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    ACHREI MOS: THE DESECRATION OF MOLECH: WE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR OUR PRIORITIES

    The end of Acharei
    Mos contains the prohibition of giving
    one’s children over to
    the pagan worship of
    Molech. This tragic
    form of Avodah Zarah (idolatry) involved
    transferring one’s child to the priest of
    Molech, who would then pass the child
    through fire as an act of worship to the pagan god. In some forms of this worship
    the child would in fact be burnt to death.
    The Torah verse that prohibits this act
    says. “…that you will not thereby profane
    the Name of your G-d, I am HaShem.”
    [Vayikra 18:21]. In other words, beyond
    the intrinsic prohibition of the idolatry involved, there is another prohibition, that
    of Desecrating the Name of G-d (Chillul
    HaShem).
    The Ramba”n elaborates on the unique
    desecration of G-d’s name that accompanies worship of Molech. The Ramba”n
    explains that it will be a Chillul HaShem
    when the nations will hear that Jews honor their G-d by offering animal sacrifices,
    but that they honor Molech by offering
    their children.
    Rav Dovid Kviat (in his Sefer Succas
    Dovid) observes that this concept — that
    a person can cause a Chillul HaShem by
    showing greater homage and honor to
    some other area in life than to the Master
    of the World, is a phenomenon which is
    far less foreign to us than the cult of
    Molech.
    In the book of Shmuel we learn of the
    capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the
    Philistines. It remained with the Philistines for a certain period of time and
    caused havoc to them, such that they sent
    it back to Israel. Initially, upon its return
    to Israel, a plague occurred in Israel as
    well, smiting the residents of Beis Shemesh [Samuel I Chapters 4-6]. The Medrash
    asks why the residents of Beis Shemesh
    were punished. The Medrash answers that
    they had been more worried when their
    hens were lost than when the Ark of the
    Covenant was captured. This is a terrible
    criticism and a terrible Chillul HaShem.
    This is the same type of Chillul HaShem
    that the Ramba”n identifies with Molech
    worship. It is the same type of Chillul
    HaShem in which we all unfortunately engage, to a greater or lesser extent, when
    we do not demonstrate the proper priorities in terms of manifesting our care and
    concern.
    The transmission of our car breaks. This
    upsets us. We come back from a vacation
    and find that the refrigerator stopped
    working and all the food is ruined. The
    house stinks. Everyone gets upset! Little
    things like this upset us.
    The situation in Eretz Yisroel should upset us far more than life’s trivialities,
    about which we get so worked up. Every
    day’s curse is worse than the previous
    day’s curse. The situation there is terrible.
    But does it bother us more or less than if
    our refrigerator breaks? Does it bother us
    more than a transmission?
    What bothers us? What makes us upset?
    What makes us lose sleep at night? G-d
    was upset at the people of Israel for being
    more concerned about a hen then about
    the Ark. We read the Medrash with disdain for the
    people of Beis
    Shemesh. We
    think, how
    could they be
    more concerned about
    a chicken than
    about the
    Aron! But we
    need to look
    in the mirror
    and ask ourselves — are we more worried about our
    own businesses and our own refrigerators
    and transmissions and all the other trivialities of life, than we are with what is going on with Klal Yisroel (the Congregation of Israel)?
    To be more worried about the former
    than the latter is in effect the admonition
    mentioned in this week’s parsha: “And
    you shall not desecrate the Name of your
    G-d, I am HaShem”. G-d holds us accountable for our priorities – how we treat
    Him and how we treat other things.