1. The Gemara here actually states exactly the opposite: if one does not take off the Sha'atnez clothes, this is considered Chilul Hash-m. In order to understand this matter, we must analyze the definition of Chilul Hash-m.

2. The Gemara in Yoma (86a) states, "What is an example of Chilul Hash-m? Rav said: For example, if I buy meat from a butcher and do not pay him immediately." Rashi writes that if Rav is late with payment, the butcher will say that Rav is a thief and will learn from him to make light of the prohibiton against stealing.

3. We see from there that Chilul Hash-m occurs when onlookers think that someone is transgressing the Torah, even though in reality he is not (as in the case of Rav, who certainly would have paid the butcher later; the problem is that people would erroneously say that Rav never pays). If the person involved is a well-known Tzadik, the Chilul Hash-m is worse because the public awareness of being careful about Mitzvos is weakened.

4. The Gemara elsewhere gives other examples of Chilul Hash-m. The Gemara in Eruvin (63a) teaches that if one ties an animal to a tree on Shabbos, this is considered a Chilul Hash-m because the Halachos of Shabbos have been transgressed. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (82a) teaches that if one has forbidden relations with a Kusis, this is a Chilul Hash-m. The Gemara in Shevuos (30b) teaches that if one knows that a woman's husband is still alive but does not give testimony to this effect in Beis Din, and as a result of this the woman transgresses and remarries, this is a Chilul Hash-m.

5. The above examples show that the definition of Chilul Hash-m is that the Name of Hash-m has been desecrated because the Mitzvos of the Torah have been transgressed in a public way. Since Hash-m created the world and gave the Torah by which the world should operate, if people see that the Torah is not being observed then this is a Chilul Hash-m.

6. Now we can understand why it is a Chilul Hash-m if one does not remove the prohibited Sha'atnez clothes. Since Hash-m told us not to wear Sha'atnez, it is a Chilul Hash-m if everyone sees someone transgessing that prohibition.

7. Accordingly, it may be said that, on the contrary, the person who removes the Sha'atnez clothes is, if anything, performing a Kidush Hash-m, because since Hash-m told us not to wear Sha'atnez, one who refrains from doing this, even at great personal expense, sanctifies Hash-m's Name and shows to everyone that the most important thing in the world is to observe the Mitzvos.

8. We may add that Chilul Hash-m does not mean that every time a non-religious person does not agree with what an observant Jew does and mocks him for his behavior, this is considered Chilul Hash-m. An observant Jew has no reason to be embarassed about observing the Mitzvos. While one should not look deliberately for opportunities to be "exposed" by the secular media or others for his observance of the Mitzvos, when necessary one must observe the Mitzvos even when the world laughs at him.

Kol Tuv,

Dovid Bloom