Commentary for Berakhot 14:10
מנא לן דשמא גרים אמר רבי אליעזר דאמר קרא (תהלים מו, ט) לכו חזו מפעלות ה' אשר שם שמות בארץ אל תקרי שמות אלא שמות:
Whence do we learn that the name of a person affects his life? R. Eleazar said : Because the Scriptures declare, "Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who hath made shammot ['desolations'] in the earth" (Ps. xlvi. 9). Read not shammot but shemot "names."
Abraham Cohen Footnotes to the English Translation of Masechet Berakhot
This question is raised to anticipate the objection against the interpretations of the names Reuben and Ruth, that the name preceded the event which is said to explain it.
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Abraham Cohen Footnotes to the English Translation of Masechet Berakhot
Not Eliezer, as some edd. read.
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