[Avodah] Kiddush Hashem

[Prof. Levine]

The following is from Rabbi Dr. David Tzvi Hoffman's essay  PROBLEMS 
OF THE DIASPORA IN THE SHULCHAN ARUCH that is printed in Fundamentals 
of Judaism.  For information on Rabbiner Hoffman see 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Zvi_Hoffmann  YL

Kiddush Hashem

Maimonides introduces his Hilchoth Yesode ha Torah (Ch. 5) with the 
following statement: "The entire house of Israel is obliged to 
sanctify the exalted name of God, for it says: "I shall be sanctified 
in the midst of the children of Israel" (Lev. 22, 23). The 
sanctification of God's name, Kiddush Hashem, may be achieved in three ways.

( 1) "Throughout the world we must proclaim the true faith  without 
fear of coercion and repercussions. We must sacrifice our lives 
rather than have the enemy assume we renounced our faith" (Sefer haMizvoth 9).

(2) "He who refrains from sin or performs a good deed, not because of 
fear or to obtain personal advantage, but in honor of his creator-he 
sanctifies the name of God" (H. Yesode haTorah 5, 1O).

(3) "He who is on friendly terms with his fellowmen, receives 
everyone kindly, insults none, refrains from participating in the 
shallow pleasures of the world; busies himself constantly with God's 
teachings, living in a manner that causes all that know him to praise 
and love him and to attempt to live in his ways he sanctifies the 
name of God, and of him Isaiah proclaims (49, 3): "My servants are 
you, oh Israel, through you I will be glorified."

Of the Patriarchs and their selection to form the people of God, the 
Torah says: "" .. through them and their descendants all generations 
on earth shall be blessed ...." This then is to be Israel's 
convocation: to carry the banner of God in the midst of the nations 
and to glorify his faith. Whenever the Jew performs an act of 
kindness and goodwill, he promotes the idea "that the Jewish people 
consists of righteous men," and neither his personal nor  the 
national glory matters. The glorification of Divinity, the message of 
absolute Divine rulership must be the sole motive of our actions, the 
sole basis for our relationship with men of different faith.

The immediate and practical aspects of "Kiddush Hashem" are vividly 
illustrated by the following accounts in Yerushalmi Baba Mezia II.

"Simon ben Shetach owned a flax business. One of his disciples 
decided to acquire a donkey to spare the master the burden of 
carrying his wares. They bought the donkey from a Sarazene and found 
a precious pearl hanging from the neck of the animal. Overjoyed, they 
rushed to Simon. "Master, your troubles are ended. Behold, we bought 
the donkey and found this jewel." "Does the owner know about it?", 
asked the Rabbi. "No." "Return the jewel at once," ordered the 
master. Then the disciples returned it, the Sarazene exclaimed: 
"Praised be the God of the Jews." Comments Yerushalmi: "The law 
permits to keep an object lost by a heathen. But to Simon ben Shetach 
the heath en's reaction was more precious than all the treasures in 
the world."

"R. Chanina related: Our old teachers bought a pile of wheat from 
several soldiers. In the pile they found a bag of money. they 
returned it, the soldiers exclaimed: "Praised be the
God of the Jews"." "Abba Osia from Turia was a washerman. One day he 
found  at the bank of the river a precious jewel left there by a 
matron. The lady said: "You need not have returned it; I have 
many  more beautiful jewels." R. Osia retorted: "The Torah commands 
us to return a lost object." And the matron exclaimed: "Praised  be 
the God of the Jews."

"R. Samuel ben Suzarti once found jewels in Rome that the  Empress 
had lost. She had issued the following proclamation: "Anyone 
returning the jewels within thirty days will receive a  generous 
reward. If the finder keeps the treasure longer, he will have 
forfeited his life." R. Samuel returned the jewels on 
the  thirty-first day. Surprised, the Empress inquired whether he 
had  not heard of the proclamation. R. Samuel replied: 'I have heard 
of it. Yet, neither the promised reward nor the fear of punishment 
caused me to return the treasure, but solely the fear of God." And 
the Empress exclaimed: "Praised be the God of the Jews."

The importance of sanctifying the Divine name indirectly annuls the 
heathen-laws that do not harmonize with the principles of 
righteousness and love for humanity. These laws were  mainly designed 
for the judge whose finding must take into account the heathen 
viewpoint. To the religious individual the  divine command of "I will 
be hallowed" was always guide and measure for all his actions. Where 
is the son of the Jewish people who could refuse the  demand of 
Kiddush Hashem? Our history is saturated with the bloody sacrifices 
of countless men, women and children who  offered their lives on the 
altar of Kiddush Hashem. The history of the Jewish people is the 
history of a continuous and heroic Kiddush Hashem.
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