“Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage.” Yes, I know, you might be surprised that this rabbi is writing about Valentine’s Day. After all, many people believe that Valentine’s Day is about a saint.

So, why do I feel so comfortable writing about st. Valentine’s Day? Because I happen to know that the original holiday was a Jewish one. That’s right, it was originally called, “Val and Stein’s Day.”

You are probably not aware of the legend of “Val and Stein’s Day.” This may well be because it is something that I recently created, but many people I have shared it with tell me they love the idea, and isn’t love what this day, and every day for that matter, is all about?

The name Val is a French form of the name, Vail, but it can also be a shortened form of the name, Valentine. The name Valentine has a meaning. It refers to someone who is strong. There are several Hebrew equivalents to this. One is Abir, which means, hero, as in “my hero,” and who among us haven’t heard someone in love refer to their soulmate as their hero.

Another Hebrew equivalent is the name Gavriel, which means, “G-d is my strength.” I guess on “Val and Stein’s Day,” we should remember that it is G-d who gives us the ability, the strength to be loving and kind. It is also G-d who gives us the ability to express our love in so many wondrous ways.

In fact, our tradition goes on to say that there are three partners in a marriage – the husband, the wife and, can you guess who the third one is? That’s right, G-d! And, the tradition says the same in regard to a birth as there is the mother, the father and … you guessed it … G-d!

Another Hebrew equivalent to the name Valentine that might give you a bang (pun intended) is the name Uzi. Most of you are probably familiar with the weapon made famous by the Israel Defense Forces, but you should know that the name Uzi means my strength and who among us who has known the joy of love has not had times when our partner has been our strength and times when we have been theirs.

Now, let’s get to the name Stein. As you are well aware, a stein is a large mug used for holding things. On “Val and Stein’s Day,” let this be a reminder to the verse “May your cup of joy overflow,” and that is exactly what true love can do for you; it can make your joy overflowing.

Sometime, in the distant past, someone came up with turning “Val and Stein’s Day” into “ValandStein’s Day,” which, soon became forever known as Valentine’s Day. But I think the idea of merging the two lovers Val and Stein together as one teaches us a very important lesson about love.

Love is a merging of two halves into one whole. May you all come to know the miracle of meeting your other half and becoming one.

With lots of love, Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and serves in this capacity in a number of Health Care settings in the area including Advocate Home Care Services and L’Chayim Jewish Hospice in Partnership with Catholic Hospice of Broward County.