Name

Cruv כרוב [krüv, long "u"] This is how we chose his name. Even before Miriam was pregnant, we thought of names and about names. First, it was important for us that their (we hope this is the first of dozens) names be Hebrew. Second, we wanted their names to be connected to the seasons, as is the Jewish calendar: Succot marks the start of fall, Hanukah fully in winter, and Passover either springtime or the hint of spring to come. The seasonal holidays of the Jewish calendar are also connected to the food we eat, our big families around the table. Third, we wanted their names to be meaningful and thematic. All this in mind, we decided we will name each child for the Hebrew word of a fruit or vegetable within the season of her/his birth. We embrace local and seasonal eating not only because it tastes better and aids the environment, but also because it recalls our connection to our time and place–In New York, concord grapes taste of falling leaves, braised meat and root vegetables of a gelid winter breeze, asparagus of first flowers, and tomato of a long summer day. As holidays, food, and birthdays connect us to the year, so can names. This one was due in Winter, so our options were not extensive. Yet we had a choice of several beautiful, delicious, and seasonal names (Easy to spell and pronounce). We chose Cruv, which means cabbage, because it is a delicious and abundant source of winter sustenance, the vegetable and its entire family Brassicaceae—cabbage, red cabbage, napa cabbage, savoy cabbage, collard greens, kale broccoli, romanesco, rapini, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, tatsoi, and more. And while the word may be half of a non-endearing term in Modern Israel (so it is good Cruv lives in America and Yaron only part-time in medieval Hebrew), this is no more relevant than the French term of endearment, mon petit chou (my little cabbage). As a bonus, the Hebrew cruv is a homophone and homonym of cherub, the angelic guards of Eden and heavenly adornments of the Holy Ark. So it is: from earth to heaven.