The Prohibition of Idolatry
STUDENT SUMMARIES OF SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
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Dedicated in memory of
Joseph Y. Nadler, z”l, Yosef ben Yechezkel Tzvi
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Parashat YITRO
SICHA OF HARAV
The Prohibition of
Idolatry
Adapted by
Translated by
A verse in our parasha reads:
"You shall not make with Me gods of silver, nor shall you make
for yourselves gods of gold." (20:19)
The Mekhilta elaborates:
"You shall not make with Me" –
Rabbi Yishmael said: You shall not make the form of My
servants which serve Me on high: not the form of the angels, nor the form of the
ofanim, nor the form of the keruvim.
Rabbi Natan said, You shall not say, "I shall make a sort of
image of Him and then prostrate myself to it" – therefore it says, "You shall
not make with Me." And it is written (Devarim 4:15), "You shall guard
yourselves exceedingly well, for you did not see any image…."
Similarly, concerning the prohibition of idolatry,
we find the following verses:
Guard yourself lest you be
ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and lest you
inquire after their gods, saying:
"How
did these nations serve their gods? I shall do likewise." (Devarim 12:30)
The statement, “I shall do likewise” may be
understood in two different ways. The simple understanding is that this person
seeks to serve idols in the same way that the nations do. However, Ibn Ezra
offers an interesting understanding: "'I shall do likewise' – [meaning] 'in my
service of God,' and you will think that you are acting well. You shall not do
so, for God abhors all of their actions." In other words, Ibn Ezra warns us
against adopting defective norms that belong to idolatry, and trying to use them
in our service of God.
This is also explained in the Mekhilta (following
on from the above):
"Nor shall you make for yourselves" – You shall not say,
"Since the Torah permits [the keruvim] to be made in the Temple, I shall
do the same in the synagogue, or the beit midrash." The verse therefore
teaches, "You shall not make for yourselves."
Another explanation for the words, "You shall not make for
yourselves" – you shall not say, "We shall make [idols] for decoration, just as
others do in other places." The verse therefore teaches, "You shall not make for
yourselves" [i.e., for your own esthetic purposes].
To clarify this, we must examine the prohibition of
idolatry. This prohibition can be transgressed in one of two ways – "in its
usual manner," and "not in its usual manner." The Gemara (Sanhedrin 60b)
teaches that the actions forbidden under the category of "in its usual manner,"
including the particular actions that represented the service of Ba'al Pe'or, or
casting a stone at Mercury, etc., apply only to that specific form of idolatry.
The prohibitions that fall under the category of "not in its usual manner," such
as offering sacrifices or incense, libations, prostration, etc., apply to all
forms of idolatry.
These two models of idolatry in fact represent two
negative elements which may attract a person's interest and lead to sin. A
person may be attracted in a trivial manner. During the period of the settlement
of Eretz Yisrael and the period of the kings, Bnei Yisrael
repeatedly sinned and repented. However, there is one sin which recurs over and
over again throughout that period, as we read:
Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because no
House for God's Name had been built until those times. And Shlomo loved God,
walking in the ways of David, his father; only he sacrificed and offered incense
in the high places. (I Melakhim 3:2)
This theme reappears several times over the course
of Sefer Melakhim. The Mishna (Zevachim chapter 14) mentions
various situations in which the 'bamot' (high places) were permitted and
forbidden. We find that these bamot, which were actually used lawfully
during a certain period in history, were a very strong temptation for Am
Yisrael. Apparently, the bamot gave people the ability to communicate
with God in every situation and in every place. Man needs some connection with
God that goes beyond place, and the bamot represented a distorted
fulfillment of that need. This is idolatry that is "not in its usual manner." It
is a type of behavior which does not belong directly to idolatry, but may be
considered part of its accessories.
There is yet another type of idolatry. This is
where a person wants to perform actions that are not normative by any standard,
believing that this will help his connection with God.
What we learn from our parasha is that the
path to God is not given over to man. One's own subjective good intentions are
not the proper criterion. Rather, performing actions which God Himself defines
as good must be the basis for one's orientation. The attempt to seek God in a
unilateral manner, based only on one's own personal initiative, is not only
missing the mark, but a form of idolatry.
(This sicha was delivered on Shabbat Parashat Yitro
5769 [2009].)