Q&A: Sanctification of God’s Name
Sanctification of God’s Name
Question
Hello.
I wanted to know what the attitude is toward a Jew who is killed for nationalist reasons (a soldier in war or a random terror attack, for example), but does not believe in God at all — is that defined as death for the sanctification of God’s name? Or even a believing Jew who is killed by a terrorist and had no possibility whatsoever of preventing that death. The doubt behind this question is: what is the definition of dying for the sanctification of God’s name? 1 Any Jew who is killed, regardless of whether he believes or not. And if he does believe, even though he could not have prevented it. The reason being that if he were not Jewish, he would not have died. 2 Only a Jew who dies while consciously aware of the risk of death and nevertheless is willing to die for God. Thank you.
Answer
The myth that someone killed because of his Jewishness is holy or sanctifies God is complete nonsense, devoid of sense and basis. Sanctification of God’s name exists only when a person is killed as a result of a decision, not when it happens to him without his control.
From this it follows that someone killed in a terror attack does not sanctify God’s name in any sense whatsoever.
As for a soldier, in principle he too does not sanctify God’s name. But if he enlists and fights because of the commandment to defend the Jewish people, there is room for the argument that he sanctifies God’s name. At the very least, that is not far-fetched. Personally, I do not see it that way, since this is a soldier who is killed defending his homeland and his people, like any soldier in any battle from any nation. But if he does it because of the Torah value involved in it (in his view), such an approach does have some place.
Discussion on Answer
Unless the whole value of dying for the sanctification of God’s name is the impression it makes on observers because of devotion to faith, and not reward for the cause of death…
Obviously he died because he was Jewish. So what? What does that have to do with sanctification of God’s name?
If anything, there is desecration of God’s name here (not through his own fault), because the Jew died and the murderer succeeded.
Seemingly, a person who dies in a nationalist terror attack also dies because of sanctification of God’s name, because he was killed for being a Jew.
It would seem that his situation is different from that of someone being executed, because the latter chooses it consciously. But still, someone killed in an attack dies because he is Jewish.