TRADITION
New
Arrivals
European crafted cribs
and furniture plus
unique bedding and
accessories provide the
ideal background for
that Very Important
Baby. Bellini also offers
youth furniture that
grows with your child.
A Religious Jew
Is Representing God
JOSEPH TELUSHKIN
1E,I. L IN/
-
1875 S. WOODWARD • BIRMINGHAM 48011
1 Block North of 14 Mile
644-0525
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
•
•
•
•
•
PASEO
•
•
CELLICA
O
•
•
T am
suu 4 0?
CAM-RY
S TRUMS
CARNIVAL
SAVINGS!
Open Saturday 11 am-4 pm
PREI14
CRESSIDA
•
Sale from Aug. 19-24
• Enjoy Refreshments
• Last of the 91's
• Hurry in for Best Selection
• Cars Tagged to Move
•
•
OPEN EVERY SATURDAY 11-4 PM
•
•
•
BOB SAKS TOYOTAr-ii:
•
478-0500
•
•
35200 Grand River - Farmington Hills
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
KITCHEN CABINET REFACING
REFACE WITH BEAUTIFUL SOLID OAK DOORS
OR CUSTOM FORMICA
RICHARDS
KITCHEN REMODELING
We Custom Build
Cabinets
Free Design c3 Decorating Service
• Formica & Solid Oak Refacing
98
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1991
Factory Showroom
23548 Van Dyke, Warren
FREE ESTIMATE 7 5 4-963 1
As monotheism's first
proponents, religious Jews
have always believed they
are representing God on Ear-
th. How they conduct them-
selves, therefore also affects
not only how others perceive
them, but also how others
react to God. If a religious
Jew acts in a manner that
provokes admiration, this is
regarded as sanctifying
God's name (in Hebrew,
kiddush ha Shem). A classic
example of kiddush ha-Shem
is recorded in the Palestin-
ian Talmud:
"Rabbi Samuel ... went to
Rome. The Empress lost a
bracelet and he happened to
find it. A proclamation was
issued throughout the land
that if anyone returned it
within thirty days, he would
receive such-and-such a re-
ward but if after thirty days
he would lose his head. He
did not return it within the
thirty days but after the
thirty days.
"She said to him: 'Were
you not in the province?'
"He replied: 'Yes, I was
here.'
"She said: 'But did you
not hear the proclamation?'
" 'I heard it,' said he.
" 'What did it say?' she
asked.
"He replied: 'If anyone re-
turns it within thirty days
he will receive such-and-such
a reward but if he returns it
after thirty days he will lose
his head.'
"She said: 'In that case,
why did you not return it
within the thirty days?'
"He said: 'Because I did
not want anyone to say that
I returned it out of fear of
you whereas, in fact, I re-
turned it out of fear of the
All-merciful.'
"She said to him: 'Blessed
is the God of the Jews.' "
(Palestinian Talmud, Bava
Mezia 2:5).
Conversely, when a reli-
gious Jew acts dishonorably
this is known as a chillul ha-
Shem (desecration of God's
name). A chillul ha-Shem is
one of the few sins that Ju-
daism treats as un-
forgivable. Even if the guil-
ty person repents of his bad
From the book Jewish
Literacy by Joseph
Telushkin. Copyright
(c) 1991 by Rabbi Joseph
Telushkin. Reprinted with
permission of William
Morrow and Co., Inc.
behavior, he still cannot
undo the damage After all,
he cannot guarantee that
those who suffered from his
improper behavior, or those
who read about it and felt a-
lienated from God as a re-
sult, will learn of his chang-
ed behavior.
Recognizing the extent to
which people's attitudes to-
ward God and Judaism are
affected by the behavior of
religious people, the Talmud
comments: "If someone
studies Bible and Mishnah
(the Oral Law) . . . but is dis-
honest in business and dis-
courteous in relations with
people, what do people say
about it? 'Woe unto him who
studies the Torah. . . . This
man studies the Torah; look
how corrupt are his deeds,
how ugly his ways' " (Yoma
86a).
To this day, when a reli-
gious Jew acts nobly, other
Jews say, "That's a real
If a religious Jew
acts in a manner
that provokes
admiration, this is
regarded as
sanctifying God's
name (in Hebrew,
kiddush ha'Shem.)
kiddush ha-Shem." And
when a religious person acts
badly, they say, "That's a
real chillum ha-Shem."
Kiddush ha-Shem also has
a far more tragic meaning. It
refers to Jews who suffer
martyrdom on account of
their faith. The most famous
Jewish martyr was the sec-
ond-century Rabbi Akiva,
who would not stop teaching
Torah even when the Ro-
mans declared its study to
be a capital offense.
One of the most poignant
instances of kiddush ha-
Shem occurred some 250
years ago in Vilna. A Polish-
born aristocrat, Count Val-
entine Potocki, converted to
Judaism at a time when be-
coming a Jew was a capital
crime. When Potocki was
captured by Polish au-
thorities, he was sentenced
to be burned at the stake.
Old friends pleaded with him
to recant his conversion; be-
cause of his family's promi-
nence, he could still be
spared. Potocki refused. "A
poor man, in search of a lost
bag of pennies," he an-
swered them, "passed
through a city where he