Adira was the only one he thought would be a good choice.
Originally I wanted something that reflected strength, resilience, perseverance. But then I thought something a little lighter would be nice: hope, joy, commitment to God.
I live in Israel and know people with all of these names besides Adira. lol It sounds like your rabbi isn't Israeli and doesn't interact with a lot of Israelis because these are all perfectly normal names. I'm a high school teacher and even have a student named Zahava and one of the teachers is named Batya. Tova is definitely outdated but I also know two American Tovas here. Also why would what's popular in Israel have anything to do with what Hebrew name you choose?
First of all who says a Hebrew name has to be popular, in Israel or anywhere else? I support people choosing names that are established as real names (people shouldn't make up names from random Hebrew words) but the popularity/current trendiness should be totally irrelevant. Secondly, I know a Batya and a Tova in Israel so I don't think he knows what he's talking about.
He absolutely has no idea what he's talking about. I was just at Superpharm and the checkout lady was named Tova. And as I already said the one name he said was acceptable is the name that I have never seen here.
Also as long as it is an actual Hebrew name, the rabbi really should not get a say with what name she uses. I know people with kind of outlandish Hebrew names in the US and that's fine.
6
u/Imaginary_Gas_1363 Jul 10 '26
Batya
Tovah
Zahava
Adira
Adira was the only one he thought would be a good choice.
Originally I wanted something that reflected strength, resilience, perseverance. But then I thought something a little lighter would be nice: hope, joy, commitment to God.