Today Myriam and I announce the name of our daughter, Nitzana Sahar Cohen. We do so in honor of family, and the celebration of seasons, cycles, and Tu B’shvat.

Nitzana means blossom or sapling in Hebrew. Her birth came at the very first hint of spring; sages and lilacs flowering, jasmine and daffodils and [...]]]> Nitzana Sahar Cohen

Today Myriam and I announce the name of our daughter, Nitzana Sahar Cohen. We do so in honor of family, and the celebration of seasons, cycles, and Tu B’shvat.

Nitzana means blossom or sapling in Hebrew. Her birth came at the very first hint of spring; sages and lilacs flowering, jasmine and daffodils and other bulbs just beginning to bud in our yard, and the first California poppies blooming. Her birth brought the most significant rain we have had in our region in many years. By naming her Nitzana, we would like to honor the coming of spring and the hope, prosperity, beauty, and potential which it symbolizes. We hope that the values and traditions that we instill in our daughter will also blossom and flower.

Nitzana is also known to be a symbolic name for Tu B’shvat. We chose today, Tu B’shvat, the new year of the trees to name her. A sapling for the new year. As some of you may know this is also a special day for Myriam and me; we met on Tu B’shvat and were engaged on Tu B’shvat as well, so as you can imagine, it is probably our favorite day of the year, and it is most definitely our favorite full moon of the year.

In honor of Tu B’shvat and its full moon, we give Nitzana her middle name, Sahar, which means moon in Hebrew. The moon is significant in the Jewish calendar, as we are on a lunar cycle. Every month, at the new moon, Rosh Chodesh is celebrated, traditionally considered a woman’s celebration. We hope that our daughter will always stay connected to the cycles of the moon, remembering and celebrating the Jewish holidays, and will be connected as well to other girls and women who believe the moon and the Jewish months are worthy of notice. In fact, Hadassah is already helping Nitzana become connected to the moon cycles by pointing it out to her whenever she sees it (along with Jupiter). In naming her Sahar, we are also honoring the spirit of Luna.

We would like to thank everyone for your patience and suggestions for her naming. As many of you know we took almost a week to give Nitzana her first name and only today are we announcing her full name. We would like to note some of the more interesting suggestions. For those of you who think her name may be unusual, just be glad that she wasn’t named Boutras Boutras Boutras, Blue Wednesday, or e^(pi/i) [which is -1 for all you believers in grand unified theories].

For others who are seeking nicknames, there are many: Nitza, Nitzie, tzana, seedling, or “moon blossom”.