Halakhah sur L’Exode 19:6

It is common today for observant Jews to attend ball games while openly displaying their identity by wearing kippot and modest dress. Since it is very noticeable when someone has moved to seats for which he did not pay, the potential for creating a chillul Hashem is great. Moving seats is generally regarded as unrefined behavior so one should avoid doing so, unless there is a clear custom in that stadium for the owners to permit fans to move to better seats at an advanced point in the game. It is certainly reprehensible to bribe an usher to gain access to better seats. Our mission to act as a “holy nation” (Shemot 19:6) compels us to act in the most upright manner especially at times when we are in close contact with nochrim.

In a number of places, the Torah presents us with the mission of serving as a role model for other nations.¹⁴See Shemot 19:6, Seforno’s comments ad. loc., and Devarim 4:6. Indeed, part of every Jew’s role is to emulate the kiddush Hashem created by Avraham Avinu, who is referred to by his Hittite neighbors as “a prince of God amongst us” (Bereishit 23:6). Chazal regard a chillul Hashem as such a major infraction (see, for example, Yoma 86a) because setting a positive example for others is at the core of the mission of the Jewish people.