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What defines kiddush hashem?
People seem to throw the word around a lot, and I am really not clear on whether or not its always appropriate.
A discussion would be great.
kiddush hashem and chillul hashem are relative to whichever debate you want to win 😀 *
*I am trolling. what i said is not true, nor do i believe that.
I think kiddush Hashem is when Jewish ppl are veiwed in a positive light through their actions.
On the other side. I was tought not to throw the word chillul hashem. If people would know the punishment’s severity of chillul hashem they would not wish it on any yid.
To my understanding, what is commonly known as a Kiddush Hashem, when a non Jew acknowledges something good a Jew did, (and that Jews are good, etc), is a form of Kiddush Hashem (not intended to be taken lightly). The highest form is when a Jew recognizes how great a Jew is. (As in someones saying something like “Mi K’amcha Yisrael”.)
Every time a person does a mitzva, it’s a kiddush hashem. Anything that makes the name of Hashem holy is considered a Kiddush hashem. When somene shows the rabim even if it’s only jews that he has mesuras nefesh for a mitzva, it’s a kiddush hashem. When the nations see that Hashems’s chosen people to good things it’s a kiddush hashem.
I have a rant about kiddush Hashem.
Kiddush Hashem is when it is evident that following the Torah makes you act in a good way. This brings kavod to Hashem who gave us the Torah.
Often, Rebbeim and teachers of younger students will tell them before going on a trip that they should behave so as to make a kiddush Hashem.
This is absurd. If you act properly in order to make a kiddush Hashem, you are basically saying that it is not following the Torah which makes you act that way. Rather it is your desire to trick people into thinking the Torah is good which causes you to act that way.
Tell the kids they should behave because it is the right thing to do. That will be a kiddush Hashem.
I assumed any action that brings kedusha to the world is a kiddush Hashem. Is it not so?
tomim, yes, i think thats the most inclusive usage.
the phrase has a specific Halachich meaning
It has various generally used meanings as well
some use it exclusively for public matters
some use it less restrictively
it all depends on context, but i think the listener generally knows what is meant
The Rambam, in his Iggeres Hashemad, outlines the parameters of kiddush and chillul Hashem. Here is a summary of his words that I think are relevant to your question:
Chillul Hashem, in its varying degrees:
1) One who does an aveira just in order to show his lack of respect towards the Torah.
2) One who acts in a way that appears as though he is doing an aveira, causing rumors to generate that he has no concern for halacha.
3) One who does something completely mutar but due to his stature people expect a higher standard. Example brought from the gemara is a rabbi who purchases meat on credit. Obviously cultural norms should be taken into consideration here.
4) One who has the reputation of being a chacham who acts in a way that makes people dislike him or lose respect for him, such as losing his temper etc.
In contrast, Kiddush Hashem:
1) One who performs a mitzva with no motive other than love for Hashem.
2) One whom “good things are heard about him”.
3) A person of stature who abstains from things the general public views as repulsive, even though he himself does not see things this way.
The Rambam also discusses other things which fall under the definition of kiddush and chillul Hashem, such as allowing oneself to be killed in certain instances rather than do an aveira, but I am assuming that was not the question here.
Thanks, Mod.
Popa wrote:
“Often, Rebbeim and teachers of younger students will tell them before going on a trip that they should behave so as to make a kiddush Hashem.”
I know it’s quite chutzpadik, but when my teachers used to tell us to make a kiddush Hashem on a trip, I used to ask, “Do you want us to make a kiddush ha’Amish or a kiddush ha’Girl Scouts?”
I’m sure those groups, among others, tell their youths the same speech.
I believe that a kiddush Hashem, other than doing all the mitzvos we need to do, involves doing something that makes people look at Jews and say, “Wow, that is the right way to be.” Making a chillul Hashem cause people to look at the Torah in a derisive and hateful manner. “Look at that holier than thou Jew, who cheated in Medicaid.”
Obviously there are forms of kiddush Hashem that require self-sacrifice, but generally we can make a K”H simply by doing the menschlech thing at all times. People DO notice. And more important, they notice when we don’t.
It may be time to revisit this thread
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