Part I. Make His Name Great
A Matter of Life and Death
One of the many important pessukim that we come across in this week’s sedrah is ≈ל‡ׂרָ¿ ̆ƒי נ≈יּ¿ב¿וֹך ּ̇¿ב יּƒ ׁ̇¿ ַּ̆„ ¿ ̃ ƒנ¿ו – I should be sanctified amidst the sons of Yisroel (Emor 22:32); we know it as the mitzvah of ‘kiddush Hashem’ and it’s an obligation on all of us. That’s what the Rambam says in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah (Perek 5): ׁ≈ םּ ̆הַ ׁ ּ̆וּ„ ƒ ̃ ﬠַל יםƒּוּוˆ ¿מ ≈ל‡רָ¿ׂ ̆ƒי ̇≈יּב ָלּכ – Everyone who belongs to the family of Yisroel is commanded to glorify the name of Hashem. “The whole house of Yisroel,” the Rambam says and that means it’s something we all have to keep in mind.
Now, if you’ll take a look in the Rambam over there, you’ll see that this mitzvah of making Hashem’s name great is so important that sometimes it requires a Jew to even give up his life; sometimes a man must be prepared to be killed for this mitzvah.
Let’s say for example, that the gentiles want to force you to bow down to avodah zarah. So you have to say, “Nothing doing! You’ll have to kill me before I do such a thing.” Or if they want to force you to commit immorality. You tell them you won’t do it but they don’t care what you say and they threaten you, “We’ll kill you if you don’t submit.” Like the wife of Potifar said to Yosef Hatzaddik, “I’ll kill you if you don’t listen to me.” Vayima’ein – And Yosef refused! Sometimes a Jew has to be ready to give away his life for the glory of Hashem.
Our Glorious History
And it’s because of this mitzvah that Jews have always provided scenes of the greatest heroism throughout history. Today, a good portion of the Jewish nation has already lost its backbone, but up till recently, a Jew would let himself be skinned alive rather than bow down to the cross. And don’t think that it was easy once the decision was made. It hurts terribly to be skinned alive! The loyal Jew would be screaming from pain, and yet he wouldn’t budge.
But forget about bowing down – even to speak against the Torah! Josephus describes how at the churban Beis Hamikdash thousands of Jews gave their lives rather than to say one word against the Torah. And they were plain ordinary amei ha'aretz. The amei ha'aretz were moser nefesh for kiddush Hashem! No other nation was so loyal. Josephus tells us that among the Greeks there is not one who would suffer the least pain for such a thing. If you would threaten a Greek that he’d better curse Homer or else you’re going to take a quarter out of his pocket, he wouldn’t give it a second thought – he’d curse Homer to save a quarter! But the loyal Jew was willing to give up his life! He suffered terribly and then went to his death for this mitzvah.
In Europe there were many times that our forefathers were being besieged by the Crusaders who wanted to force them to accept the cross. The enraged mob was battering at the gates of the synagogue and our grandparents knew that soon the walls would come down, and the “peace loving”, “turn the other cheek” Christians would come in with their axes to force the Jews to choose between the baptismal font and death.
Glorious Deaths
And so what happened? The Jews of the city gathered together in the big shul, locked the doors, and they stood with knives ready to slaughter themselves. And not only the tzaddikim! The ordinary Jews, the mothers and the fathers, were prepared to fulfill this mitzvah of v’nikdashti! The little children they couldn't trust, so first they slaughtered the little boys and girls. Sometimes the children saw what was happening and they ran under the benches for refuge and so the mothers pulled them out by their little feet and slit their necks.
And then after all the youth were dead, the adults killed themselves – the mothers and the fathers, the chosson and the kallah, the talmid chochom and the shoemaker. Everyone died al kiddush Hashem – and finally when the Crusaders burst into the synagogue, they found a holy congregation lying in their own blood. There was nobody left to force to the baptism waters because they were facing a nation of loyal servants who understood what it meant to fulfill the possuk of יƒּ ̇¿ׁ ַּ̆„ ¿ ̃ ƒנ¿ו ≈ל‡רָ¿ׂ ̆ƒי נ≈יּב¿וֹך ̇¿ּב.
And it didn’t happen once. It happened again and again and again throughout our history, from the earliest of times. How do we know? We don’t have to rely on our sources because the gentiles themselves have made these statements again and again. Josephus quotes ancient Greek writers – a whole list of them – who describe how the ordinary Jews went to death by torture rather than say one word against their Torah. And so we can look back proudly at a long and glorious history of forefathers who died for Hashem and brought the greatest glory to His name in their final moments.
Life of Kiddush Hashem
But it’s important for us to understand that this is not the mitzvah in its entirety – there’s much more to the mitzvah of נ≈יּב¿וֹך ̇¿ּב יּ ̇¿ׁ ַּ̆„ ¿ ̃ ƒנ¿ו ≈ל‡רָ¿ׂ ̆ƒי than being tortured to death. Of course, if it happens that someone will confront you chas v'shalom with a crucifix and he'll say bow down to this or else, so you won’t have a choice – you’ll have to grow a spine and give up your life – but we’re going to speak now of an aspect of the mitzvah that is much more frequent and yet no less important. We’re going to study now, not the subject of dying al kiddush Hashem, but of living for kiddush Hashem.
