The Gemara in Berachos teaches "shma garim," that a name foretells a person's destiny. It teaches us that a name has a person's future stored in it. Thus by studying names we see the hand of Hashem - for seeing the events ahead of time in a person's name precludes any element of chance.

So, for example, Hevel's name, which means "vanity" - and is quite an unusual choice for parents to make - actually prophesied his dying in vain at the hands of his brother. Similarly "Noach" has the same letters as "chein," prophesying the fact that that he would find favor in the eyes of Hashem. So too "Moshe" has the same letters as "Hashem," for no human would come as close to Hashem as he. And the list goes on and on.

So let's take the opportunity to study some examples from our recent parshios.

Sarah Imeinu's maidservant was called "Hagar." Rashi informs us that Hagar was the daughter of Paraoh and that she gave up all the grandeur of her father's court when she realized the truths of Sarah and Avraham. It is therefore perfect that "Hagar" also can be read "Ha Ger," the ultimate convert, because that is exactly what she was. Hagar in gematria also equals 208, the exact numerical value of "Yitzchak" - since it was in the merit of introducing Hagar as a rival that Yitzchak was born.

But there's more! Hagar also has in its root "gimel-reish," which means to contend and be contentious. This accurately describes Hagar's nature, for she went against her whole upbringing and gave up her lavish surroundings to become a handmaid to Sarah. This demonstrates a very vigorous spirit. Then, after years of venerating Sarah and upon seeing her immediate pregnancy, she contended with Sarah as well.

But we're not finished yet. There's more. The posuk says that Hagar was Sarah's handmaid. Why exclusively Sarah's? The Medrash informs us that when Paraoh witnessed Sarah's incredible modesty, he awarded Hagar to her. And the Medrash explains that Hagar is a composition of two words - "Ha Igracha," which means "Here is your reward." So there's quite a lot packed in ahead of time in the little name "Hagar"!

Another fascinating Biblical personality that we learned about recently is Og. Where did the name "Og" come from? The Medrash tells us that when Og came to inform Avraham that his nephew Lot had been taken into captivity by the Four Kings, it was Erev Pesach. At that time Og witnessed Avraham baking matzos. He asked Avraham, "What are these strange cakes?" Now, cake in Hebrew is called an "ooga," and thus he became known as "Og."

Now, while this might sound like just a piece of Biblical trivia, there really is a deep significance in this lesson. The Medrash tells us that Og built 60 cities. His career was incredibly lengthy, starting from before the Flood and extending all the way to Moshe Rabbeinu. He witnessed much in his life. Yet the event that was most momentous and meaningful in his long and checkered career was seeing Avraham Avinu bake matzos! What a powerful lesson on the importance of mitzvos.

If you look at the name "Og," its anagram is the word "gava," which means to expire. The Medrash tells us that the reason that Hashem kept Og alive for almost a thousand years is to show the world what people were like before the Flood, thereby demonstrating the might of Hashem - that He was able to punish an entire world of such prehistoric giants. Thus Og's very existence was a testimony to "Kol asher b'aretz yigbah - Everything that was upon earth expired." Hence his name is an anagram of "gava."

For our next name, let's take a look at a very contemporary subject. When Hagar had her child, Hashem told her to name him "Yishmael," which literally means that G-d listened to her prayers. But the Medrash informs us that this word means "Yishma Kel - G-d will listen," for it prophetically revealed that Yishmael's descendants, the Arabs, would generate many Jewish prayers, causing Hashem to listen to the urgent cries of His people. How amazing! A boy is born to a former bondmaid and a prophecy is revealed that, thousands of years later, his myriad descendants would repeatedly cause Tehillim to be said by Jews all around the world.

Indeed the description of Yishmael is replete with amazing prophecy. The description that he will be a "perre adam - a wild (ass-like) man" is a perfect description of the Arab mentality. Who else would send little children with rocks to confront high-tech tanks? Who else but a wild subhuman people would go on suicide mission after suicide mission? And what about the testimony of what the posuk says, "V'yad kol bo - And everyone's hands will be in him," which the Targum translates to mean "That all will need him." How awesome a prophecy this is, that nations - world over - are in urgent need of Arab oil. And what about the verse that tells us "Al p'nei kol echav yishkon - That he (Yishmael's descendants) will dwell on the face of all of his brethren." How uncannily accurate is this description of how the Arabs totally encircle the Jewish people, literally camping upon all of their borders.

Already at the beginning of mankind, names loomed as an important subject. The very first job that Hashem gave to Adam was to name the animal kingdom. This was a massive task - to name the myriad of prehistoric species. And when Adam finished this mission, Hashem applauded him, indicating that whatever he had called these animals was indeed their correct names.

This is quite puzzling. If they were nameless before, then of course whatever he called them would become their names. What exactly was the substance of Hashem's praise to Adam?

The commentators explain that a name is not a mere label. Rather it intrinsically points to the essence of that which it is naming. To contrast, in the English language, we call the four-legged "bow-wow" a "dog." However, since the letters D-O-G spell also G-O-D, it is unlikely that there is an intrinsic message here (unless you're a dog worshiper).

