(א) עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ לַאֲדון הַכּל. לָתֵת גְּדֻלָּה לְיוצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית. שֶׁלּא עָשנוּ כְּגויֵי הָאֲרָצות. וְלא שמָנוּ כְּמִשְׁפְּחות הָאֲדָמָה. שֶׁלּא שם חֶלְקֵנוּ כָּהֶם וְגורָלֵנוּ כְּכָל הֲמונָם: [שֶׁהֵם מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לְהֶבֶל וְרִיק וּמִתְפַּלְלִים אֶל אֵל לא יושִׁיעַ]: וַאֲנַחְנוּ כּורְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים וּמודִים לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדושׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: שֶׁהוּא נוטֶה שָׁמַיִם וְיוסֵד אָרֶץ. וּמושַׁב יְקָרו בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל. וּשְׁכִינַת עֻזּו בְּגָבְהֵי מְרומִים: הוּא אֱלהֵינוּ אֵין עוד. אֱמֶת מַלְכֵּנוּ. אֶפֶס זוּלָתו. כַּכָּתוּב בְּתורָתו. וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּום וַהֲשֵׁבתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ. כִּי ה' הוּא הָאֱלהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת. אֵין עוד:
עַל כֵּן נְקַוֶּה לְּךָ ה' אֱלהֵינוּ לִרְאות מְהֵרָה בְּתִפְאֶרֶת עֻזֶּךָ. לְהַעֲבִיר גִּלּוּלִים מִן הָאָרֶץ. וְהָאֱלִילִים כָּרות יִכָּרֵתוּן. לְתַקֵּן עולָם בְּמַלְכוּת שַׁדַּי. וְכָל בְּנֵי בָשר יִקְרְאוּ בִשְׁמֶךָ לְהַפְנות אֵלֶיךָ כָּל רִשְׁעֵי אָרֶץ. יַכִּירוּ וְיֵדְעוּ כָּל יושְׁבֵי תֵבֵל. כִּי לְךָ תִּכְרַע כָּל בֶּרֶךְ. תִּשָּׁבַע כָּל לָשׁון. לְפָנֶיךָ ה' אֱלהֵינוּ יִכְרְעוּ וְיִפּלוּ. וְלִכְבוד שִׁמְךָ יְקָר יִתֵּנוּ. וִיקַבְּלוּ כֻלָּם אֶת על מַלְכוּתֶךָ. וְתִמְלךְ עֲלֵיהֶם מְהֵרָה לְעולָם וָעֶד. כִּי הַמַּלְכוּת שֶׁלְּךָ הִיא וּלְעולְמֵי עַד תִּמְלךְ בְּכָבוד. כַּכָּתוּב בְּתורָתֶךָ. ה' יִמְלךְ לְעולָם וָעֶד: וְנֶאֱמַר. וְהָיָה ה' לְמֶלֶךְ עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ. בַּיּום הַהוּא יִהְיֶה ה' אֶחָד וּשְׁמו אֶחָד:
It is our duty to praise the Master of all, to acclaim the greatness of the One who forms all creation. For God did not make us like the nations of other lands, and did not make us the same as other families of the Earth. God did not place us in the same situations as others, and our destiny is not the same
as anyone else's. [For they worship vanity and emptiness and pray to a god that cannot save].
And we bend our knees, and bow down, and give thanks, before the Ruler, the Ruler of Rulers, the Holy Blessed One. The One who spread out the heavens, and made the foundations of the Earth, and whose precious dwelling is in the heavens above, and whose powerful Presence is in the highest heights. The Eternal is our God, there is none else. Our God is truth, and nothing else compares. As it is written in Your Torah: "And you shall know today, and take to heart, that the Eternal is the only
God, in the heavens above and on Earth below. There is no other."