At the end of this chapter, in halachah yud alef, the Rambam adds the following important and useful information. He says there that a Jew who learns Torah, and he behaves properly with those he comes in contact with, ׁ≈ םּ ̆הַ ̇∆‡ ׁ ̆≈ּ„יƒ ̃ ז∆ה הֲר≈ י – he brings glory to the name of Hashem. Simply by means of living decently he fulfills the mitzvah of our parsha.
You’re on Display
People see you with a black hat, maybe you’re even wearing a beard, so they know you’re a Jew. Today meshugaim also wear beards but sometimes your face alone tells the story. Maybe you have your tzitzis out or at least a yarmulke you’re wearing – that’s already enough to identify you with the Orthodox. And a woman? Her hair is covered, she’s wearing a dress. Even the girls – today you can spot a Bais Yaakov girl or a Bais Rochel girl a mile away.
So people see you’re a Jew! And that means that unless you’re a hermit hiding away in the caves in the mountains, you have a big career ahead of you. I’m not saying it’s easy, but anybody who belongs to the Orthodox camp has endless opportunities to fulfill the mitzvah of our parsha.
Getting People to Like You
How do you do it? You’re careful to greet others with a pleasant cast of countenance and you’re always polite and considerate of others. You speak gently to people and you always try to agree with them. As long as there's no sacrifice of principles, you’re always saying, “You’re right,” in order to make people feel happy. You go out of your way to honor everyone – Jew and gentile alike – even those who don't honor you. No matter what, you're always honest in your business dealings and you don’t retaliate when put to shame.
Every ‘ordinary’ Jew who is careful with these things, ̇∆‡ ׁ ̆≈ּ„יƒ ̃ ז∆ה הֲר≈ יׁ≈ םּ ̆הַ – he’s bringing glory to Hashem. Because people say, “Look at that person, that frum Jew. Look at his behavior. Isn’t he a fine man?” And if people say that about you, you know you’ve succeeded. If you’ll behave in such a manner that people approve of you, that people like you, you’re serving Hashem!
Guarding Your Every Step
It’s a big responsibility because it means that a shomer mitzvos has to be on guard always not to make a misstep. Here’s a yeshiva boy sitting on the bus and there's an empty seat on this side and an empty seat on this side and now two women get on the bus; they look like they’re together. They're talking and they want to sit down. So you’ll sit there like a dumb statue and act like you don't know anything and now they have to sit separately? Why not remember this possuk in Parshas Emor and be nice enough to say, “Here; please take a seat.” They might say thank you. They might not. But at least you already have propagandized for Hashem.
And when you're getting off the bus and there's somebody getting off behind you so when you hold the door open, instead of holding it with your back towards the person, turn with your face toward the person and hold the door open. That's a courteous act that will be counted on your record as a kiddush Hashem. And if there’s a gentile man getting off before you and he holds open the door for you, you have to say thank you if you’re wearing a yarmulke. Of course you have to say thank you anyhow, but if you are recognized as Orthodox, it's already an entirely different story – it’s part of your career of kiddush Hashem.
Gentile Charity
When you’re waiting in line at the post office and a gentile woman comes by – she’s knocking her pushka for veterans or cancer or some other gentile cause – so it’s good to always have a quarter ready. Drop in a quarter and she’ll give you a big thank you. And you’ve done what is required of you because by means of that the name of Hashem becomes hallowed in the world.
Sometimes you're sitting in the subway and a faker comes in with a tin cup and he's tapping the floor with his stick, peeking through his smoked glasses looking for customers – he wants to see who’s going to give the first donation to the ‘blind’ fellow. Nobody budges. So what do you do? You whisper to yourself, “Hineni muchan u’mezuman to fulfill the mitzvah of making Hashem’s name great,” and you fish out a coin from your pocket. It could be the smallest coin, a penny – nobody will see what you have there – and drop it into his tin can with the most resounding bang you can. And then lean back and bask in the admiration of the entire subway car. Only that you should remember one thing — as you lean back virtuously to enjoy the admiring gazes of your fellow passengers, remember that you did it for Hashem!
Living For Him
“Oh,” says Hashem, “that’s My servant. That’s the man I love.” The Rambam tells us that: וֹמ≈ר‡ בּו ָּ̇הַכ ﬠָלָ יו – About this person the possuk says, יƒל מ∆ר‡ֹּוַי – Hashem said to me, ָ הּ ַ̇‡ יƒּ„ ¿ﬠַב – “You are My servant.” It means that’s your form of serving Me; not by how you die but by how you live. On the bus, in the street, in the store, ׁ≈ םּ ̆הַ ̇∆‡ ׁ ̆≈ּ„יƒ ̃ ז∆ה הֲר≈ י – you are bringing glory to My name.
Because kiddush Hashem doesn't require only that a person lay down his life, to go up on the scaffold and sacrifice himself for the glory of Hashem's name; it requires also that we live our lives in a way that brings glory to the name of Hashem! And it’s a program that every frum Jew can think about during the day in his interactions with everyone. He’s not letting himself be killed for kiddush Hashem but because he keeps Hashem in mind always and he knows he’s obligated to bring glory to His name, so he is living for kiddush Hashem. And about him Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, ָר‡פָּ¿ ̇∆‡ָך¿ּב ׁ∆ ר ֲ̆‡ ≈ל‡רָ¿ׂ ̆ƒי ָ הּ ָ̇‡ יƒּ„ ¿ﬠַב – By means of you, Yisroel, I become glorified (Yeshaya 49:3); and because you live with the intention of bringing honor to Me, that’s why I call you, “My servant.”
