Day 16/50: Kiddush Hashem in Private

לֹֽא־רָא֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־אָחִ֗יו

They did not see each other

Our sages call Kedusha YESOD, which means Foundation. A foundation is underground, it’s the part of us that no one sees, yet it holds up our entire spiritual structure.

When Yosef faced his greatest nisayon the Torah emphasizes, “There was not a man of the household there in the home.” When a person overcomes a nisayon of this magnitude in complete seclusion, it is an awe-inspiring kiddush Hashem because it demonstrates that Hashem is present in every area of his life, both public and private. As the Rambam states in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah:

“If one abstains from sin, or fulfills a commandment without any ulterior motive, not because of terror or fear or in pursuit of honor, but merely for the sake of the Creator, just as Yosef Hatzaddik did when he resisted the temptation of his master’s wife, he is someone who has been mekadesh Shem Shamayim.”

Most of us would define a kiddush Hashem as bringing honor to Hashem’s name publicly. Yosef, however, was mekadesh Shem Shamayim in private, showing the world that Hashem is involved in every aspect of our lives, public and private alike. Yosef revealed to us that we can live with integrity and complete emunah even in total privacy.

Today, facing a great nisayon in private has become commonplace. There can be no mission more relevant to our generation than creating a kiddush Hashem behind closed doors. We have an opportunity to live with emes through and through, and to choose Hashem and His Torah over everything else that the world has to offer. We were given this challenge to become great, and we are up to the task.