A life to die for

And the life of Sarah was one hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years – the years of Sarah’s life (23:1)

After being informed that Yitzchak was imminently about to be killed, Sarah became so distressed that “her soul flew from her and she died.”[1] Sarah was one of the greatest people to have ever lived; her level of prophecy was even great than Avraham’s,[2] so how could it be that she would be so distressed at the thought of her son dying al Kiddush Hashem, to sanctify God’s name when the reward for this mitzvah is so great?

Rav Moshe Shternbuch answers that while it is true that one receives tremendous reward for sanctifying Hashem’s name through one’s death, it is infinitely greater to be able to sanctify Hashem’s name through one’s life. This is what caused Sarah so much distress — she knew that Yitzchak was destined to continue the chain of the Jewish people; he was one of the fundamental pillars of the entire religion, so even if his reward would have been great as a result of his sacrifice, it would not have matched his reward through living a life of kiddush Hashem.

A similar message is recorded by Rav Yosef Karo in his kabbalistic work, the Maggid Mesharim, which records some of the teachings that Rav Yosef Karo had with the Maggid— an angel who would appear to him and teach him hidden depths of Torah. Many times, it appears that the angel promised Rav Yosef Karo that he would merit to die a martyrs death, al kiddush Hashem,[3]and taught Rav Yosef Karo how to prepare himself for this. However, when Rav Yosef Karo was in his eighties, he questioned the angel whether he would indeed die a martyr’s death. The angel answered him that this was in fact what was going to happen to him originally, but since he lived his entire life sanctifying Hashem’s name, nothing greater would be achieved through his death — the opposite in fact, because Rav Yosef Karo’s every moment was a sanctification of Hashem’s name — something that has a far greater effect than a one-off sacrifice of dying al kiddush Hashem.

Sanctifying Hashem’s name in our lives does not only mean the big things. We don’t need to save a life, or give a lot of tzedaka to live a life of kiddush Hashem, it’s the small actions and the daily challenges that we face everyday which count towards living al kiddush Hashem, as the Rambam writes:
“If a Torah scholar will be careful about his behavior, will speak pleasantly to people, act friendly toward them, receive them with a pleasant facial expression, will refrain from retorting when he is insulted, will honor even those who treat him with disdain, will be honest in his business dealings…This is kiddush Hashem!”[4]

So if we think of the great reward for dying al kiddush Hashem and realize that living al kiddush Hashem (a greater feat) is within our reach, surely that will give us the inspiration to live with a greater awareness of our daily actions.

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