Judaism’s Varied Demands

It is interesting that in last week’s Parsha, we had the word’s וחי בהם, “and you should live by them.” And this week we had the Pasuk of ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל, “And I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel.” In the first instance, we learn the laws of פיקוח נפש, that where there is a potential danger to one’s health, that takes precedence over the potential violation of a Mitzva. The demands of קידוש ה׳, on the other hand, sometimes requires us to give our lives for the sanctification of Hashem’s name, rather than violate a specific commandment. This just shows the diversity of Judaism and its varied demands. There is a time and place for everything. This only shows the importance of intense Torah so that we are clear as to what is expected of us. It is very easy to error and make erroneous conclusions due to lack of knowledge.