Treating God as Holy by Proclaiming Him Holy, Being Holy and by Not Profaning His Name

G7

We are to treat God as holy by proclaiming Him holy, by being holy and by not profaning His Name.

Category: God & Yeshua

Type: Positive & Negative

Form: Explicit

Source dataset: Old Testament

Uniqueness: Not unique

Classical commandment: Yes

New Covenant Literal Application

Applies to Person Categories: Everyone

Literal Application: mandated

More explanation about New Covenant Literal Application

The New Covenant Literal Application Code (NCLA) is an interpretive guide used by the authors to indicate which person categories a mitzvah applies to, and at what level of literal compliance.

It combines person categories such as Jewish, K'rov Yisrael, and Gentile, together with male/female distinctions and an application level such as mandated, recommended, optional, or prohibited.

This code reflects the authors' interpretive opinion and is provided for prayerful consideration. On this page, the technical code is summarized into plain language to help new readers understand it more easily.

Read the full explanation from the source

Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

Luke 11:2
Matthew 6:9
Matthew 12:31-32

Key OT Scriptures

Exodus 20:7
Exodus 22:27
Leviticus 11:44-45
Leviticus 18:21
Leviticus 19:2
Leviticus 19:12
Leviticus 22:32-33
Leviticus 24:10-16

Supportive NT Scriptures

1 Peter 1:15-16
Revelation 4:8
Revelation 15:4

Supportive OT Scriptures

Isaiah 6:1-3
Psalms 99:9

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Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

This Mitzvah re-formulates two of the traditional taryag mitzvot into a mitzvah having three components. The traditional mitzvot direct us to (1) sanctify God's Name, and (2) not profane God's Name. The components of this re-formulated mitzvah direct us to (1) treat God as holy, (2) proclaim God's holiness, and (3) not profane God's Name. There is logic to linking them in this way. God proclaims His own holiness, and requires that we acknowledge it by being obedient to these three directives. God's holiness encompasses His entire nature that includes His integrity, purity, trustworthiness, goodness, righteousness, justice, compassion, love, and all His other attributes. There are other ways (in addition to these three) of acknowledging God's holiness, but the key to them all is holding God holy in our hearts and thoughts and reminding ourselves of it regularly. That is the purpose of the third benediction of the Amidah and of the Kedushah - prayers that are a part of most synagogue services. The third benediction of the Amidah states: 1 You are holy and Your Name is holy, and holy ones praise You every day, forever. Blessed are You, Hashem, the Holy God. And the Kedushah (quoting Isaiah 6:3 ) states: 2 We shall sanctify Your Name in this world, just as they sanctify It in heaven above, as it is written by Your prophet, "And one [angel] will call to another and say: 'Holy, holy, holy is Hashem, Master of Legions, the whole world is filled with His glory.' And it ends with 3 From generation to generation we shall relate Your greatness and for infinite eternities we shall proclaim Your holiness. Your praise, our God, shall not leave our mouth forever and ever, for You O God, are a great and holy King. Blessed are You Hashem, the holy God. 1. Translation: The ArtScroll Siddur , Third Edition, (Brooklyn, New York: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Sept. 2006). 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid.

Classical commentators

Maimonides', Meir's, and HaChinuch's positive mitzvot RP9, MP5, and C296, respectively, all draw, from Leviticus 22:32 , the commandment that we are to sanctify God (or God's Name). Their negative mitzvot RN63, MN155, and C295, respectively, draw from the same Scripture, the commandment that we are not to profane (or desecrate) God's Name. All three commentators say, of their positive mitzvot , that we are to proclaim God to the world and never deny Him - even at the risk of injury or death. We are also to refrain from committing sin (especially sins connected to idolatry), since sin dishonors God and, by inference, denies His holiness.

Drawings

Artist: Jenske Visser

Related Law of Messiah commandments

Classical sources

Maimonides

Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 12th century) organized all 613 Torah commandments into a structured list. These linked items show where this Law of Messiah commandment overlaps with that classical framework.

Meir of Rothenburg

Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (13th century, Germany) was a leading Talmudic authority. These reference numbers link this commandment to his halachic rulings.

MP5

Source and License

Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

Volume 1 & 2 | Volume 3

License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution required, NoDerivatives). CC BY-ND 4.0

Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.

Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

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