On behalf of Congregation Beth Abraham-Jacob,
I would like to wish you and your family a meaningful and restful Shabbat.
I hope to see you soon at tefilah, a youth program, or a social event.
I would like to share a brief thought from a verse in this week's parsha, Vayikra 22:32, "And you shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified among the children of Israel--I am the Lord who sanctifies you."
We learn many core concepts in Halacha from this verse: the obligation Kiddush HaShem, to sanctify G-d's name; choosing martyrdom over violation of the three most severe sins in Torah; maintaining proper, ethical behavior to testify that the Torah we have teaches us these beliefs; and, finally, the idea that certain prayers, "devarim shebikedusha" (i.e. Kedusha, Kaddish), require a minyan (10 adult, Jewish men) to be recited.
Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (known by the acronym the "Netziv") notes that this mandate immediately precedes the Torah's listing of the Mo'adim, the Festivals. He argues this gives us an insight into the nature of the obligation of Kiddush Hashem: it happens through community.
As the Netziv writes, when our ancestors were farmers in the Land of Israel, most did not have the ability to pray with a minyan every day because they lived spread out. But on the Festivals, we all gathered together in Yerushalayim, and then we had the ability to truly sanctify G-d's holy name and also to pray with a minyan.
This comment by the Netziv is a poweful reminder of the importance of community, as it is the mechanism that allows to truly sanctify HaShem's name by joining together with our fellow Jews to keep his Torah.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ben Kean
