Sanctifying the Name: Kiddush Hashem

Artwork by Ruth Taylor Jacobson

entitled "Kiddush Hashem"

Kiddush Hashem (Hebrew: קידוש השם‎; “sanctification of the name [of God]”) is a precept of Judaism as expressed in the Torah for any Jew: “To sanctify His Name” Leviticus 22:32, and conversely not to bring dishonor or shame to God’s name which is known as Chillul Hashem: “Not to profane His Name”           Leviticus 22:32.


Thus any action by a Jew that brings honor, respect, and glory to God is considered to be a Kiddush Hashem, whereas any behavior or action that disgraces, harms or shames God and his Torah is regarded as a Chillul Hashem which means a “desecration of God.”

This can be accomplished by living a life of obeying HaShem's Commandments, as found in the Torah, rendering all aspects of life no longer "profane," but raising them to the level of the "holy", as he or she interacts with their spouse, children, family members, business associates, community members, friends, and with HaShem Himself in the manner and spirit built by the Divine Author into the Torah.

Another way to be categorized Kedoshim, is if someone is killed for the simple reason of being Jewish, even if not given the opportunity to convert, or otherwise disassociate with the Jewish faith. Thus, the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust, only because they were Jews, are considered Kedoshim.

The ultimate act of Kiddush Hashem is when a Jew is prepared to sacrifice his life rather than transgress any of God’s three cardinal sins: Serving idols (belief in another religion), committing certain sexual acts (such as incest or adultery), or committing murder.

http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/jl.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiddush_Hashem

Is saying “Hashem” instead of the Tetragrammaton “blotting out the name”?

No, there is no scripture forbidding the “blotting out” of God’s name (because it can’t be done). The Bible only speaks of God himself being able to blot out a name, such as:

Deuteronomy 9:14: Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.

Deuteronomy 29:20: The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of Adonai and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

2 Kings 14:27: And Adonai said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

Revelations 3:5: He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Therefore man does not have the power to “blot out” anyone’s name! Saying “Hashem” instead of the Name is just a way to sanctify His Name, ie. Keep it holy and not use it in everyday speech. Yeshua said his disciples would “know God’s name”, but that does not mean they would profane it by using it in a common way. We say “Hashem”, but we think of His actual name, thereby meditating upon it in our hearts.