Part 3

(continued from last week)

I also contacted my friend Gabriella Schlick-Bamberger who has lived in Frankfurt (with her husband and two daughters), all her life. She tells me that although she has heard of Hollekreisch, her family, nor anyone else she knows, has ever participated in that ceremony. She does not think it is celebrated anymore.

Ok, now that that you have read all the various opinions and definitions, including mine, let us look at what the current experts have to say about it.

The book “Shorshei Minhag Ashkenaz” (English version “Minhag Ashkenaz: Sources and Roots”) by Rabbi Binyomin Shlomo Hamburger published by Machon Moreshes Ashkenaz, The Institute for German-Jewish Heritage in Bnei Brak in 2016, is considered the foremost authority on Ashkenaz minhagim. Rabbi Hamburger writes a chapter on what he calls “Chol Kreisch.”

(I have received permission from Rabbi Aryeh Jeselsohn, the U.S. representative of Rabbi Hamburger to quote from the book.)

Here are some of the comments made in the book.

The festive event was customary in Germany for the giving the “secular” name to a newborn child. This practice can be traced back to the era of Rashi and Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid, whose disciples speak of this custom, as well known in their time.

With the emigration of Western European Jews to Poland, the custom became accepted there as well, but did not last long there. In Germany, Chol Kreisch was preserved until recent times.

Rabbi Hamburger also comments on the origin of the name of the celebration as being either a translation of an original Hebrew name into Yiddish-Deutsch, or the corruption of an original Hebrew name. The name given to the child during the ceremony was not the Christian name that was commonly used only in population registries and other documents in Europe, but were the “secular” names as opposed to the Hebrew names taken from the Tanach or Talmud. The “secular” name was used in daily interactions, whereas the Hebrew name, which for boys was given at the brit, was reserved for religious events. The oldest and most accepted theory of the origin of the name is cited by Maharam Mintz, who translates the term “Chol Kreisch” as “shouting of chol” or announcing the “secular” (“chol”) name.

The original custom did not require that Chol Kreisch be on a Shabbat but by the times of the Maharam Mintz (Rabbi Moshe Halevi of Mainz [1415-1480]), the ceremony would always take place on the fourth Shabbat after the birth. This was accepted practice for many generations. In France, during the time of the Tosafists, ten adults would participate, whereas in Germany the custom was for all the children in the community (boys for the naming of boys, and girls for the naming of girls) to participate.

The ceremony consisted of giving the name to the baby while he is lying in the crib, which is lifted three times. It was customary that a Chumash and a tallit be placed in the crib at the time of the naming. The guests recite appropriate verses, lift the crib, declaring the infant’s name in a loud voice three times, “Chol Kreisch! How will the child be named? So-and-so (three times)”and children are given fruits and candies.

For a newborn girl, the Chol Kreisch marks the only naming event, whereas for a boy his name is first given at the brit. On the other hand, over a period of time it also became customary to name the girl in the synagogue on Shabbat during a Mi Shebeirach after the father’s aliyah. In that case the Chol Kreisch was performed after the service in the family’s home.

Scholars have suggested a number of reasons for naming the girl only after four weeks. This practice was completely dropped among Sephardic and Eastern European Jews who have instead adopted various other practices regarding the naming of a girl.

That is what Rabbi Hamburger writes on the subject. It is of note that he is quite comfortable to include boys in the naming ceremony.

Live and learn.

By Norbert Strauss

Norbert Strauss is a Teaneck resident and Englewood Hospital volunteer. He frequently speaks to groups to relay his family’s escape from Nazi Germany in 1941.