Can my bad (but not sinful) behavior create a chilul Hashem?

Question

The Rambam (Yisodei Hatorah 5:10-11) writes that there are two ways to commit a chilul Hashem: either to sin, or to behave in a (otherwise non-sinful) manner that people view negatively. However he limits the latter to "a man who is a great Torah scholar and renowned for his piety":

וְיֵשׁ דְּבָרִים אֲחֵרִים שֶׁהֵן בִּכְלַל חִלּוּל הַשֵּׁם. וְהוּא שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה אוֹתָם אָדָם גָּדוֹל בַּתּוֹרָה וּמְפֻרְסָם בַּחֲסִידוּת דְּבָרִים שֶׁהַבְּרִיּוֹת מְרַנְּנִים אַחֲרָיו בִּשְׁבִילָם. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינָן עֲבֵרוֹת הֲרֵי זֶה חִלֵּל אֶת הַשֵּׁם כְּגוֹן... אוֹ שֶׁדִּבּוּרוֹ עִם הַבְּרִיּוֹת אֵינוֹ בְּנַחַת וְאֵינוֹ מְקַבְּלָן בְּסֵבֶר פָּנִים יָפוֹת אֶלָּא בַּעַל קְטָטָה וְכַעַס. וְכַיּוֹצֵא בַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ הַכּל לְפִי גָּדְלוֹ שֶׁל חָכָם צָרִיךְ שֶׁיְּדַקְדֵּק עַל עַצְמוֹ וְיַעֲשֶׂה לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין

There are other things included in desecrating God's name: when a man who is a great Torah scholar and renowned for his piety will do things that will cause the public to complain about him, even though they are not transgressions, nevertheless he has desecrated God's name, for example...if his speech with his fellow men isn't polite, or if he does not receive them pleasantly, but is instead a man of anger and strife. In such matters, commensurate to the greatness of the scholar, he must take particular care and act better than the law requires.

Since most of us are not great scholars renowned for our piety (at least I speak for myself), it would seem that our bad (non-sinful) behavior cannot constitute a chilul Hashem.

Does anyone know of a halachic work that disagrees with the Rambam and justifies the widespread perception that a regular person's bad non-sinful behavior can indeed be a chilul Hashem?

Answer 1

Here is a Gemara.

Masechet Yoma 86a:

כדתניא (דברים ו, ה) ואהבת את ה' אלהיך שיהא שם שמים מתאהב על ידך שיהא קורא ושונה ומשמש ת"ח ויהא משאו ומתנו בנחת עם הבריות מה הבריות אומרות עליו אשרי אביו שלמדו תורה אשרי רבו שלמדו תורה אוי להם לבריות שלא למדו תורה פלוני שלמדו תורה ראו כמה נאים דרכיו כמה מתוקנים מעשיו עליו הכתוב אומר (ישעיהו מט, ג) ויאמר לי עבדי אתה ישראל אשר בך אתפאר אבל מי שקורא ושונה ומשמש ת"ח ואין משאו ומתנו באמונה ואין דבורו בנחת עם הבריות מה הבריות אומרות עליו אוי לו לפלוני שלמד תורה אוי לו לאביו שלמדו תורה אוי לו לרבו שלמדו תורה פלוני שלמד תורה ראו כמה מקולקלין מעשיו וכמה מכוערין דרכיו ועליו הכתוב אומר (יחזקאל לו, כ) באמור להם עם ה' אלה ומארצו יצאו ‏

if someone studies Scripture and Mishnah, and attends on the disciples of the wise, is honest in business, and speaks pleasantly to persons, what do people then say concerning him? 'Happy the father who taught him Torah, happy the teacher who taught him Torah; woe unto people who have not studied the Torah; for this man has studied the Torah look how fine his ways are, how righteous his deeds!. Of him does Scripture say: And He said unto me: Thou art My servant, Israel, in, whom I will be glorified. But if someone studies Scripture and Mishnah, attends on the disciples of the wise, but is dishonest in business, and discourteous in his relations with people, what do people say about him? ' Woe unto him who studied the Torah, woe unto his father who taught him Torah; woe unto his teacher who taught him Torah!' This man studied the Torah: Look, how corrupt are his deeds, how ugly his ways; of him Scripture says: In that men said of them,: These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of His land.

It seems very similar to Chilul Hashem. Some of the bad behaviors cited are not really pointing to sin, but to bad customs. The man pointed is a man that people see as a scholar. We can understand from the style of this text that nowadays, a Yeshiva Bochur or almost a man considered as a rabbi, or as an active member of a Beth Hamidrash falls in this category, for him people will say "This man studied Torah, look how corrupt..." This is exactly the words of Rambam. There is no "objective" threshold.

Answer 2

It seems that according to Rabbi Dessler, yes, every person causes 'chilul' based on his own level.

Here's my translation from Michtov Me'Eliyahu 4 pg 88:

The Rishonim wrote that sin is a disease of the soul. 'Once someone sins and repeats, it becomes to him as if it is allowed', (Kidushin 40a). That is, it is a permanent sickness, and that is certainly 'chilul'. As for desire, 'Once one is attached to it very much so, it is akin to heresy' and it is impossible to honestly detach from it unless one dies doing Teshuva, (Avoda Zara 17a). That is, the sickness is so attached to him that he cannot detach from it, and the cure is so harsh that it kills him. Every person must recognize the 'chilul' according to his level, as they said 'what is chilul Hashem...Rabi Yochanan...like myself if I walk four cubits without Torah and without Tephilin. See there in the Gemara that this is a chilul Hashem that is only forgiven with death. We must know that all sicknesses such as the light treatment of prayers, mussar, bittul torah and the like, that is chlilul.