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The following is from Rabbi Dr. David Tzvi Hoffman's essay <font size=3>
PROBLEMS OF THE DIASPORA IN THE SHULCHAN ARUCH that is printed in
Fundamentals of Judaism. For information on Rabbiner Hoffman see
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Zvi_Hoffmann" eudora="autourl">
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Zvi_Hoffmann</a> YL<br><br>
<div align="center">Kiddush Hashem<br><br>
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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</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>,
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>may be achieved in three
ways. <br><br>
</font>( 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). <br><br>
(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" <font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>(H.
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>Yesode haTorah 5, 1O).
<br><br>
(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." <br><br>
</font>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. <br><br>
The immediate and practical aspects of "Kiddush Hashem" are
vividly illustrated by the following accounts in Yerushalmi Baba Mezia
II. <br><br>
"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." <br><br>
"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 <br>
God of the Jews"." "Abba Osia from Turia was a washerman.
One day he found <s> </s>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 <s> </s>more beautiful jewels." R. Osia retorted:
"The Torah commands us to return a lost object." And the matron
exclaimed: "Praised <s> </s>be the God of the Jews." <br><br>
"R. Samuel ben Suzarti once found jewels in Rome that the <s>
</s>Empress had lost. She had issued the following proclamation:
"Anyone returning the jewels within thirty days will receive a <s>
</s>generous reward. <font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>If
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>the finder keeps the treasure
longer, he will have forfeited his life."
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>R.
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>Samuel returned the jewels on
the <s> </s></font>thirty-first day. Surprised, the Empress inquired
whether he had <s> </s>not heard of the proclamation. R. Samuel replied:
'I have heard of it. Yet, neither the promised reward nor the fear of
punish<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>ment caused me to return the
treasure, but solely the fear of God." And the Empress exclaimed:
"Praised be the God of the </font>Jews." <br><br>
The importance of sanctifying the Divine name indirectly
an<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>nuls the heathen-laws that do not
harmonize with the principles of righteousness and love for humanity.
These laws were <s> </s></font>mainly designed for the judge whose
finding must take into account the heathen viewpoint. To the religious
individual the <s> </s>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 <s> </s>demand of Kiddush Hashem? Our
history is saturated with the bloody sacrifices of countless men, women
and children who <s> </s>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. </body>
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