In this week's Parsha, G-d tells the Jewish people:
"You shall not desecrate My Holy Name (Chillul Hashem), rather I should be sanctified among the Children of Israel (Kiddush Hashem). I am G-d Who makes you holy." (22:32)
What is the nature of this Mitzvah?
The primary privilege and responsibility of every Jew is to create positive PR for G-d through our loyal adherence to His Torah. Certain mitzvot clearly achieve this, like eating Matzah on Passover. When I spend a week cleaning out breadcrumbs from every nook and cranny of my home, the only possible motivation is that G-d said so! By eating Matzah, I increase the respect for G-d in the world, which is the essence of Kiddush Hashem.
Another obvious example is the Mitzvah of Bris Milah ― circumcision. Who would perform non-medical surgery on a helpless baby ― and on such a sensitive part of the body? (Even the most radical college fraternity doesn't require such an extreme show of commitment!) So when a Jew performs Bris Milah, it is a Kiddush Hashem, awakening us and others to the presence of G-d in our lives.
The Knife
The Holocaust produced many heroic deeds of Jews standing loyal to G-d, in the face of the most impossible conditions.
A beautiful story illustrates this idea (from "Stories of the Holocaust," by Yaffa Eliach):
One of the forced laborers in the camps relates that one day he heard frightening cries of anguish the likes of which he had never heard before. Later he learned that on that very day a selection had been made ― of infants to be sent to the ovens. We continued working, tears rolling down our faces, and suddenly I hear the voice of a Jewish woman: "Give me a knife."
I thought she wanted to take her own life. I said to her, "Why are you hurrying so quickly to the world of truth..." All of a sudden the German soldier called out, "Dog, what did you say to the woman?"
"She requested a pocketknife and I explained to her that it was prohibited to commit suicide."
The woman looked at the German with inflamed eyes, and stared spellbound at his coat pocket where she saw the shape of his pocketknife. "Give it to me," she requested. She bent down and picked up a package of old rags. Hidden among them, on a pillow as white as snow, lay a tender infant. The woman took the pocketknife, pronounced the blessing ― and circumcised the child. "Master of the Universe," she cried, "You gave me a healthy child, I return him to You a worthy Jew."
Watching Closely
Every aspect of our behavior can foster a Kiddush Hashem. I asked a woman who recently became observant what led her to make such a commitment. She said that when her 10-year-old niece became observant, the girl transformed from being a spoiled brat, into a model of kindness and compassion. The woman said, "If this is the effect that Torah has on a person, then I want it, too!"
On the converse, a Jew acting in a despicable manner is a desecration of G-d's Name. Which is why we are so bothered when a Jew cheats in business. Besides violating the Torah prohibition of stealing, the additional tragedy is that people
