Rabbi Chaim Schwartz, an 11th-grade rebbe in Yeshivas Bais Moshe of Scranton, shared the following remarkable story with me.
He was traveling with his family and stopped in a park for supper. A large Harley Davidson motorcycle club of around 40 bikers was in the midst of a barbecue. After inquiring how long they expected to be there, Rabbi Schwartz went over to one of them and asked the biker what was happening at this party. He responded that one of their members is sick with leukemia, so they are having a fundraiser to help the member and his family. Rabbi Schwartz, without hesitation, says, “wow! What a special cause! I would like to donate. Can I have a part in this?”.
He begins to pull his wallet out of his pocket. The biker is shocked and moved by the gesture and takes Rabbi Schwartz by the arm and takes him around to the entire group announcing loudly with pride “could you believe it! This young man is donating to our cause!”
But he doesn’t stop there. He introduces him to the member sick with leukemia, who is deeply moved by this Jewish stranger’s thoughtfulness. Later when a friend of Rabbi Schwartz heard this story, he asked him, “how did you think of this? Most of us would run the other way?!” He responded that he has always learned to have Kiddush Hashem on his mind. Every situation is an opportunity for Kiddush Hashem, because that is our mission.
This might have been the first and last experience that those club members would have with a Jew. It will very likely be an impression that will last a lifetime. It was a worthwhile investment with significant dividends for just a small donation of 5 dollars.
Generally, the mitzvah of kiddush Hashem does not require one to take proactive steps to create a kiddush Hashem; instead, kiddush Hashem emerges automatically from one’s involvement in the Torah and its mitzvos. For a talmid chacham, however, this might not be the case. Rambam (Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 5:11) emphasizes the requirement for a respected Torah figure to go beyond the minimum requirements of the Torah law and conduct himself in a way that is utterly beyond reproach. He describes the appropriate behavior for a talmid chacham as follows: “He acts in all of his deeds beyond the letter of the law…to the point that everyone praises him, loves him, and desires [to emulate] his deeds. Then he has created a kiddush Hashem!”
Rav Avigdor Miller zt”l (Shaarei Orah, vol. 2, p. 228) notes that Rambam teaches an important novel lesson here. A talmid chacham must treat the mitzvah of kiddush Hashem like any other mitzvah that requires kavannah; he must take actions that will bring honor to Hashem with the intent that others will come to think highly of him — and, by extension, praise Hashem — as a result.
5TC thanks Rabbi Shraga Freedman for sharing this great story, he is the author of Sefer Mekadshei Shemecha, Living Kiddush Hashem, and A Life Worth Living. Email [email protected] for a free sefer. Visit LivingKiddushHashem.org for more resources.
