And I shall be sanctified among the Children of Israel

ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל

And I shall be sanctified among the Children of Israel

וְלֹא תְחַלְלוּ אֶת שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי וְנִׁקְדַשְתִׁי בְתוֹךְ בְנֵׁי יִׁשְרָאֵׁל אֲנִׁי ה ' מְקַדִׁשְכֶם:
הַמּוֹצִׁיא אֶתְכֶם מֵׁאֶרֶץ מִׁצְרַיִׁם לִׁהְיוֹת לָכֶם לֵׁאלֹק ים אֲנִׁי ה' :(כב :לב-לג)

You shall not defile My holy Name, and I shall be sanctified among the Children of Israel, I am Hashem Who sanctifies you, Who takes you out of the land of Egypt to be a G-d to you, I am Hashem. (22:32-33)

Rashi explains: ‘It is implied from that which was said “you shall not defile”. Then why does the posuk say “and I shall be sanctified”? It means surrender yourself and sanctify My Name.’

The obligation of this mitzvah is incumbent on every Jew, even though the actual keeping of it can only be done in certain situations. Still, it is incumbent on every person to implant this obligation in his heart, and he must know the situations when he is obligated to keep it. This is for two reasons, 1. So that if the opportunity arises, he will be prepared and ready to fulfill it. 2. Even if one does not actually keep this mitzvah, he can fulfill it with thought. This is included in what Chazal said (Shabbos 63a) ‘if one thought about keeping a mitzvah but was not able to, the Torah counts it as if he did it.’

If this is so, then it is appropriate to point out what is written at length in seforim on this topic. First, let us quote the words of the Shelah HaKadosh (Shaar HaOsiyos os 1 emes v’emunah) where he speaks about the devotion [mesiros nefesh] when one actually comes to this challenge. ‘The positive mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem is generally relevant to emunah, since the person gives his soul, his body, and his wealth to sanctify His Name Yisbarach, as it says, (our posuk) 'ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל' – ‘and I shall be sanctified among the Children of Israel’. The Kiddush Hashem is that when a goy intends to make a Jew go against his religion, and it is done in public, in public means before ten Jews – he should rather be killed and not transgress [yehareg v’al ya’avor]. This applies to every sin when the goy intends to make the Jew go against his religion, even if it is a custom in Israel, and the goy wants him to transgress – he should be killed and not transgress. And if it is a time of religious persecution, he should be killed and not transgressed even in private. These laws are well explained in Talmud and poskim.’

We truly see in the holy seforim that this mitzvah is even relevant in our lifetimes through our yearning for this as the Ari wrote in ‘Shaar Hakavanos’ (Chazaras HaAmidah Drush 3): ‘We will explain a little the necessary things, which are, at the outset intend to keep one positive mitzvah that we are commanded in the posuk ‘and I shall be sanctified among the Children of Israel’ and it is explained in the Zohar on Parashas Emor, that we are obligated to sanctify His Name Yisbarach in the same sanctity as ‘Nakdishach v’Naaritzcha’ [Kedusha Nusach Sefard] – ‘We will sanctify You and revere You’.’

This is also brought down in the siddur of the Reshash on the meaning of ‘Nakdishach’, that it is a matter of sanctifying the Creator in public, and this is a mitzvah in everything said publicly, like ‘Kedusha’.

In another place in ‘Shaar Hakavanos’ (Kriyas Shema Drush 6) he brings down that there is great benefit in the merit of thinking of mesiros nefesh: ‘Through this, even though we have no good deeds, and we have been intolerably wicked, through devotion and willing to be killed, all are sins are atoned for, and we have the ability to elevate to awesome heights as Chazal say (Yoma 86a) ‘Teshuva is great because it reaches the Throne of Glory’ as it says (Hoshea 14:2), 'שובה ישראל עד ה' אלקיך' – ‘Return, Israel, unto Hashem, your G-d.’’

Mesiros Nefesh in Thought and Action

We find things like this written in many places, that one should intend to give up his life, and through this the person will be forgiven for all his sins, and through this he will do superior Teshuva. This is the kavanah that we must focus on with every bracha when we say ‘melech haolam’ – ‘King of the World’, that we are prepared to give up our lives for the sake of the Creator.

This matter is also brought down in the sefer ‘Yesod v’Shoresh HaAvodah’ (in the beginning of the sefer) where he writes at length about the significance of the avodah of mesiros nefesh, and it is the main avodah the person should always accept upon himself – mesiros nefesh – and this is the avodah of all the tzaddikim in the world.

Even Rebbe Elimelech wrote at length on this and established with these guidelines how the person can fulfill the mitzvah of ‘V’Nikdashti’, and his words are divided into three categories:

1. At every time and every moment when the person is free of Torah, and especially when he is sitting idly alone in a room, or lying in bed unable to sleep, he should think about this positive mitzvah of ‘and I shall be sanctified among the Children of Israel’. He should embed it in is his soul and etch it in his thoughts, as if a large, terrible fire burns before him unto the heart of the heavens, and he, because of the sanctity of Hashem Yisbarach, - breaks his nature and throws himself into the fire for Kiddush Hashem Yisbarach. HaKadosh Baruch Hu will convert this good thought into a deed, and we find that he is not lying down or sitting idly, rather, he is fulfilling a positive mitzvah of the Torah.
2. In the first posuk of ‘Kriyas Shema’, and the first bracha of ‘Shemona Esrei’ he should think as above. He should also intend that if all the nations of the world are tormenting him with harsh torture, and they are flaying the skin from his flesh to turn away from the Oneness of Hashem, he should suffer with all these afflictions and not give in to them. He should etch in his intellect and thought, as if they are doing this and with this, he will keep the obligation of Kriyas Shema and Tefillah properly.
3. Even while eating or cohabiting he should think like this. When he starts to feel mundane pleasure, he should etch in his thoughts like this, and should immediately say by mouth and heart that he would rather have pleasure and joy from the mitzvah of ‘V’Nikdashti’. Even if murderers grab him in the middle of eating or cohabiting and torture him, he will rejoice with the Kiddush Hashem Yisbarach more than this mundane pleasure. But be careful that this is true in his heart, then it will be stuck on his heart, the true inner heart, and not fool himself.

See Rashi on the posuk (Vayikra 26:42) 'וזכרתי את בריתי יעקב ואף את בריתי יצחק ואף את בריתי אברהם אזכר והארץ אזכר' – ‘I will remember My covenant with Yaakov and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also my covenant with Avraham, and I will remember the land’ – ‘Why were the Avos written in reverse order? To say that Yaakov, the youngest is sufficient for this, and if he is not sufficient, see Yitzchak is with him, and if he is not sufficient, Avraham is with him, for he is sufficient. Why was remember not mentioned by Yitzchak? Because the ashes of Yitzchak appear before Me, gathered, placed on the Mizbeach.’

We see from here the significance of ‘mesiros nefesh’ even in thought. For although Yitzchak Avinu was prepared to die at the ‘Akeidah’, no act was done, but HaKadosh Baruch Hu considered the thought as a deed to arouse mercy on his offspring forever.