[Avodah] More on What Constitutes Chillul Hashem?

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 03:59:26PM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
: This begs the question.  "Negative" is a subjective term; it depends in
: whose mind something is negative...

Chilul Hashem would depend on what's negative in the eye of the
observers in question, no?

"Kol sheruach haberios nochah heimenu, 'Ruach' haMaqom nochah
heimenu." (R' Chaninah ben Dosa, Avos 3:10) Note also that RCbD doesn't
say ruach Yisrael or even ruach haadam, but the clearly universal
"berios".

In Bereishis Rabba 39:4 (cited by RYBS back in v2n59, Nov '98), Avraham
avinu hesitates to follow the command of "lekh lekha" because the nachriim
will fault his kibud av if he goes and it would be a chillul Hashem. HQBH
lets Terach die, then Avraham goes. Afterward, Hashem explains to him
the whole concept of Torah outranking kibud av.

TGhere are three types of chillul Hashem:
1- Someone who violates a yeihareig ve'al ya'avor rather than dying
   (aveirah be'oneis)
2- Someone who violates bemeizid
3- With an adam chashuv who others see as representing the Torah, who
   does something even if mutar that causes shayomru hagoyim ein Torah
   leYisrael, ch"v.

We're discussing the limits of #3. I do not hear in RZS's words where he
thinks this category applies altogether.

...
: It gets worse when the privileged frame of reference isn't even a
: real goy, but rather an imagined goy who so worships the law that he
: despises anyone who would dare to break it...

Or even if he doesn't, he still looks down at people who allege to be
religious but don't follow the law. People (perhaps more often than not)
judge others on a much higher standard than they judge themselves.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 37th day, which is
micha at aishdas.org        5 weeks and 2 days in/toward the omer.
http://www.aishdas.org   Gevurah sheb'Yesod: When does reliability
Fax: (270) 514-1507               require one to be strict with another?