It may be noted that this mitzvah is given in the reflexive voice in contrast to other mitzvos which are given in the active voice. Hashem does not demand that man sanctify His Name, but rather that Hashem’s Name be sanctified. Perhaps it is because of this that even minors are included in the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem. This may be derived from the Rambam who begins the fifth chapter of Hilchos Yesodei Hatorah by ruling: “All the House of Israel is enjoined in sanctifying Hashem’s great Name”. The Rambam’s wording is an allusion to include even minors in the obligation of this mitzvah. Maybe this is the reason why so many of our brethren sacrificed both themselves and their children during the pogroms that befell them in the Middle Ages. The rationale for this being that if children would renounce their religion and be baptized, this would result in a tremendous desecration of Hashem’s Name.