On the other hand, in Lashon Kodesh, the Holy Tongue, a dog is called a "kelev." The word "kelev" contains a corruption of two words: "kol" and "lev," i.e., "with all its heart" (using the "lamed" in the middle on both ends). This is an accurate description of the essence of a dog, which never bites the hand that feeds it and is unceasingly loyal to its master.

This explains why such a great personality as Kalev ben Yefuneh would be named "Kalev." At first it would seem odd that such a righteous individual, a giant of his generation, would be given a name that means "dog," but now we understand completely - for Kalev demonstrated total loyalty to Hashem when he defied the wishes of the majority of the spies and loyally defended the reputation of Eretz Yisroel. This example serves to illustrate how every name intrinsically alludes to the nature of what it is describing.

Similarly water is named "mayim." Not only is it made up of two "mems" and one "yud," which parallel the molecular makeup of H2O (two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen), but it is also a palindrome - a word that reads the same from the front and the back. This is to illustrate that the water cycle is reciprocal in nature - first coming down from the sky, then being pumped up as water vapor, only to return once again from the sky.

As well, the sun is called "shemesh," another palindrome, since it goes back and forth from east to west, on an unceasing mission to serve its Creator. How accurate is the fact that the name "shemesh" can be read "shamash," for it is the ultimate sexton of the earth, helping to keep the world pleasantly lit and warm and ensuring the growth of the world's vitality.

In many Chasidishe seforim, we are taught that the gematria of the word "shem" (name) is 340. It is the same numeric value as the word "tzinor," a pipeline, for one's name is the conduit that helps to bring down one's shefah bracha (divine blessings) from Heaven. It is for this reason that when people are blessed with a daughter, some try to make the kiddush on the day that they name the child, since this is a time for great celebration - awarding the child with her connection with Heaven.

With our heightened understanding of the importance and weightiness of a Jewish name, we can now better understand why one of the three reasons we were redeemed from Mitzrayim was that we didn't change our Jewish names. At first glance, a name merely seems to have sentimental value, but now we see that our attachment to our ancient names means that we have devotedly refused to divest ourselves of our Heavenly connection.

Here are two contemporary stories that show how much stock we put in what our name is. The great Rav Sonnenfeld of Yerushalayim once took seriously ill with pneumonia. At that time pneumonia was often fatal. His Rebbe, the Brisker Rav, Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, added the name "Yosef" to his existing name "Chaim." Thus he became known as Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld,and baruch Hashem he recovered from his illness.

One Purim after this event, he brought Shalach Manos to his Rebbe - very early on Purim day. When the Brisker Rav commented on what a zarid (energetic person) he was, Rav Sonnenfeld answered, "Well, the Rebbe made me that way." Upon close inspection of this cryptic comment, we find that the numeric value of the name "Yosef Chaim" is identical with the gematria of "zarid." Thus he was saying that his Rebbe, who added "Yosef" to his name, added the quality of "zarid" to the essence of his being!

In another fascinating story, the Torah Temimah relates that there was once an individual named Yechiel Michel who took ill. When they wanted to add the name "Chaim" (which is one of the customary names that is added to an ill person - together with such names as "Yosef," "Refoel," "Alter," "Chaya" and the like), someone said, "Don't add 'Chaim'!" and the Rav agreed by saying cryptically, "Yemach shemo - His name will be blotted out." The Torah Temimah explains this enigmatic comment to mean that if the name "Chaim" would be added to "Yechiel Michel," it would then form the abbreviation "Yud-Mem-Ches," which would spell "YeMaCH - he should be blotted out." Therefore such a sequence of names should be avoided.

The events surrounding the name "Yaakov" are very puzzling. The Torah explains that he was given the name because upon birth, "V'yodo ochezes ba'akeiv Esav - And his hand grasped the heel [of his twin] Esav." Now, why would we name - for perpetuity - one of the greatest men ever to live after a seemingly insignificant happening in the birthing room?

The Tur on Chumash gives a beautiful and revealing explanation. He teaches us that when a mother delivers twins, after the first one is born she usually has to go through the entire pain of labor and delivery a second time. With kindness already apparent in his infancy, Yaakov wanted to spare his mother a second round of pain. He therefore held on to his brother's heel and came out at the same time as Esav, thus saving his mother from having to go through the birth pains twice.

Thus the name "Yaakov," at its very inception, is a symbol of kindness and compassion. Now when we think of the hundreds of Bais Yaakov schools for girls that Baruch Hashem sprinkle the world, we will attach greater significance to its meaning, for, among many things, it stands for Houses of Chesed in the footsteps of our great father Yaakov.

Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum, the great Marbetz Torah and creator of Dial-A-Daf and Dial-A-Shiur, shared another interesting insight into the name "Yaakov" with me. As we know, we give names to commemorate miracles that happened. Thus when Moshe Rabbeinu was saved from the sword of Paraoh, he called his son "Eliezer," which stands for "Elokei avi b'ezri - The G-d of my father came to my defense." Similarly Basya, the daughter of Paraoh, called Moshe Rabbeinu by the name "Moshe," "Ki min hamayim mishisihu - From the water I have drawn him," in order to commemorate the miracle of her hand telescoping 400 amos to reach Moshe Rabbeinu. We know that Esav was called by that name because it can also be read "asoo," completed, for Esav was born fully formed and, as the Targum Ben Uziel elaborates, he already had a beard, front teeth and even molars.

