu/the-meaning-of-benjamins-name

      Here’s the key part (but if you have the time, just read the whole thing – it’s not too long):

      … Jacob’s last child is born. This is Rachel’s child, her second boy. She dies in childbirth, but not before naming him Ben-Oni — the son of my distress.

      Jacob does not accept that name and calls him Bin-Yamin, the son of my right hand. It is that name (Benjamin) that remains. In naming her son as she did, Rachel broke with the pattern set by Jacob’s other wives, and which she followed in the case of her son, Joseph, of naming children as an expression of hope rather than fear. Yet Rachel’s choice of a name accurately reflects her knowledge that she was about to die. Furthermore, it gives necessary weight to her role as a tragic figure who was the first love of her husband yet was never able to live a settled and fruitful life with him.

      What, then, is the meaning behind Jacob’s calling the child Bin-yamin? Rashi offers a number of explanations, one of which is that yamin means “south.” The family was traveling toward the Negev when the child was born, and this, the first of Jacob’s children to be born in the Promised Land, was named in recognition of part of that land…

      …

      Perhaps by giving his son the name he did, Jacob was expressing a hope for strength, the strength that he and his family would surely need to recover from the troubles that had hit them already and those that were to follow. The Torah’s clear message is that Bin-yamin remain the preferred name of Jacob’s last son. It was a name not of reflection but of preparation, not of dwelling on past sorrow but of hoping for future achievement. Yet the Torah was also careful to preserve the earlier name of Ben-Oni as a way of honoring Rachel and acknowledging her suffering.

      1. In our Sunday school lesson yesterday we studied Bethlehem (bayth leh’-khem), “house of bread.” A place where Rachel died (Benoni, son of my sorrow), and the Christ of God was born (son of the right hand, Benjamin).

  12. A rich article/post on heritage and the power of name to cement cultural core values, belonging and identity. I appreciate the references to Alexander the Great – love his life story. Thank you David ben Alexander. ๐Ÿ˜Š Shalom.

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