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Meaning in Mitzvot -
Lesson 77

Idolatry and Statues

21.09.2014
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The rejection of idolatry is practically the essence of the Jewish religion.  Our Sages said, "Anyone who denies pagan worship is called a Jew" (Megilla 13a.)  Two of the Ten Commandments are to worship only God and to eschew idols; and many commandments of the Torah are explicitly intended to distance us from idolatry.  The appurtenances of idol worship are prohibited in the strongest possible terms – "Not one trace of the forbidden shall stick to your hand" (Devarim 13:18.)

 

The Rambam suggests that distancing the Jewish people from idol worship is the central theme of the entire Torah  (Guide for the Perplexed III:29.)  From a slightly different perspective, Chassidut teaches that many prohibitions have an aspect of this sin. 

 

There are many subtleties to the various levels and prohibitions of pagan worship.  An entire tractate of the Talmud, Avoda Zara, is devoted to them; and our Sages tell us that in the time of the Patriarchs this tractate had four hundred chapters! (Avoda Zara 14b.)  In this short chapter we will be able to present only one aspect of this prohibition.

 

From the very first chapter of this book we have explained that the commandments of the Torah enable the Jew to illuminate our mundane world with Godliness, to "go before" God into this world and make it fit for His presence.  Judaism does not consider this world to be null and void, or useless; on the contrary, the material world has the utmost significance and its repair and enlightenment are our primary mission in the world.

 

This mission is contradicted in the most detestable way by atheism, the denial of God.  Slightly short of this level is true paganism, the denial of God's sovereignty.  This is the essence of the idol worship of ancient times, which involved the actual belief in and worship of statues and earthly forces, attributing independent dominion to these base objects.

 

Today we are fortunate that this kind of paganism is rare.  Most of the world's peoples subscribe to advanced religions, which teach that there is a Source of good beyond this world; billions adhere to religions that preach belief in one God and that are based on Scripture.

 

However, there is a more subtle departure from the spiritual vision of the Torah, which is more difficult to overcome.  One may believe in God's existence and sovereignty without grasping the essential CONNECTION between Him and His world.  This is not exactly the same as idolatry; yet it certainly falls short of the unique spiritual vision of the Torah.

 

This denial leads on the one hand to a religious ideal of FLEEING from this world, into the void, or into some ideal other world.  This is a subtle theological difference between Judaism and many other advanced religions.  Ironically, it can simultaneously lead to an excessive ABSORPTION in this world, which is perceived as severed from holiness and subject to its own mundane principles.  Whereas the Torah seeks to engage us in the world, filling it with sanctity via our constant connection to God.

 

IDOLS OF A JEW AND OF A NON-JEW

 

There is a remarkable difference between the prohibition of a Jew's idols and those of a non-Jew.  While a Jew is forbidden to make an idol, if he makes one intending to use it for pagan worship, it is not yet considered a forbidden idol, but merely a statue.  Conversely, once he takes the tragic step of worshipping it, it acquires a permanent status as a forbidden idol, and must be destroyed.

 

When a non-Jew makes an idol with the mere intention of worshipping it, it is immediately considered an idol – even though non-Jews are not prohibited from making such statues.  Conversely, as soon as he demonstrates his repudiation of the idol and his intention to use it for some other purpose, it immediately loses this special status and becomes permissible.

 

The Talmud learns these distinctions from the Torah.  The Torah tells us that when we encounter the pagan nations who dwelt then in the land of Israel, "You shall burn their statues of divinity in fire" (Devarim 7:25.)  As long as the statue is meant to be a divinity it is forbidden; if not meant for this purpose, it is permitted (Avoda Zara 52a.)

 

However, regarding a Jew the Torah says, "Cursed is the man who makes a statue or molten image, the handiwork of a craftsman that is abhorrent to God, and worships it in secret" (Devarim 27:15.)  It does not become forbidden until worshipped, but then it becomes abhorrent to God (Avoda Zara 52.)

 

This difference can be related to the distinction we made above.  The special tidings of the interrelated spiritual and material, and of the transcendental and the immanent, were borne particularly to the Jewish people.  When a Jew, who is suffused with the consciousness of God's immanence, makes a statue or molten image, it is just that – a piece of metal.  He is not fooled into viewing it as a kind of divinity.  He only becomes cursed when he then goes on to worshipping it.

