web analytics
May 25, 2013 /16 Sivan, 5773
At a Glance ▼
Judaism
Sponsored Post
The Tosfos Yomtov was convinced that the death of 300,000 –600,000 Jews during the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648-49 were because of improper Tefila. Communicated: Tefilla

Chillul Tefila Bifarhesia, as well as halachicly challenged verbiage and dress, are external manifestations of a critical lack of personal yiras shomayim which has lethal consequences.



Home » Judaism » Torah »

Parashat Emor

tell a friend
Jewish men studying at a yeshiva

Jewish men studying at a yeshiva
Photo Credit: Yaakov Nahomie/Flash90

“You shall not desecrate My holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among the Children of Israel; I am HaShem Who sanctifies you, Who took you out of the land of Egypt to be a God unto you; I am HaShem.” (VAYIKRA 22:32-33)

The Rambam explains this commandment by teaching that “the entire House of Israel is commanded regarding the great mitzvah of Kiddush HaShem, as (VAYIKRA 22:32) states: `I should be sanctified among the Children of Israel.’ Also, they are warned against desecrating (His holy Name), as (the above verse) states: `You shall not desecrate My holy Name’.” (Yesodei HaTorah 5:1)

These mitzvot are given to each and every Jew to be safeguarded in our private lives and also to the Hebrew Nation to be performed as a collective. It is our responsibility to actively sanctify – and guard against desecrating – GoD’s Name through our personal behavior. In both the company of fellow Jews and in the presence of gentiles, we must be relentlessly careful to conduct ourselves with morality, consideration towards others and honest financial dealings. A Jew must always be conscious that the Hebrew Nation represents HaShem in this world and that Israel is a direct reflection of His Divine Ideal. Due to the merit of this tremendous responsibility, we must be careful to never behave in a way that could cause others to look negatively upon the Jewish people.

While the modern Torah world certainly emphasizes these teachings on an individual level, the importance of these concepts on a national level is regrettably often ignored. In order to fully understand the idea of Kiddush HaShem on a collective scale, we must look into the Books of our Prophets – prophecies meant to educate us on how to function as a strong and healthy nation on our native soil.

“So I poured My anger upon them because of the blood that they poured upon the earth – and they defiled it with their idols – so I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed among the lands. According to their ways and their doings did I judge them; and they came to the nations to which they came, and they desecrated My holy Name when it was said of them, `These are HaShem’s people, but they departed His land’; but I pitied My holy Name that the House of Israel desecrated among the nations to which they came.” (YEHEZKEL 36:18-21)

HaShem rebukes Am Yisrael for desecrating His Name among the nations. It is important to note that God does not accuse Israel of desecrating His Name through breaking any specific precept. Rather He is condemning Israel for desecrating His Name by the very reality of being scattered amongst the nations. In the previous verse, HaShem clearly states that it was He Who had scattered Israel throughout the world as a consequence of our sins. So then why should He rebuke the Jewish people for the very punishment that He Himself inflicted upon us?

This question reveals a profound truth concerning how God’s Name is perceived in our world. While Jews may have understood through the many centuries in foreign lands that HaShem had temporarily exiled us from our soil as a result of our transgressions, other nations view reality from a different perspective. Gentiles could easily argue that while our God had promised to make us a mighty nation and to bring us into our homeland where we would enjoy independence, security and abundance, Jews are scattered throughout the world and are very often victims of brutal persecution. God therefore decrees that the very exile – which He Himself brought about – is an objective desecration of His Name because it causes the nations to question His power.

The word chilul (desecration) stems from the root word chalal (emptiness), meaning that a profanation of God’s Name appears to empty His Divine Presence from the world and causes people to doubt His very existence. Because Israel is the national expression of HaShem, the nations judge God based on how they view His nation. When gentiles are ruling over and persecuting Jews, they see this not only as a sign of Jewish weakness but also as the weakness – or non-existence – of Israel’s God.

