One of the first tasks
that the first man was given, was to give names to all the animals
of the earth. One by one, they passed before him. With his great
intelligence, Adam was able to understand that each animal had
a particular outstanding characteristic. Adam chose a name that
reflected that characteristic. For example, a donkey's nature
is dull and heavy - an earthy quality. So he named the donkey
"Chamor" which means "earthy".
Adam understood that a horse has a bragging joyfulness when galloping into battle. He therefore named the horse "SUS" which means "rejoice".
Adam realized that the lion is the king of the beasts. In the future, prophets would compare Hashem to a lion. Adam combined the letters Yud, Hay and Alef from the name of Hashem with the letter Raysh from the word "Ruach" or "spirituality".
The lion was named "ARIEH."
Finally, the first man was asked by Hashem, "What will you call yourself?" The man replied, "Adam," from the word "Adomah," (earth), for he was created from the dust of the earth.
"And what is My name?" asked Hashem. "A-do-na-i," "Master", for You are Master of all creatures!"
