There is no greater sin than the desecration of HaShem 's name in the world. The purpose of Man has been to reveal G-d in the world and reveal his intimate connection with his creations. To do the opposite denies the ultimate purpose of creation. In parshat Emor we read: Many in the world, including many Jews, are bowing down to the idol of political correctness. "And you shall not desecrate My holy name; but I will be sanctified among the children of Israel: I am HaShem who sanctifies you, that brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am HaShem ." (Leviticus 22:32-33) The Rambam writes ( Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 9): "This is the mitzvah of Kiddush HaShem (Sanctifying G-d's Name) about which all the House of Israel were commanded. That is to say that we should be prepared to die at the hands of the tyrant over our love of God and our faith in His unity - just as Chananya, Misha'el and Azarya did in the days of the evil Nebuchadnezzar, when he forced them to prostrate themselves before an idol; and every person, including the Jews, prostrated themselves (before the idol)." We live in very difficult times, when many in the world, including many Jews, are bowing down to the idol of political correctness and are falling prey to the fears of Islamic terrorism. G-d's name in the land of Israel has come very close to having been desecrated by Israel's small-minded politicians and by a fearful population. Israel cringes awaiting the decrees of the Obama administration, which has lost any true understanding of the Middle East and the dangers of international terrorism. President Barack Obama has every reason to believe that his vision of "come let us reason together" might work in his nation, but attempting to apply it to the areas controlled by radical Islam is more than a mistake. It is dangerous. Yet, Rambam continues and declares ( ibid ) that the desecration will not continue and the "shame" will be abolished. "Therefore, thus said HaShem , who redeemed Abraham, because of the house of Yaacov: Yaacov shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale." (Isaiah 29:22-2) Rambam writes the following: "And God already promised, through Isaiah that Israel's shame will not be complete at that time, but some young men will appear at that difficult time who will not fear death, and they will disregard their own blood and publicize the faith, and they will sanctify God in public." ( Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 9) On the eve of Memorial Day, prior to Yom Ha'Atzmaut, my family and I participated in an evening called, "Remembering, singing and storytelling". The evening was so intense and powerful that I could not attempt to adequately describe the waves of emotions that jolted every one of the thousands that filled the Binyanei HaUmah Convention Center. As Dov Kalmanovits - the master of ceremonies and himself an early victim of Palestinian terror - declared, it was an evening with no stage and no audience, no applause and no stars. It was an evening of true sharing, singing and crying together. Famous musicians walked to the microphone or the piano, performed, and then walked off silently; and everyone sang with them. Victims of terror or their families rose to speak, and everyone cried with them. Rabbis and thinkers shared their thoughts, and everyone's soul was uplifted with them. We listened to the sister of Major Ro'i Klein, who, during the battle in Bint J'beil, yelled out Sh'ma Yisrael and jumped on a grenade thrown towards his men. He died taking the brunt of the explosion, but saved many of his men.. We heard Tamir describe his valiant sister Ayala Abukasis, from the Israeli town of Sderot, who died from shrapnel wounds which she suffered protecting her brother with her body from a Palestinian Kassam rocket attack. We listened to Rabbi Weiss speak and sing in honor of his young students murdered in the Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva. Yet, in the midst of all these painful memories and sad contemplation, everyone walked out of that hall over three hours later with a soul that was slightly more elevated, enlarged and filled. Everyone walked out with a sense that Those who have been touched by light will see beyond the night. we had just experienced something more than a memorial. The encounter was more than just songs and stories. For an evening, we had elevated into a spiritual realm where hope and pain coexist. We had entered a dimension where the daily wilderness walk we are engaged in has reconnected to destiny and the sanctification of HaShem 's name. We had been touched by the memories and personalities of exactly the young people that Isaiah continued to prophecy about. "Therefore, thus said HaShem ... Yaacov shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. For when he sees his children, My handiwork in his midst who will sanctify My name - they will sanctify the Holy One of Ya'akov, and will venerate the God of Israel." (Isaiah 29:22-23) There will continue to be the cynics of this land, or those in the exile, who will ridicule this sense and describe all the darkness surrounding this land. They will do so even though they are deep in the greatest darkness of all. Yet, those who have been touched by light will see beyond the night. At one point in the evening, Kalmanovits invited Rabbi Zeev Karov and his son Aharon to come onto the stage. The silence was broken and people could not hold themselves back; they burst into applause mixed with tears. Days after his wedding, Aharon went to command his unit, was critically wounded and was not expected to survive. Yet, miraculously, he had not only survived, but was standing before this crowd. He simply said that our strength lies in our unity and that our enemies do not differentiate between the various types of Jews. They want to kill us all. Those who have been touched by light will see beyond the night.