It is known that during the Holocaust in Europe, Nazi guards in the death camps would often taunt their Jewish victims with comments that inferred our God could not exist. For the Germans it was a simple equation. If there had existed a God of Israel, He would surely have intervened on His people’s behalf. Therefore, an event like the Holocaust (although each individual Jew who was killed died a death of Kiddush HaShem on a personal level) was a desecration of God’s Name on a national level. The mass victimization of the Jewish people brought the world to doubt the very existence of HaShem.

tell a friend

About the Author: Yehuda HaKohen teaches history at several Jerusalem institutions and is a seasoned activist for indigenous rights in the Middle East and a vocal opponent of attempts to shrink Israel's borders. Yehuda organizes grassroots Jewish-Arab dialogue meetings for the purpose of fostering mutual acceptance and understanding.


You might also be interested in:


no comments

You must log in to post a comment.

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Current Top Story
David Arenberg lost many things during his nearly 12 years in prison, but he found a connection to Judaism.
A Jew Grows in Prison
Latest Judaism Stories
Leff-052413
Judaism → Parsha

Do you say Shema before you go to sleep? I’m sure you do.

But perhaps you, like many, feel too tired at night to say the entire tefillah of Kri’as Shema as it appears in the siddur. If you do say the entire tefillah, you will recognize a pasuk in this week’s Haftorah. And if you don’t say the whole Kri’as Shema al Hamitah, perhaps after this column, you’ll re-consider and find yourself connecting with the following very comforting pasuk.

Niehaus-052413
Judaism → Parsha

The sand is rapidly running through the hourglass, as the centrifuges in the secret Iranian nuclear plants spin furiously. It is quite clear that the Iranians are on the brink of attaining nuclear capability, and we are well aware of the danger that would face Klal Yisroel in that event, chas v’sholom. All the sanctions, threats, and computer worm attacks do not seem to be stopping them, and it is terrifying. And when we see how vulnerable we are to terrorist attacks anywhere in the world, we become even more terrified.

The-Shmuz
Judaism → Parsha

Miriam spoke disparagingly about Moshe Rabbeinu. Because of this, she contracted tzaras, and for seven days she was sent outside the camp of Israel.

Business-Halacha-logo
Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Samuel Scherr was a very successful businessman. He also was generous and would share of his wealth with others. In this way, he became the uncle of favor to his nieces and nephews, whom he would frequently shower with gifts.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Detached Or Unrelated
‘He Made An Asheirah Tree Into a Ladder…’
(Eruvin 78b)

Judaism → Parsha

In this week’s parshah we read about the individuals who were tamei and thus could not bring the korban Pesach. They approached Moshe Rabbeinu and asked him whether there was anything they could do to bring the korban. Ultimately, Hashem told Moshe that they should bring a korban a month after Pesach, on the 14th of Iyar.

Judaism → Ask the Rabbi

Question: As Shavuot is fast approaching – a holiday on which we dwell on the story of Ruth and the origins of the royal house of David – I was wondering if you could help me resolve something. Some people say that Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi, the redactor of the six orders of the Mishnah and a scion of King David, purposely kept any mention of Chanukah and the Hasmonean kings out of the Mishnah because the Hasmoneans improperly crowned themselves and ignored the rule that all Jewish kings are supposed to come from the tribe of Yehudah. Is this true?

Menachem
(Via E-Mail)

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

One of the thirty-nine prohibited melachot on Shabbat is carrying an object from a private domain, reshut hayachid, to a public domain, reshut harabim, or carrying an object a distance of four amot, six to eight feet, in a reshut harabim. The Torah does permit, however, carrying within the reshut hayachid itself. The definition of a reshut hayachid and a reshut harabim is crucial, therefore, to the laws of carrying on Shabbat.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Question: The Midrash notes that the song the Jews sang after they crossed the Red Sea (“Az Yashir”) was unique; its likes had never been heard before in the world. Our Sages even refer to it as a shirah chadashah, a “new song.” What made “Az Yashir” so unique and in what sense was it a “new song”?

