Q & A - WITH RABBI RISKIN

Question: I Is it permissible to ask a shul's gabbai to call a man to the Torah in the name of his mother, in addition to in the name of his father? May the mother's name be added to the "miSheberach" said after the aliyah? Conversely, may the father's name be added to a "miSheberach" said for a sick person?

Answer: The custom in Ashkenazic countries is to use the father's name when someone is called to the Torah, and the mother's name when praying for someone sick - a custom that originates from the verse "Rachel is weeping over her children." (Yirmiyahu 31:15). However, it seems to me that there is no prohibition on asking the gabbai to also mention the name of one's mother for an aliyah to the Torah or to say the name of one's father during the "miSheberach" for the sick.

Furthermore, I believe it is also appropriate to add the mother's name to the marriage ketuba, as well as to a gravestone, in order to add more concise detail to the identity of those getting married and to give justified honor to the mother of the deceased.