 

However, when a Jew actually does worship an idol, God forbid, then the enormity of his sin is beyond compare.  He has not merely fallen short of the ideal vision of connecting heaven and earth, he has actively repudiated it.  The object served in this manner acquires a profound and abhorrent "negative sanctity", since it was the instrument of such a potent denial.  This status can never be erased.

 

Since a non-Jew is not required to have the same exalted consciousness of God's presence, the mere creation of an idol is enough to contravene his more limited understanding.  Conversely, even if he does worship the idol his degree of denial of God is not so profound.  As soon as the idol is repudiated, it returns to being a mere statue.

 

ECONOMIC IDOLATRY

 

The full verse from which we learn the laws of a non-Jew's idols is,

"You shall burn their statues of divinity in fire; do not covet the silver and gold on them and take it for yourself, lest it become a snare for you, for it is abhorrent to HaShem your God" (Devarim 7:25.)

 

On the simplest level, silver and gold are mentioned because they are materials commonly used to make idols; if a person covets them as precious metals, he is likely to be lured into esteeming the idol as well.

 

However, Rav Nachman of Breslav points out that we can understand that silver and gold simply refer to money  (Likutei Halakhot, Laws of Avoda Zara.)  This reminds us that money too can become a type of idol, an object of worship.  Indeed, all the different aspects of denial can become united in money.  Instead of diviners, a person obsessively consults market forecasts; instead of worshipping idols, a person may become a servant to economic advancement; like the pagan who believes that his gods will protect him, a person may believe that his "financial security" will save him from harm.

 

While the Torah confirms the importance of economic activity, it warns us not to covet the silver and gold of the idols, which become snares for a subtle kind of economic paganism.

 

 

CHAPTER 168 – FORBIDDEN STATUES

 

While the prohibition on making idols is one of the Ten Commandments, the actual extent of the prohibition seems to follow a perplexing path.

 

The Torah tells us, "Don't make yourself a statue or any image of what is in the heavens above or on the earth below, or in the water beneath the earth" (Shemot 20:4.)  This sounds like a very encompassing prohibition.

 

However, a Beraita (an early Mishnaic source from the time of the Second Temple) limits this considerably: "All faces are permissible except the face of man" (Avoda Zara 42b, Tosefta Avoda Zara 5:2.)

 

Some early medieval authorities limited this even further ruling that the prohibition only applies to a statue which represents a complete, proportional human being, including both face and body (Tur Yoreh Deah 141 at the end.)  The prohibition on modeling the heavenly bodies is also quite circumscribed (Shulchan Arukh YD 141.)

 

What is the nature of this prohibition which is so severe that it is one of the Ten Commandments, yet seemingly so flexible that almost all of its strictures can be relaxed?

 

Rav Kook explains that merely making a statue is not comparable to worshipping idols.  Rather, the creation of images is prohibited as a fence or a barrier to prevent us from worshipping them.  Originally the attractive force of idolatry was very great, and the barrier had to be very large; now there is little idolatry in the world, so the need for barriers has decreased. 

 

Of course there is still a need to erect a symbolic separation between the terrible sin of idolatry and ourselves, but one characteristic of a partition or barrier is that no matter how narrow it is, it still clearly demarcates the two sides. 

 

"Even after the great victory in which Judaism almost completely vanquished idolatry from among the cultured world, the congregation of Israel left itself one single line for an eternal sign.  Such a line, even when its length diminishes according the insightful judgment of authority which adapts itself to the needs of life, both actual and ideal.  Even under the extent of a single point, which however will last forever, is concentrated all of the mighty and great spirit which expresses the strength of its victory in the past, and the mighty hope for the future" (Igrot Raya 158.)

 

This insight helps us understand not only the different stages of the prohibition on statues, but also many other prohibitions which have become progressively more lax over the generations.  Often these can be understood as practices that are not objectionable in and of themselves, but rather create a demarcation between the permissible and the forbidden.  Such a barrier or demarcation line can fulfill its purpose even if it is quite thin, as long as it remains clearly noticeable.

 

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