Is it good for the Jews or bad for the Jews? Does it make Jews look good or make Jews look bad?

We often judge actions, behaviors, and, especially, headlines through this prism.

I remember in elementary school, our teacher would tell us to behave on our trip to the museum since people will judge all Jews based on how we behaved. That’s a lot of pressure on a 7-year-old!

Being the “Chosen People” means having a unique responsibility. God gave us the Torah which includes the mission of being a light unto the nations. In particular, the Torah commands us to create Kiddush Hashem, sanctify God’s name in the world, while avoiding Chillul Hashem, desecrating God’s name.

We’ve gotten used to speaking about Kiddush Hashem and Chillul Hashem in the language of optics.

When Jews act nobly, it’s a Kiddush Hashem. We’ve made Judaism look good. When Jews act badly, it’s a Chillul Hashem. We’ve given Judaism a black eye. There’s truth in that. But if that’s all it is, then Kiddush Hashem becomes a kind of religious public relations strategy. And that is simply not how Judaism treats it.

The Talmud (Yoma 86a) gives a definition that is both simple and unsettling. It does not speak about headlines or global perception. It speaks about how a Jew lives. If a person learns Torah, speaks pleasantly, conducts business honestly, people say, “Fortunate is his teacher…this is Torah.” That is Kiddush Hashem. If not, that is Chillul Hashem. Rambam goes even further. For someone identified as a Torah Jew, even behavior that is technically permissible but ethically off can constitute Chillul Hashem. The bar is not legality; it........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)