Judaism → Columns → Lessons In Emunah

The rav was not a wealthy man, but earned enough to live comfortably. He earned his money by serving as the rav of a religious community in Yerushalayim. He also received some royalties from sefarim he had written over the years. He was well known, and many people approached him for a berachah, advice and help. They were not turned away.

Judaism → Columns → Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Tanach, the Hebrew Bible, is remarkable for the extreme realism with which it portrays human character. Its heroes are not superhuman. Its non-heroes are not archetypal villains. The best have failings; the worst often have saving virtues. I know of no other religious literature quite like it.

Judaism → Rebbetzin's Viewpoint

Last week I shared a letter from a newly observant Jewish woman. She and her husband reside in a small suburban community outside of Los Angeles. Last year they came to consult with me on a personal religious issue. While they were both ba’alei teshuvah, there was one fine difference between them. He had become a ba’al teshuvah earlier than she and was therefore somewhat more settled in an observant lifestyle.

Judaism → Torah

I watch my children use blocks to build a large structure, observing the trepidation with which they add each block. As the structure becomes larger there is a greater risk of it collapsing, thus bringing an end to an hour of playful labor. I anticipate what will happen when one child adds a block to the top floor, compromising the integrity of the building and resulting in the collapse of the entire structure. The argument that ensues is predictable, as each child blames the other for “ruining” the fun. As an adult, I wonder about the need to attribute blame. Will assigning blame be instrumental in rebuilding the structure?

Judaism → Parsha

In this week’s parshah the Torah discusses the halachos of when one steals from another and when confronted in beis din, the thief swears falsely with his denial that he stole. This parshah was already taught in parshas Vayikra; however, there are two halachos that the Torah adds in this parshah to this topic.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

In order to carry from one’s home into the street (even when the area is enclosed by a properly constructed eruv), the eruvin ceremony must be performed. This ceremony involves the placing of food in one designated home on behalf of all Sabbath observers in the enclosed area. In order for the eruvin ceremony to be valid, however, it must be performed on behalf of all owners of streets and homes in the enclosed area.

More Articles from Yehuda Hakohen
In prayer
Judaism → Parsha

According to the Ramban, the verse “your foes who dwell upon it will be desolate” (Vayikra 26:32) is a partial blessing within the curse that guarantees through all generations that the Land of Israel will not receive any foreign nation in place of her true indigenous people.

Jewish men studying at a yeshiva
Judaism → Torah

In both the company of fellow Jews and in the presence of gentiles, we must be relentlessly careful to conduct ourselves with morality, consideration towards others and honest financial dealings. A Jew must always be conscious that the Hebrew Nation represents HaShem in this world and that Israel is a direct reflection of His Divine Ideal.

Judaism → Torah

Israel must demonstrate confidence in ourselves and an iron determination to defy our antagonists. Mordechai teaches that it is not through appeasement that one achieves peace but rather through strength, self-assurance and unequivocally firm resistance to tyranny and injustice.

Judaism → Parsha

While the transgression of the Golden Calf had caused Aharon to feel a sense of distance from HaShem, the miluim was intended to bring him close again through spiritual perfection. The priestly vestments play a central role in this process and great detail is offered in describing them.

Judaism → Parsha

The Jewish nation has no such concept as “religion” in the formal sense of the term, as we reject the notion of anything lying outside the realm of HaShem. It is Israel’s mission to elevate every sphere of Creation by infusing it with kedusha and bringing it to its highest potential in our world.

Judaism → Holidays

As Israel experiences a national rebirth on our native soil, the forces of evil are gathering all of their strength to wage a final war to stamp out our light.

    Latest Poll

    If you could only choose one of the following scenarios regarding Chareidi IDF service, which would you choose?





    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/judaism/torah/parashat-emor/2012/05/03/

Scan this QR code to visit this page online:

No related posts.

Close