The hospital staff are often surprised when a Jewish baby is born and they hear that the baby has not yet been given a name (a boy is named at the circumcision when he is eight days old, and a girl is named at the next Torah reading after her birth, which can be on Monday, Thursday, Shabbos, Rosh Chodesh or a holiday). Sometimes they just fill in “Baby” as the name on the papers!
When a baby is born, he or she doesn’t have a name. It’s just their essential existence, which is higher than a name.
In this week’s Torah portion, the name of Moshe is not mentioned. One reason given is because this Torah portion is read close to the time of his passing. But Moshe passed away on his birthday, so it’s also and mainly connected to his birth. His birth, when he didn’t yet have a name, represents his essential existence. As the leader of the Jewish People, Moshe’s birthday is really the birthday of the Jewish People. The omission of Moshe’s name in this week’s Torah portion represents the essence of the Jewish soul.
(See talk of the Lubavitcher Rebbe King Moshiach Shlita, Tetzaveh 5752 (1992))