Therefore we put our hope in You, Eternal our God, to soon see the glory of Your strength, to remove all idols from the Earth,
and to completely cut off all false gods; to repair the world, Your holy empire. And for all living flesh to call Your name, and for all the wicked of the Earth to turn to You. May all the world's inhabitants recognize and know that to You every knee must bend and every tongue must swear loyalty. Before You, Eternal, our God, may all bow down, and give honor to Your precious name, and may all take upon themselves the yoke of Your rule. And may You reign over them soon and forever and always. Because all rule is Yours alone, and You will rule in honor forever and ever. As it is written in Your Torah: "The Eternal will reign forever and ever." And it is said: "The Eternal will be Ruler over the whole Earth, and on that day, God will be One, and God's name will be One.
(1) God spoke all these words, saying: (2) I the Eternal am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: (3) You shall have no other gods besides Me. (4) You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. (5) You shall not bow down to them or serve them...
(1) When the Eternal your God brings you to the land that you are about to enter and possess, and dislodges many nations before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations much larger than you— (2) and the Eternal your God delivers them to you and you defeat them, you must doom them to destruction: grant them no terms and give them no quarter. (3) You shall not intermarry with them: do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. (4) For they will turn your children away from Me to worship other gods, and the Eternal's anger will blaze forth against you and will promptly wipe you out. (5) Instead, this is what you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred posts, and consign their images to the fire. (6) For you are a people consecrated to the Eternal your God: of all the peoples on earth the Eternal your God chose you as God's treasured people.
(25) You shall consign the images of their gods to the fire; you shall not covet the silver and gold on them and keep it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared thereby; for that is abhorrent to the Eternal your God. (26) You must not bring an abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be proscribed like it; you must reject it as abominable and abhorrent, for it is proscribed.
The commandment concerning idolatry balances all other commandments, for it is said: "And when you go astray, and do not observe all these commandments, which the Eternal spoke unto Moses" (Num. 15.22), which was traditionally instructed that the Verse speaks of idolatry. This teaches that whoever admits idolatry denies the whole Torah, all of the prophets, and all in that which the prophets were instructed from Adam to the end of time, as it is said: "From the day that the Eternal gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations" (Ibid. 15.23). But whoever denies idolatry admits the whole Torah, all of the prophets, and all in that which the prophets were instructed from Adam to the end of time. Thus it is the essence of all the commandments.
(2) Say further to the Israelite people: Anyone among the Israelites, or among the strangers residing in Israel, who gives any of their offspring to Molech, shall be put to death; the people of the land shall pelt them with stones. (3) And I will set My face against that person and will cut them off from among their people, because they gave of their offspring to Molech and so defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name. (4) And if the people of the land should shut their eyes to that person when they give of their offspring to Molech, and should not put them to death, (5) I Myself will set My face against that person and their kin, and will cut off from among their people both that person and all who follow them in going astray after Molech.
(1) When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that man Moses, who brought us from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.” (2) Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” (3) And all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. (4) This he took from them and cast in a mold, and made it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (5) When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron announced: “Tomorrow shall be a festival of the Eternal!” (6) Early next day, the people offered up burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; they sat down to eat and drink, and then rose to dance.
