Performing Misvot Without Publicity

One should strive to perform Misvot humbly and discreetly, without publicizing the religious act or making a spectacle of himself. In fact, the greatest Sadikim are "Sadikim Nistarim" – "concealed" Sadikim whose piety is not discernible, whom people view as ordinary laymen. There is great value to Misvot fulfilled in private, without anyone knowing about it. Conversely, the Rabbis of Mussar warn of the severity of performing Misvot for the sake of impressing people and drawing attention to oneself. Based on the comments of the Hobot Ha'lebabot (Rabbenu Bahya Ibn Pakuda, Spain, d. 1120), they warn that performing Misvot for publicity could be even graver than idol-worship. When a person performs a Misva to earn people's admiration, then he is serving himself, not G-d – and this is a grievous sin akin to idolatry. We must always remember that the objective of Misvot is to bring glory and honor to Hashem, and not to bring glory and honor to oneself. Some Rabbis taught that when a person receives praise and compliments for a Misva which he performed, then Hashem sends angels to bring his reward, instead of rewarding him directly. The angels delivering the reward are exposed to the risk of sabotage by the prosecuting angels who deny the individual's worthiness, and so the reward is not certain to materialize. By contrast, people who fulfill Misvot in an invisible manner, hidden from view, become "invisible" to the prosecuting angels, and cannot be harmed by them. Indeed, there are stories of "hidden" Sadikim, who kept their piety secret, and actually became invisible, unseen by those who were trying to harm them. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) writes that if a person receives praise for a Misva or for his good qualities, he should immediately remind himself that he has yet to accomplish even a fraction of what he is meant to accomplish. He should recognize, first and foremost, that a lot of the praise people give is false flattery, spoken to earn his favor. And even if it was spoken sincerely, he should remember that he has so much more to do. Even Abraham Abinu, as great as he was, said about himself, "I am but dust and ash" (Bereshit 18:27). King Shlomo teaches us in Mishleh (27:2), "Yehalelucha Zar, Ve'lo Picha" – "Let others praise you, but not your mouth." Even if other people give us praise, we should refrain from giving ourselves praise, and should instead humbly acknowledge our imperfections and how much better we can be. Unfortunately, in our day and age, people expect their good deeds to be noticed and praised, instead of feeling content knowing that they did a Misva. The desire for attention and compliments calls the person's sincerity into question, and could undermine the value of the Misva which he performed. If a person takes upon himself a fast, for example, he should keep it private and not tell anyone about it. A fascinating story is told of Rav Yaakob Kuli (Turkey, d. 1732) who decided to observe a three-day fast, for a full 72 hours. Toward the very end of the fast, with only about one hour left, he was with somebody who was drinking coffee and offered him some. Rav Yaakob agreed to drink the coffee, breaking his fast which he had nearly completed, in order not to disclose his piety. If a person wishes to accept upon himself a certain stringency, he must try to conceal it. People often use stringency as a way to showcase themselves, to put themselves on display, to make themselves appear more religiously committed than others. This undermines the value of an otherwise admirable religious practice. It is also not uncommon for people to use stringencies as a way of "upstaging" their Rabbi, of pretending that they are more devout than he is. They choose to observe a certain stringency that he does not observe and then make a point of telling him about it, thus presenting themselves as more religious. This is not only very disrespectful, but also the diametric opposite of the kind of humility and sincerity with which Misvot are to be performed. The Mishna in Pirkeh Abot (1:13) warns very sternly, "U'd'ishtamash Be'taga Halaf" – one who uses Torah as a "crown" for glorifying himself deserves to be eliminated from the world. I am reminded of the time when, many years ago, before it was common for married men to wear Tefillin Rabbenu Tam, a regular fellow started putting on Tefillin Rabbenu Tam in front of everyone in the Deal Synagogue. Rav Yom Tob Yedid reprimanded him, noting that even the great Rabbis of Halab (Aleppo, Syria) would not put on Tefillin Rabbenu Tam in the synagogue; they wore it in the privacy of their home, so as not to publicize their observance of this admirable measure of piety. Another example of this mistake is when a person walks into shul in the morning with a towel around his neck, publicizing the fact that he went to the Mikveh before praying. If he were really sincere in his desire to achieve purity, then he would not need to draw attention to himself by wearing a towel. This applies also to the way we pray in the synagogue. A person should not pray in an unusual manner, swaying and throwing his hands around, turning his emotions into a public display. It is told that Rabbi Akiba would be standing at the end of his prayer in a different part of the room because he moved so much while praying – but this was only when he prayed at home. In public, one must not do anything unusual that would attract attention. The Peri Megadim (Rav Yosef Teomim, 1727-1792) notes that refraining from public displays of religiosity helps one avoid scorn and derision. One of the difficult obstacles that arise when people seek to grow in their religious observance is the ridicule that they hear from their peers. If one keeps his religious growth private, he is not subject to the scorn of cynical onlookers who seek to discourage him. Moreover, private endeavors are more likely to succeed and endure. The first Luhot (tablets) which Hashem gave to Moshe were shattered soon afterward – in response to the sin of the golden calf – whereas the second lasted forever. The Sages noted that the first Luhot were given as part of a public spectacle, whereas the second Luhot were given to Moshe privately, in quiet – and so the second Luhot endured. An important exception to this rule is religious observance in the presence of one's children. It is crucially important for children to see their parents' religious devotion so they learn from their example. The Torah says in the Book of Debarim (29:28), "Ha'nistarot L'Hashem Elokenu, Ve'ha'niglot Lanu U'l'banenu Ad Olam" – "The concealed matters are for Hashem our G-d, whereas the revealed matters are for us and our children, for all time." This has been explained to mean that everything we do for Hashem should be "Nistarot" – kept hidden, except that "Lanu U'l'banenu," with respect to our role as parents educating our children, our deeds should be "Niglot," revealed, open for them to see, so they can learn how to properly serve Hashem. Ultimately, of course, the most important factor is one's sincerity. The goal of every Misva act must be the pure service of Hashem, and connecting to Him to the best of one's ability, without any ulterior motives.

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Performing Misvot Without Publicity is an episode from Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour by Torah Learning Resources..

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This episode was published on Apr 28, 2026.

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