Talking to the father who gave his children the
quirkiest names in Israel
By Michael Orbach for Tablet Magazine
Most Orthodox Jewish children are given both a Hebrew name and an English name. Typically it is the same name, with one being the Hebrew or English equivalent of the other—Jacob is Yaakov, Joseph is Yoseph—with occasional alterations (my English name is Michael Jacob, my Hebrew name is a reversal, Yaakov Meir). But, sometimes, parents decide to have some fun with it.
If, like me, you’ve gone through the customary rite of passage that is the year in yeshiva or seminary after high school, you’ve probably heard this one—the story of a crazy couple by the name of Berkowitz in Gush Etzion who were so gung-ho Zionist that they gave their kids bizarre, ridiculous English names so that they would never be able to move back to the United States.
Just how ridiculous?
One son’s first name is “Just,” so he’s “Just Berkowitz.” Another child’s middle name is “Danger” so he can actually say, “Danger is my middle name.” And finally, one son is named Berkowitz James Berkowitz in a not-so-subtle James Bond homage. The strategy worked: none of the children ever left Israel.
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