We Cannot Tolerate A Chillul HaShem – Even For A Minute The Torah teaches, And Moshe said: So Said Hashem – At about midnight I shall go out in the midst of Egypt... [Shmos 11:4]. Rashi comments on the strange prefix Kchatzos laylah [at ABOUT midnight]. Of course, the Almighty has the ability to be meticulously precise. Why then was the time of the Firstborn Plague approximated? Rashi explains that Hashem had in fact been precise in his message to Moshe, telling Moshe that the plague would strike at EXACTLY midnight. However, Moshe modified the message so that the Egyptian astrologers who would not be able to pinpoint the moment should not think (if midnight -- according to their calculation -- passed without any plague) that Moshe was a liar. In past years, we have asked the following question: Moshe Rabbeinu already had a perfect record predicting specific supernatural plagues during a period extending back over 12 months in time. He has never been wrong. So why is there concern that if when the tenth plague occurs, the astrologers may think that it occurred two minutes earlier or later than the designated time? That certainly would not give them any basis for labeling Moshe a faker or liar! In past years we have explained that it in fact would have given them the basis for labeling Moshe a liar, for that is the corrosive nature of leitzanus [scoffing]. The power of cynicism is to undermine obvious truths and incontrovertible facts with skepticism -- sowing seeds of doubt. This year, I came across a different approach to this question from Rav Elya Meir Bloch. According to Rav Blochs approach, we are not worried about the cynics. Rather, we are worried about the Honor of Heaven (Kavod Shamayim). If the Almighty promises to be there at midnight and people are looking at their watches and thinking He is not here yet – that is a disgrace to the Name of Heaven (Chillul HaShem). Albeit very temporary – perhaps lasting for no more than a minute – such a Chillul HaShem is unacceptable and must be avoided, even if it requires modifying the precise language of G-ds message to Moshe. Let us picture the following analogy: A person is falsely accused in the morning edition of the newspaper. Even if there is a retraction in the next mornings paper, that does not rectify the problem. The accused will not let the editors go to press with the regular afternoon edition of the paper based on the assurance – Dont worry, we will clear up the errors in the story in tomorrow mornings edition. He wants the retraction printed –- not only in the afternoon paper -- but if there will be an additional morning edition; he wants his name cleared by the final edition. So stringent is the Honor of Heaven and so dangerous is a desecration of G-ds Name for even a moment that Moshe Rabbeinu could not tolerate such a possibility. I recently overheard the following comment in the Baltimore JCC: I respect Jews who go to shul. But when Park Heights Avenue has one lane blocked with snow and people double-park in a way that blocks the other lane so that they can go daven, that causes me to lose respect. Is going to shul so important that one can block the street, endanger their car, and endanger other people? We –- the so called ultra-orthodox or whatever new name they may use to describe recognizably Torah-observant Jews –- are always on view. We live in a fish bowl. Everybody is always looking. Sometimes their staring is legitimate and sometimes it is not legitimate. It may be fair it may not be fair to be held to a higher standard. But such is the life of a religious Jew today. We must be particularly cognizant of the possibility of causing a Chillul HaShem. Let us take our cue from Moshe, who changed the wording of G-ds command to avoid a potential Chillul HaShem that may have lasted for less than a minute! We must think twice – sometimes three times – before we act.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 19:34:12 +0000
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