CLD #743

People in our generation LOVE to throw around the words “Hillul Hashem”  like they get paid for it. But do we even know what Hillul Hashem is, or desecrating the name of God? The sefer (book) Orhot Tzadikkim explains in detail the concept of Hillul Hahsem in Sha’ar Teshuva (the chapter on repentance). Hillul Hashem is a very big sin, but what is it?

He explains as follows by bringing a few examples that leads to an action that is similar in all of them. The first example he brings is an individual who goes to a butcher and is not stringent about paying the butcher at the same moment (gives him an “I.O.U.”) and brings himself to a suspicious act of doubt in whether he stole the meat or not. Another example he brings is of a single individual who walks around in the public domain six feet without wearing tefillin (as they used to wear tefillin throughout the entire daytime) and not learning to himself halacha (Jewish law) he knows by heart or Torah in general.

Another example of Hillul Hashem in the name of The Bet Midrash of Rabbi Ami is if upon reciting this individuals name, people are embarrassed to be known as friends with him. All these individuals and their stories lead to examples that have a single similarity. These examples show us cases where people are underestimating and belittling Mitzvot and Torah. When an individual gives an I.O.U. he/she is not thinking about the Mitzvah of avoiding theft. When an individual walks around without Torah he is not thinking about the stringency of not learning Torah and going about life without spirituality.

We need to understand that we must always think about how our actions influence others. When I walk outside without a kippa and show other Jewish men that I am not worrying about my Fear of Heaven, I am actually causing them to not worry about Hashem. When I walk outside in pants and show other Jewish women that I am not worrying about men staring at my legs or my tight pants then I cause other women to have a bigger desire to take off their skirts. Are these small examples of Hillul Hashem? What about going clubbing, what about watching pornography and showing it off to your friends? What about telling your friends at work you are saving $30,000 annually by NOT sending your child to a Jewish education?

Judaism=Think.

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