MUSSAR D’ORAISA

 

Parshas Emor 5764

           

"ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל אני ה' מקדישכם." (ויקרא כ"ב:ל"ב)

“You shall not desecrate My holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among the Children of Israel; I am Hashem, Who sanctifies you." (Vayikra 22:32)

 

This pasuk includes a prohibition against desecrating Hashem's Name as well as the positive commandment to sanctify His name. But what purpose does the end of this pasuk serve? I am Hashem Who sanctifies you. This seems superfluous at first glance. What does the observation that Hashem sanctifies Yisroel have to do with the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem or the transgression of Chillul Hashem?

Chanania, Mishael, and Azaria, as well as tzaddikim in different generations, were able to sanctify Hashem's Name only because they were Jewish. Had the same actions of mesiras nefesh been performed by a Gentile, there would have been no sanctification of Hashem's Name, even though the action would have been similar. The same is true in this generation. When we act in a way that brings glory and honor to the Torah, people do not say, "that man really impressed me with his derech eretz." They say, "That Jew's derech eretz impresses me. He must be so well-mannered because he follows the Torah's dictates." The same is true if a Jew acts in a way that is not in line with the Torah. They will not say, "that man is a bad man," rather, "That person who is supposed to be so frum is not acting very pious. If his Torah allows such things and this is how a servant of Hashem acts, then his whole way of life and Hashem must be false." A servant of the King represents the King Himself. Jews are not judged like any other people nor are we to act like any other people. We are charged with this responsibility to sanctify Hashem's Name in this world and to never desecrate His Name, ח"ו.

Hashem gives the Jewish people the ability and the opportunity to fulfill His mitzvos.

ר' חנניא בן עקשיא אומר רצה הקב"ה לזכות את ישראל לפיכך הרבה להם תורה ומצות שנאמר ה' חפץ למען צדקו יגדיל תורה ויאדיר. (מכות כ"ג ע"ב)

R' Chanania Ben Akashia says: Hashem wanted to give merit to the Jewish people, therefore He gave them lots of Torah and mitzvos, as it is said, 'Hashem desired for the sake of [Israel's] righteousness that the Torah be great and glorious.' (Makkos 23b)

 

If Hashem did not give us the opportunity and ability to fulfill His commands, this statement of merit would not hold true. Every Jew has the ability to sanctify Hashem's Name and ח"ו to desecrate His Name. Chanania, Mishael, and Azaria were ready to give up their lives being thrown into the fire by Nebuchadnezzar in order to sanctify Hashem's Name. He protected them in the fire and they emerged unscathed, even waiting there until He told them to leave. People saw the true and complete faith of those Jews and saw that Hashem protected them with miraculous open miracles. They expected and were willing to die rather than desecrate the Name of Heaven. This was the ultimate Kiddush Hashem. Not every Jew is faced with such an extreme test of faith, nor would we all be able to rise to the occasion necessarily.

            But the opportunity to sanctify (and desecrate) His Name is still there. The last part of our pasuk, I believe, tells us that we always have the opportunity and ability to do one or the other. All of our actions have the potential to sanctify or desecrate His Name because Hashem sanctified us with that ability. I am Hashem Who sanctifies you means that we are sanctified and held apart from the Gentiles who do not possess the innate ability to affect Hashem's name for the good or the bad. It informs us how we are able to fulfill this mitzvah and where the ability comes from. When a goy cheats someone in business, nobody thinks less of Torah or Hashem. But a Jew and his actions have this special ability.

            Being that Hashem gave us this tremendous ability and opportunity which is not applicable to any other nation in the world, we must always try to live up to the task and ensure that our actions bring honor to the Torah and to Hashem and that we never, ח"ו, defile our special ability and sanctified stature by desecrating His Name.

 

Yitzchok Pinkus

Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim