Here is what we read at Yona Yitzchak’s bris  today:

Barrett:

Thank you all for being here today to witness us becoming a family and welcoming Yona Yitzchak Reinhorn into the Jewish community.  We would like to share with you the meaning and significance of the names Yona and Yitzchak.   We’d also like to say a few words about three treasured relatives in whose honor we named him.

About the name Yona:  In mystical Judaism every word and phrase has a numerical value.  The name Yona has the same value as the phrase Koach gadol, or “great power.”  Also, Yona is the Hebrew word for dove, and dove is the symbol of peace.  Yona, you were born big and strong (with koach gadol), and we wish for you to use your great strength, to wage peace in the world.

Gadi:

Yona’s middle name is Yitzchak, which means “he will laugh.” I’ve always loved the idea of this name – a wish for someone to laugh.  Barrett and I laugh a lot together, both with each other and at each other.  Also, Barrett has always loved the story of Sarah, Yitzchak’s mother in the Torah.  She was well past childbearing age but God told her that she would have a son.   She and Avraham both laughed in response, which is why he was named Yitzchak. Yona, we can’t wait to laugh with you!

Also, Yitzchak’s half brother in the Torah is Yishmael, who by Jewish and Muslim tradition, becomes a forefather of the Muslim people. Through Yona Yitzchak’s blessings of peace and laughter, we wish for him to bridge the gaps of understanding in the world.  Yona, we will help you reach out to others who are different from you, and to practice tikkun olam, which means “to repair the world.”

Barrett:

Yona Yitzchak is named in honor of 3 special relatives, of blessed memory. We love being an aunt and uncle, and we want to honor that special role by naming our son after one aunt and two uncles of ours.

Loy Wayne was my uncle and my mother Carolyn’s brother.  He was always the life of the party, and I can still hear his laugh and see his shining eyes. He was so helpful, and you could count on him. He would be the first to make the 3-hour trip to the airport to pick me up when I visited Kansas, and he would make sure I had a good time while I was there.  Yona, may you be as dependable and fun loving as Loy Wayne.

Gadi:

Yoli was my maternal great Aunt.  Barrett and I visited her on our trip to Israel in 2008.  Yoli was very outgoing and generous, and known for hosting parties.  She survived Auschwitz with my grandmother Ella, and moved to Israel after the war.  She passed away last year, just before our wedding.   Yona, may you have an outgoing and tenacious spirit like Yoli.

Yonel was my paternal great Uncle, and a favorite from my childhood.  He had a generous spirit. I think fondly of the unique and cutting edge presents Yonel gave me. For example, I still display in my office a 50 euro bill that he gave me, from the first year they were issued. Yona, may you be generous and forward thinking like Yonel.

Barrett:

In closing, Yona, we have wished upon you many traits:  generosity, dependability, tenacity, peacefulness, humor, and more.  We love you and can’t wait to see who you become in the world.  And for all of you who have joined us here today: thank you for already being a great influence in Yona’s life, helping him to embody these qualities.

More pictures!