Our Jewish names have a lot of significance. In fact, according to tradition, our name is our connection to the soul, and naming a child with his or her Jewish name is a form of prophecy!

But can a name or a name change actually affect a person, or change one’s destiny?

The answer is YES!

Here in our Parsha, Moshe Rabbeinu changed his student’s name by adding the letter Yud to Hoshea – making his name Yehoshua. Now let’s rewind to the first recorded name change in the Torah. It was none other than HaShem who changed the names of the first Jews – from Avram to Avraham and from Sarai to Sarah.

Changing one’s name to cause a change of fortune is clearly a Jewish concept. That’s why if someone is dangerously ill, we might provide him with an additional name, such as Chaim for a man or Chaya for a woman, meaning “life.” It’s as if that person becomes a new person – a healthy one at that.

Bottom Line? Our Jewish name is our connection to our soul and it sure does make a big difference!