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From: teitz@aecom.UUCP (Eliyahu Teitz)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: Avrum
Message-ID: <1040@aecom.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Dec-84 12:12:57 EST
Article-I.D.: aecom.1040
Posted: Tue Dec 18 12:12:57 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Dec-84 01:41:17 EST
References: <266@moscom.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
Lines: 28

> 
> Being the son of Avrum I am curious as to the original posting that said
> that it was not a legal name for a Jew.  My father and five second cousins
> were all named Avrum after a mutual multi-great grandfather.  My relatives
> in the Ukraine and Bessarabia were not exactly wild-eyed radicals who would
> knowingly violated tradition or bubbe-meinsehs (for the uninitiated those are
> grandmother's tales that have basis in fact).
> 
> If you think Avrum has problems consider Cain (a murderer), Amnon (an incestuous
> rapist), or even David (a usurper, murderer, and adulterer).
> 														David ben Avrum (mosom!de)

    The problem with Avram is that the Torah said specifically that it 
 should not be used. The others you mentioned do not have a similar
 prohibition. ( As a side point, your reason for not using certain names
 has no basis. No one is perfect, so using the name of someone who sinned
 shouldn't be considered wrong. If that was your criterion, then you'd be
 limited to the seven people of whom the G'mara said they never sinned
 ( I think the G'mara is at the end of the first chapter of Baba Kamma 
 although I'm not sure ).
    A question could be raised thoug of a person who is called Avram. Was
 the prohibition not to call a peron known as Avraham by the name Avram
 ( was the contraction prohibited ). Or was the use of the name Avram pro-
 hibited? I'm not sure. If the former is the case then naming someone Avram
 should not be wrong. However if the latter is true then the name should not
 be used.

				Eliyahu Teitz.