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Note: In Yiddish, a “baby girl” is a “beybi maidel.” A pretty girl is a “shaineh maidel.” And a “maideleh” is an affectionate term for a little girl.
My maternal grandfather was named Max! One of my uncles was named Max. Max is back in a big way. Classrooms all over the country have children with the same name--but they’re boys!
Marjorie Ingall (“What’s in a Baby’s Name? Parents’ Hopes and Dreams”) wrote, “Hey, just get back to real basics and give your kid a Yiddish name. That way, when you call ‘Roizl Velvel!’ on the playground, you can guarantee that 20 kids WON’T come running.”
Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are the parents of a “maideleh” named Max--not Maxine. Maxima?
Such a celebration! A healthy 7-pound, 8-ounce girl! Yes, the news of the new arrival was posted on Facebook!
Just months ago, Zuckerberg placed the following announcement on Facebook:
Priscilla and I have some exciting news: we’re expecting a baby girl...We want to share one experience to start. We’ve been trying to have a child for a couple of years and have had 3 miscarriages along the way...[Infertility] is a lonely experience. Most people don’t discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will distance you or reflect upon you as if you’re defective or did something to cause this. So you struggle on your own.
In today’s open and connected world, discussing these issues doesn’t distance us; it brings us together. It creates understanding and tolerance, and gives us hope.
When we started talking to our friends, we realized how frequently this happened--that many people we knew had similar issues and that nearly all had healthy children after all.
We hope that sharing our experience will give more people the same hope we felt and will help more people feel comfortable sharing their stories as well.
And now Zuckerberg writes to his new daughter:
Dear Max,
Your mother and I don’t yet have the words to describe the hope you give us for the future. Your new life is full of promise, and we hope you will be happy and healthy so you can explore it fully. You’ve already given us a reason to reflect on the world we hope you live in. Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours todayWhile headlines often focus on what’s wrong, in many ways the world is getting better. Health is improving. Poverty is shrinking. Knowledge is growing. People are connecting. Technological progress in every field means your life should be dramatically better than ours today and for your children...
And, finally, he writes, “We will give 99% of our Facebook shares-- currently about $45 billion--during our lives to advance this mission...” (the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative).
Max, we love you and feel a great responsibility to leave the world a better place. We wish you a life filled with the same love, hope and joy you give us. We can’t wait to see what you bring to this world.
Love,
Mom and Dad
Zuckerberg announced that he’s taking two months of Paternity leave to care for his new daughter. Not even a CEO needs to work 24/7!
Mark has already learned, “Protsent fun kinder iz tei’erer vi protsent
fun gelt.” (Dividends from children is more precious than from money.)
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