Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio

After Moshe hits the rock, God punishes him and Aharon. They will not be allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael, because, in God’s words, they failed לְהַקְדִּישֵׁנִי (lehakdisheini, to make Me holy). We saw in our פַּרְשָׁנוּת/Commentary section that it’s not exactly clear what they did wrong. But from the word lehakdisheini we can understand that they missed an opportunity to create a קִדּוּשׁ הַשֵּׁם (kiddush Hashem, sanctification of God’s name).

Creating a kiddush Hashem often means behaving in a way that causes others to come closer to God. For example, there’s a story in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Bava Metzia 2:5) about Shimon ben Shetah, who bought a donkey from a merchant who wasn’t Jewish, and then discovered that inside the donkey was a precious gem. Shimon’s students told him this was a blessing from God and he should keep the gem, but Shimon insisted that it should be returned to the seller. He went above what the law required because, he explained, he wanted to cause the person who had sold him the donkey to bless God.

Rambam writes that our everyday behavior can create a kiddush Hashem. When we speak kindly, show respect to others, or behave ethically in business, this brings glory to God and can also cause others to improve their own behavior. But if we speak inappropriately, behave rudely, or show disrespect to others, the opposite happens, and that is called a חִלּוּל הַשֵּׁם (hillul Hashem, desecration of God’s name) (Mishneh Torah, Yesodei Ha-Torah 5:11).

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