The Genesis of My Name

Cathy Perlmutter of the fabulous Judaiquilt asked me about the 'Genesis' of my name. Well, in the beginning...

When my Zaidy, Wolf Wolbromski, came to Canada from Poland in the twenties (my 91 year old Dad, Roy/Uncle Izzy, Israel, would be able to tell you the exact date, but that's another story) he was encouraged to change his name to William Wolfe.

My parents named me Miriam but always called me by one of a series of nicknames, especially Bitsy. When I was starting preschool I encouraged my mother to come up with a name that was a little more mature than Bitsy and a little less intimidating than Miriam. Together we chose Mitzi. That's way more mature sounding, don't you think?

My in-laws, Alis Levy and Amnon Zilberboim, were still living in Israel when they decided to get married. Together they chose the name Zohar (Hebrew: זהר "Splendor, radiance") to celebrate the creation of their new family.

When Eyal asked me to marry him (Thank You sweetie) I chose to take his last name even though he kept assuring me I didn't have to. I think he finds having a wife with the same last name as his terribly old fashioned and anti-feminist.

Thank you Cathy. By encouraging me to tell the story of my name you've helped me to realize that what I've always thought of as a rather silly and fully made up name was actually created to honour a series of happy new beginnings.

XO Mitzi Wolfe Zohar