Did you ever wonder why Rivka, who was only 22 when she had the twins, never had any more children? The answer is that Esav, deciding he didn't want any further competition from siblings, kicked ferociously upon exiting his mother's womb and destroyed it. This is one of the reasons he was called "Edom," ruddy red, because he emerged full of his mother's blood. Then Esav shifted his murderous intentions to his little twin, figuring he could get rid of all the competition by smashing straight into the vulnerable fontanel of Yaakov's delicate infant head with his heel. But lo and behold, Hashem made a miracle and Yaakov's weak infant hand was able to hold back the full force of Esav's murderous heel. Thus the name "Yaakov" commemorates this great miracle for eternity. See how much history is hidden in the Biblical names!

As we know, Yaakov was given another name - "Yisroel" - and it is with this name that our people and our land are primarily identified. "Klal Yisroel" and "B'nei Yisroel" are the names of our people, while "Eretz Yisroel" is the proud name of our land.

Here is a fascinating insight into the name "Yisroel." The letters that make up this very special name ("yud-sin-reish-aleph-lamed") form an abbreviation that stands for all of our avos and imahos, our patriarchs and matriarchs. The "yud" stands for Yitzchak and Yaakov, the "sin" for Sarah and the "reish" for Rivka and Rochel. The "aleph" stands for Avraham and, finally, the "lamed" for Leah. Thus in a very profound way we are the B'nei Yisroel, the children of our great forefathers and mothers.

The Torah tells us about Efron HaChiti. Here was a man who made it into the Torah for all time because he had a very special piece of real estate. In his possession was the rarefied burial site of Adam and Chava, the direct handiwork of Hashem. This was the very essence of his existence - that he would be the messenger to transfer ownership of M'oras HaMachpelah to Avraham Avinu.

There was also a great personal challenge involved: whether Efron would be generous or stingy in the sale. History reveals that, while he promised much, he was miserly in the extreme, exacting from Avraham 400 shekel kesef - a princely sum - and further demanding that its payment be in the most liquid of currencies.

Lo and behold, all of these events are hidden in Efron's name. The word "Efron" is an anagram of "pira-on," which means "to exact payment," for that was precisely what Efron did. The word "Efron" can also be read "afaron," dust and earth, since he exacted payment for the earth of M'oras HaMachpelah.

But that's not all. Toward the end of the incident, the Torah drops the letter "vav" from Efron's name to depict his cheapness and smallness of character. Spelled without the "vav," the word "Efron" consists of an "ayin" - which equals 70, a "fei" - which equals 80, a "reish" - which equals 200, and a "nun" - which equals 50. Remarkably the value of these letters total 400 in gematria - the exact amount that Efron insisted upon in payment for M'oras HaMachpelah. This is yet another marvelous example of the secrets working in Biblical names!

After Yitzchak's marriage, the Torah tells us, "Vayosef Avraham vayikach isha u'shma Keturah - Avraham added a wife by the name of Keturah." Rashi informs us that she was none other than Hagar. Why the name change? Rashi gives us two reasons. First, her deeds were as sweet as ketores, the sweet-smelling incense offered on the altar. Second, Keturah contains the Aramaic word "katar," which means "to tie," alluding to the fact that, after leaving Avraham, she abstained from any relations with any other man (cf. Rashi).

Let's analyze Rashi's first reason. If she was called "Keturah" because of her sweet deeds, why wasn't she called "Naomi" or "Naamah"? These are names of great people (the mother-in-law of Rus and the wife of Noach) who were named after their ne'imus - their sweet deeds. Why the additional analogy to the ketores? I believe that this comparison is to indicate that Hagar's sweetness of character came out after she was "burnt" by the suffering of being expelled from Avraham and Sarah's home. Thus she was compared to the incense that only emits a sweet fragrance upon being burned.

Rashi's second reason, that her name indicates her fidelity to Avraham even after being evicted from his home with her son, reveals a profound massage. Hagar was a Mitzris, and the Mitzrim were known for their promiscuous and lewd nature. That Hagar went against her natural inclination and remained faithful to Avraham was a supreme exhibition of breaking her nature and doing good. In this way she showed that she was an admirable match for Avraham, who we know went against his nature of kindness to offer his son on the akeidah. Thus this new name beautifully shows that, although the initial reason for taking Hagar - namely to have Yitzchak - no longer applied, Keturah was a fitting mate in her own right. Thus we have yet another wonderful example of how a name sheds light on a person's makeup.

So as we marvel at Hashem's prophecies and at the wondrous names in His Torah, may the prophecy speedily come to be, "Vahaya ... b'yom hahu yihyeh Hashem Echad U'shemo Echad - And it will be in that day that Hashem will be One and His Name will be One," and may we all be in good health to live to see it.