Tehillim and Kiddush Hashem: Sanctifying Gd Through Every Chapter of Life
Vayikra 22:32: וְלֹ֤א תְחַלְּלוּ֙ אֶת־שֵׁ֣ם קׇדְשִׁ֔י וְנִ֨קְדַּשְׁתִּ֔י בְּת֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה מְקַדִּשְׁכֶֽם
“You shall not profane My holy name, and I shall be sanctified among the Children of Israel…”
When I read this commandment, it directs my thinking to Tehillim, more commonly known as the book of Psalms.
This vast collection of spiritual poetry dedicated exclusively to sanctifying Hashem spans every emotion; joy, fear, repentance, gratitude, despair, and of course, redemption.
Like King David and other contributors to Tehillim, our lives are defined by extremes.
Our pitfalls and triumphs, our raw emotions, the expressions of our soul, span an immense spectrum.
As such, in addition to reciting Tehillim in our daily prayers, we sanctify Gd’s name in hospitals, in wartime, in gratitude, and in mourning.
In acknowledging Hashem’s presence in moments of hardship and celebration alike, we’re affirming that our connection and relationship with Gd transcends whatever human condition we confront.
This is how reciting Tehillim, sanctifying Gd’s name compliments Tefilah (Jewish prayer). Each achieves what the other cannot.
Prayers seek outcomes, Tehillim seeks relationship.
Prayer asks for divine intervention while Tehillim affirms Gd’s divine presence.
Parsha Emor gives us the command, while Tehillim gives us the voice: to sanctify God’s name through every joy, every struggle, and every breath of our lives.
Shabbat Shalom.
