13 May PARSHAS EMOR: A TALMID CHACHAM OF CHILUL HASHEM

Chofetz Chaim to His
Son: “To Create A
Chilul Hashem, You
Are Enough of A
Talmid Chochom”
The Rambam (1135-
1204) in his Sefer HaMitzvos (Negative
Commandment #63) defines three
components of the commandment regarding
Sanctification and Desecration of G-d’s
Name: “And you shall not profane my Holy
Name” [Vayikra 22:32].
This sin is divided into three component
parts. (1) Anyone who is forced to violate one
of the commandments for which the
requirement is ‘Be killed, rather than
transgress’; (2) A person commits a sin for
which they have no sensual passion and
derive no benefit, but their intent is only to be
(spiritually) rebellious and to throw off the
Yoke of Heaven; (3) A person with a
reputation for piety does an action which
appears in the eyes of the masses to be a sin.
Even if the act is intrinsically permitted, if
such a person does this act – it could be a
Desecration of G-d’s Name (Chilul HaShem).
The third category is speaking of a Rabbi or
Talmid Chochom or a distinguished
individual, who does a perfectly permissible

act, but it is an act which people do not expect
from such a person. If another person did the
same act, no one would bat an eyelash or
think twice about it. But for a person of this
caliber, it may cause a Chilul HaShem.
In his legal code, the Ramba”m is even
more explicit [Mishneh Torah: Yesodei
HaTorah 5:11]: “If a person who is a great
Torah authority, renowned for his religiosity,
does something which causes people to ‘talk’
(merannenim acharav), even though this is
not a sin (per se), it is a Desecration of G-d’s
Name (which IS a serious sin)”.
The Chofetz Chaim once sent his son on a
mission. The Chofetz Chaim warned his son
to be careful as to how he acts. For if he
would act in a fashion which was even
slightly inappropriate (“es past nisht”) for a
Torah scholar, it would be a Desecration of
G-d’s Name. Rav Pam zt”l relates that the
Chofetz Chaim’s son inquired of his father,
“But, I am not a Talmid Chochom? I certainly
do not fall into the category regarding which
the Ramba”m writes ‘a great Torah authority,
an individual renowned for his religiosity…’
I am a simple Jew.” The Chofetz Chaim
responded, “To create a Chilul Hashem, you
are enough of a Talmid Chochom”.
I would like to pasken a Halacha. Every

visibly religious Jew today has the status of a
Talmid Chochom vis a vis the Rambam’s
third category of Chilul HaShem. The people
with whom you come into contact – be it in
the supermarkets or the gas station attendants,
wherever it may be – each of them looks at
you as a ‘Rabbi’, a ‘Torah Scholar’, a ‘Great
Individual’. Today every religious Jew may
be mistaken as a ‘Rabbi’ in the eyes of the
public.
It is not fun to carry around such a title. It is
a tremendous responsibility. In theory, this
third category of the Rambam’s list of Chilul
HaShem components does not apply to every
Jew. In the time of the Rambam, people knew
that there were people like the Rambam, and
then there were ordinary people. Therefore,
the Rambam could codify a dichotomy of
acceptable behavior for the masses and
acceptable behavior for a great personage.
Today however, regarding this halacha,
everyone falls into the category of great
personage. This is not my own idea. This was
the ruling of the Chofetz Chaim to his son:
“For this you are enough of a Talmid
Chochom.”
The Chasam Sofer (1762-1839) mentions in
his Responsa, the pasuk “You shall be found
innocent before G-d and before Israel”
[Bamidbar 32:22]. (This pasuk is mentioned
in the context of Moshe’s response to the
request of the Tribes of Gad and Reuven to
receive their inheritance on the eastern
side of the Jordan River.) The Chasam
Sofer questions why Moshe first warned
them to be clean before G-d and only later
mentioned they should be clean before
Israel. One would assume that the easier
thing should be mentioned first and then
the more difficult thing. The Chasam Sofer
infers that we learn from here that it is
easier to be deemed ‘clean’ in G-d’s
calculations than to be deemed ‘clean’ in
the calculations of other people.
The Chasam Sofer states that this is what
is referred to in Shlomo’s teaching “There
is no righteous person on earth who does
only good and does not sin” [Koheles
7:20]. No one can escape the suspicion and
criticism of his fellow man, even for
actions that G-d is willing to judge
favorably. The Chasam Sofer adds that he
suspects that even the Tribes of Gad and
Reuven did not totally fulfill Moshe’s
admonition. They did fulfill the terms of
the deal as Moshe specified. They went
across the Jordan and led their brethren in
battle. They did not return home to their
inheritance until after the period of
conquest and settlement of the other tribes.
However, says the Chasam Sofer, despite
all this, people still had complaints about
the actions of these two tribes. People said,
“Their families are settled already, things
are calm over there across the Jordan. We
are still living out of suitcases over here.
The battles are still raging over here…”

People find what to complain about.
The Chasam Sofer further states that it was
for this reason that the Tribes on the East
Bank of the Jordan were the first ones to go
into Exile. Even though they technically
lived up to their part of the deal and as far as
G-d was concerned, they did come out
‘clean’; the ‘people’ never forgave them.
There were always complaints against them.
They did not come out totally ‘clean’ in the
eyes of Israel. And for this reason, they were
the first tribes to suffer the punishment of
Exile. This is a very scary thought.
I would like to end with the words of
Rabbeinu Bachya (1263-1340) on this
Parsha. The pasuk says “And you shall not
desecrate my Holy Name, and I will be
sanctified before the eyes of Israel (22:32)”.
This seems to be a strange symmetry. The
juxtaposition of Chilul HaShem [desecration]
with Kiddush Hashem [sanctification] in one
breath is very peculiar.
Rabbeinu Bachya notes that the atonement
for Desecration of G-d’s name is the
combination of Yom Kippur, suffering, and
death. (Only death brings the final atonement.)
He points out (as does Rabbeinu Yona and
other Rishonim) that there IS an appropriate
repentance for Chilul HaShem: Kiddush
HaShem. It is for this reason that the pasuk
here places them together. Be certain to never
desecrate G-d’s Name. But if you ever do it,
there is one way out – Sanctification of His
Name.
If a person’s actions turn people off from
Judaism, causing people to say, Heaven
forbid, “If this is how a religious Jew acts, we
want no part of it”, there is still a way out:
“…And I will be Sanctified before the eyes of
the children of Israel”. This refers to that
which the Talmud says, “A person whose
business dealings with his fellow man are
pleasant, about him people say ‘Happy is the
one who learned Torah; Happy is the one
who taught him Torah.’ [Yoma 86a]”. This
demonstration of Torah’s true potential, as
well as the drawing of people closer to Torah
allow G-d to proclaim on such people “You
are my servant Yaakov, through whom I
obtain Glory” [Isaiah 49:3]. This, in truth, is
the only antidote possible for one who has
made a Chilul HaShem.