a private people
There are eyes watching you. When you get off the bus, when you open the door to the store, as your checking out of the grocery store and library. When you leave your hotel room in the morning and ask for room service, there are eyes watching you. They are monitoring your behavior for one simple reason,you are a Jew. Hashem is watching for we are His children and He cares what happens to us, so He is always watching..and that is something we have to keep in mind as well with elul coming up. but that's a different point. The world is watching us, because they want to know exactly how do the King's chosen people behave.
This week was a hard one at work. Not because of the extensive hours sitting in front of a computer screen, or because of difficult patients. it was difficult there was a blatant chilul Hashem, our office manager left with not so friendly feelings towards Jews though she previously had..and i was sitting there watch the whole scenario unfold before me and there was nothing i could do about it and that was what killed me the most.
ever since we were children, whenever we went on a field trip we were told to make sure to make a Kiddush Hashem and to never ever G-d forbid do the opposite. The mitzva of kiddush Hashem is a powerful one, one is required to give up his life for even the "smallest mitzva" rather than desecrate it in a public domain.
it used to be that the Jews lived in self-imposed ghettos, the custom coming from the times of mitzrayim when we lived uniquely in the land of Goshen. we used to keep to ourselves. this is no longer a reality for the avg Jew (save those who live in Mea Shearim) we interact with the "outside world" on a daily basis, between work, school, the grocery store the parking attendant..the bus driver, the subway personnel..the list is endless. We have to be very careful of our actions. It is not just yourself that you are representing when you walk the streets. We are G-D's emissaries. We have been sent here to represent Him, and we better do a good job.
we are commanded to be mekadesh SHem Shamayim and if one has the correct kavana during shema, it is as if he has given up his life for Hashem. But the true test is whether you are willing to LIVE for Hashem. giving up one's life while commendable and is without a doubt a true test of someones greatness, that is only a moment. you only die once and once you make up your mind that you are going to do it that is all it takes and withing moments your neshama has reached spiritual levels that are unfathomable to man.
but to LIVE for G-d, that takes a lifetime of work and is much harder. when we are young we are often taught concepts, ideas in Judaism on a very superficial simplistic manner. As we grow, the idea is to deepen those concepts and learn what they really mean. Unfortunately there are certain things that never really make it past the kindergarten conceptualization. We've been trained to think that chilul Hashem is only in public, when there are goyim around. we only have to watch the behavior when we are out in the world. This could not be farther from the truth. Yes, making a nice impression is important but that is just a side-effect. It is not the ikkar.
The ikkar, kiddush Hashem is what happens behind closed doors under the cloak of darkness. It applies when you are in your room and no one but you will know what you did..well you and Him. it is those moments when overcome the Yetzer Hara, when we stand up to him and say NO! it is these moments that make the ultimate kiddush Hashem. Kiddush Hashem is a halacha that applies amongst klal yisrael. It applies when only He will know what you did or did not do. We are a private nation, a nation of tzniut. Hashem acts with tzniut. He hides from us, He does not show us open miracles. We know that bracha comes from doing things with modesty.
Hashem does not need the red carpet rolled out wherever He goes. Yes we have to make sure not to make a chillul Hashem in the public eye. But there is something even more important at stake, we have to make sure to make a kiddush Hashem to His private eye.
This week was a hard one at work. Not because of the extensive hours sitting in front of a computer screen, or because of difficult patients. it was difficult there was a blatant chilul Hashem, our office manager left with not so friendly feelings towards Jews though she previously had..and i was sitting there watch the whole scenario unfold before me and there was nothing i could do about it and that was what killed me the most.
ever since we were children, whenever we went on a field trip we were told to make sure to make a Kiddush Hashem and to never ever G-d forbid do the opposite. The mitzva of kiddush Hashem is a powerful one, one is required to give up his life for even the "smallest mitzva" rather than desecrate it in a public domain.
it used to be that the Jews lived in self-imposed ghettos, the custom coming from the times of mitzrayim when we lived uniquely in the land of Goshen. we used to keep to ourselves. this is no longer a reality for the avg Jew (save those who live in Mea Shearim) we interact with the "outside world" on a daily basis, between work, school, the grocery store the parking attendant..the bus driver, the subway personnel..the list is endless. We have to be very careful of our actions. It is not just yourself that you are representing when you walk the streets. We are G-D's emissaries. We have been sent here to represent Him, and we better do a good job.
we are commanded to be mekadesh SHem Shamayim and if one has the correct kavana during shema, it is as if he has given up his life for Hashem. But the true test is whether you are willing to LIVE for Hashem. giving up one's life while commendable and is without a doubt a true test of someones greatness, that is only a moment. you only die once and once you make up your mind that you are going to do it that is all it takes and withing moments your neshama has reached spiritual levels that are unfathomable to man.
but to LIVE for G-d, that takes a lifetime of work and is much harder. when we are young we are often taught concepts, ideas in Judaism on a very superficial simplistic manner. As we grow, the idea is to deepen those concepts and learn what they really mean. Unfortunately there are certain things that never really make it past the kindergarten conceptualization. We've been trained to think that chilul Hashem is only in public, when there are goyim around. we only have to watch the behavior when we are out in the world. This could not be farther from the truth. Yes, making a nice impression is important but that is just a side-effect. It is not the ikkar.
The ikkar, kiddush Hashem is what happens behind closed doors under the cloak of darkness. It applies when you are in your room and no one but you will know what you did..well you and Him. it is those moments when overcome the Yetzer Hara, when we stand up to him and say NO! it is these moments that make the ultimate kiddush Hashem. Kiddush Hashem is a halacha that applies amongst klal yisrael. It applies when only He will know what you did or did not do. We are a private nation, a nation of tzniut. Hashem acts with tzniut. He hides from us, He does not show us open miracles. We know that bracha comes from doing things with modesty.
Hashem does not need the red carpet rolled out wherever He goes. Yes we have to make sure not to make a chillul Hashem in the public eye. But there is something even more important at stake, we have to make sure to make a kiddush Hashem to His private eye.
That was very interesting and thought provoking. Thanks.
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