Tonight on the DSR Yahoo Group a woman named “L” whose DI daughter “M” is approaching her Bat Mitzvah posted a message regarding how her daughter should be named when she is called before the Torah. Jewish naming traditions include not only the individual’s given name but the name of their parents including the father’s tribal status. I have discussed the issue of tribal status in previous posts.
When my wife converted to Judaism years ago and she picked her Hebrew name she chose "Ruth" so her full name became Ruth daughter of Abraham and Sarah signifying her entrance into Judaism as evidenced as her symbolically being named as the daughter of the first Jews. In Hebrew Natan (or Nathan) means a gift. This mother and daughter have come to refer to their donor as Natan the giver of life. To honor the donor and the circumstances of M’s birth her mom has proposed naming M at least for ritual purposes as “M” daughter of Natan and “L”. Symbolically I think this is a great choice and perhaps other Jewish mothers by choice would consider the symbolism as well. A variant of Natan is Netanel, which means a gift of G-d.
Regarding our request of the cryobank we have not heard anything regarding their search for our donor to even ask our question of his tribal status.
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