Respect and veneration for your Creator!
What does this mean?
At the most basic level, this means that one should not curse the Creator by any of the holy Names by which He is known. Humans are given the unique gift of speech, a reflection of the Divine majesty bestowed upon humanity. It is difficult to imagine a greater abuse of this gift than acknowledging the existence of the Creator while simultaneously expressing a base, vengeful desire to harm Him. Such an act demonstrates that one not only lacks faith and trust in the infinitely benevolent Divine Providence (which may be temporarily veiled), but also openly rebels against it.
Из предисловия раввина Иммануэля Шохета к разделу о запрете Б-гохульства в книге «The Divine Code», ч. III:
At the very center of our world are humans, homo sapiens, endowed by God with intelligence. This allows us to analyze and evaluate both ourselves and the world around us. However, without God-given criteria of truth and moral and ethical standards, our critical thinking is abstract at best and, of course, prone to error.
God revealed to humanity the knowledge of His incomprehensible will through His prophets and the Torah, so that people would know what is good and what is not, what is right and what is wrong. The Divine Revelation of the Torah on Mount Sinai and the Divine designation of Moses as the greatest prophet of all time became the basis for the absolute verification of the authenticity of all future prophets, that is, their compatibility with the Torah and its eternal commandments. Yet this legal and moral Code only made sense when applied to another special gift bestowed upon people—the freedom to choose for themselves whether they would follow the norms of proper conduct.
Unbiased and consistent reasoning leads to the realization that our complex, yet incredibly precise, world has a Supreme Cause. Thus, we come to the recognition and acknowledgement of G‑d as the Creator and Sovereign who sustains the world. This conclusion does not remain purely logical, but leads to concrete practical results. Having realized that life, health, all human needs and blessings continually flow from the Creator, we must unconditionally acknowledge this in thought, speech, and action. We must express gratitude for the Divine benevolence on which we constantly depend and make ourselves worthy of receiving it. This is a simple formula for serving G‑d, equally applicable to all people in the world.
The diametrical opposite of this absolute reverence for G‑d is coarse and sinful behavior, when a person condemns G‑d or His sovereignty. This is called blasphemy. Generally, the term “blasphemy” refers to any manifestation of irreverence or blasphemy toward God. These are acts of disobedience whose purpose is to weaken proper respect and reverence for God.
Thus, the prohibition of blasphemy against the blessed Name of the Creator, and the obligation to treat Him with respect and reverence, stem from His absolute sovereignty and supremacy. From this it follows that:
- Every person is commanded to fear and stand in awe of God, which is commonly referred to as fear of Heaven.
- No one has the right to mention the Name of God in vain. Such use of His Name constitutes a violation of the prohibition of blasphemy and is a clear expression of disrespect. This also includes the prohibition of swearing falsely in the Name of God. Therefore, as is well known, an oath has been regarded since ancient times as a sacred obligation (see Bereishit 21:22 and onward; Bereishit 26:28 and onward).
Biblical Sources
In the Book of Leviticus (24:10–17), an incident is described in which a Jew violated the prohibition stated in Exodus 22:27 and, in anger, cursed the Name of God. By Divine decree, he was sentenced to death. Moreover, in Vayikra 24:15 it is written: “Ish, ish (any person) who curses God shall bear his sin.” Why is the word ish, ish (man, man) repeated? Through this expression, the Torah extends this law to all humanity.
Certain Details and Principles
- The obligation to honor the Name of God.
- The obligation to fear God.
- The prohibition of cursing God (God forbid!).
- The prohibition of taking an oath in vain (for example, making a meaningless oath or swearing falsely).
- The principles that determine which vows may be annulled, as well as the ways and reasons by which this may be done.
