<html><head><style type='text/css'>p { margin: 0; }</style></head><body><div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000'><br> <br><br>On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 04:32:46PM +0000, shalomyitz@comcast.net wrote:<br>: In the Torah, aren't people generally called by this formula (Yehoshua<br>: ben Nun, etc)...<br><br><br>R'MB:<br><br>>And more people in Tanakh are simply called by their name without the<br>>"ben ...", so in theory the minhag could have evolved to do that instead.<br>>Or go two generations back, as when HQBH "called up" Betzalel ben Uri<br>>ben Chur (as opposed to Oholiav ben Achisamackh).<br><br>But, it seems that for most of our existence as a kahal -- at least for most <br>of the time we have been calling people to come up and read the Torah<br>-- the use of Shimon ben Reuvein has been the standard way people were<br>identified.... not just in calling them to the Torah, but in any way.... Much the<br>same way we identify you as Micha Berger, to distinguish you from Micha<br>Swartz, Micha Rubenstein, and Micha Levine... So, here it's just a way to<br>identify which Micha we are talking about.<br><br><br>>But really I took this question as asking in contrast to the qehillos<br>>that don't use names altogether.<br><br>But, this assumes the no-name method was the default, and the more common<br>method needs a source/explanation. It seems to me that the obvious thing <br>people would do is call up someone and use the name that commonly would <br>identify them. What might need to be explained is the source for not using<br>names!<br><br><br></div></body></html>