My Hebrew Name

I've thought about where to start on here as I looked through my journal. That's tough because my journal is over 50 pages. So I thought why not start with my Hebrew name.

Kochava means Star in Hebrew. You can pronounce it Kohava or Kokava (there is no ch sound in the Hebrew language). I believe the stars are our guardian angels looking over us and helping G-d to guide us through our journey here on this earth. I love looking at the stars at night and seeing them twinkle. I feel as though that twinkle is a wink or a nod that everything is going to be okay. And that is especially helpful on days that haven't been so good.

My middle name is Vered (and I kind of wished I had taken another spelling but I didn't). Vered means Rose and I chose that name in memory of my maternal grandmother who's maiden name was Rose. Even though she was not Jewish (she was an Irish/Cherokee Indian), she was the sweetest person I ever knew and if there is a such thing as a saint she would be one. She was always very welcoming and accepting of everyone whether she knew them or not. I used to watch her quilt in the summers when I would go visit and from her I now know how to quilt. When she passed I was given all her quilting that was yet to be completed. And even though it's been 10 years I am still working on finishing her king size Lonestar quilt. I don't quilt traditional quilts as she did but I like to take an idea or picture that usually swims around in my head for months and eventually put it into a quilt.

Choosing my Hebrew names was very spiritual to me. I opted not to go with my English given name so I began looking through a book. As I read the names and put down on paper the ones I liked I then wrote down my reasons. As soon as I wrote out why I liked Kochava Vered it was decided and my rabbi that I converted with immediately agreed.