(יג) וַיָּמָת הָרָן עַל פְּנֵי תֶּרַח אָבִיו (בראשית יא, כח), רַבִּי חִיָּא בַּר בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב אַדָא דְּיָפוֹ, תֶּרַח עוֹבֵד צְלָמִים הָיָה, חַד זְמַן נְפֵיק לַאֲתַר, הוֹשִׁיב לְאַבְרָהָם מוֹכֵר תַּחְתָּיו. הֲוָה אָתֵי בַּר אֵינַשׁ בָּעֵי דְּיִזְבַּן, וַהֲוָה אֲמַר לֵהּ בַּר כַּמָּה שְׁנִין אַתְּ, וַהֲוָה אֲמַר לֵיהּ בַּר חַמְשִׁין אוֹ שִׁתִּין, וַהֲוָה אֲמַר לֵיהּ וַי לֵיהּ לְהַהוּא גַבְרָא דַּהֲוָה בַּר שִׁתִּין וּבָעֵי לְמִסְגַּד לְבַר יוֹמֵי, וַהֲוָה מִתְבַּיֵּשׁ וְהוֹלֵךְ לוֹ. חַד זְמַן אֲתָא חַד אִתְּתָא טְעִינָא בִּידָהּ חָדָא פִּינָךְ דְּסֹלֶת, אֲמָרָהּ לֵיהּ הֵא לָךְ קָרֵב קֳדָמֵיהוֹן, קָם נְסֵיב בּוּקְלָסָא בִּידֵיהּ, וְתַבְרִינוּן לְכָלְהוֹן פְּסִילַיָא, וִיהַב בּוּקְלָסָא בִּידָא דְּרַבָּה דַּהֲוָה בֵּינֵיהוֹן. כֵּיוָן דַּאֲתָא אֲבוּהָ אֲמַר לֵיהּ מַאן עָבֵיד לְהוֹן כְּדֵין, אֲמַר לֵיהּ מַה נִּכְפּוּר מִינָךְ אֲתַת חָדָא אִתְּתָא טְעִינָא לָהּ חָדָא פִּינָךְ דְּסֹוֹלֶת, וַאֲמַרַת לִי הֵא לָךְ קָרֵיב קֳדָמֵיהון, קָרֵיבְתְּ לָקֳדָמֵיהוֹן הֲוָה דֵּין אֲמַר אֲנָא אֵיכוֹל קַדְמָאי, וְדֵין אֲמַר אֲנָא אֵיכוֹל קַדְמָאי, קָם הָדֵין רַבָּה דַּהֲוָה בֵּינֵיהוֹן נְסַב בּוּקְלָסָא וְתַבַּרִינוֹן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ מָה אַתָּה מַפְלֶה בִּי, וְיָדְעִין אִינוּן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ וְלֹא יִשְׁמְעוּ אָזְנֶיךָ מַה שֶּׁפִּיךָ אוֹמֵר. נַסְבֵיהּ וּמְסָרֵיהּ לְנִמְרוֹד...
(13) [Genesis 11:28 says,] “And Haran died in the presence of his father Terach.” Rabbi Chiyya said: Terach [Abraham's father] was a manufacturer of idols. He once went away somewhere and left Abraham to sell them in his place. A man came in and wished to buy one."How old are you?" Abraham asked the man. "Fifty years old," he said. "Woe to such a man, who is fifty years old and would worship a day old object!" Avraham said. On another occasion a woman came in with a plateful of flour and requested him, "Take this and offer it to them." So he took a stick and broke them, and put the stick in the hand of the largest. When his father returned he demanded, "What have you done to them?" "I cannot conceal it from you. A woman came with a plateful of fine meal and requested me to offer it to them. One claimed, 'I must eat first,' while another claimed, 'I must eat first.' Thereupon, the largest arose, took the stick and broke them." "Why do you make sport of me? Have they any knowledge?" Terach said. "Should not your ears hear what your mouth has said?" Avraham said. Thereupon Terach seized him and delivered him to Nimrod...
(ב) מִתְרַפְּאִין מֵהֶן רִפּוּי מָמוֹן, אֲבָל לֹא רִפּוּי נְפָשׁוֹת. וְאֵין מִסְתַּפְּרִין מֵהֶן בְּכָל מָקוֹם, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, בִּרְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים מֻתָּר, אֲבָל לֹא בֵינוֹ לְבֵינוֹ:
(2) One may receive medical treatment by idolaters, provided that it is monetary treatment, but not personal treatment. And one may not have one's hair cut by them anywhere the statement of Rabbi Meir. And the Rabbis say: In the public thoroughfare, it is permitted but not when they are alone together.
The 'Canaanites' are idolaters. The first day of the week is their festival. Hence it is forbidden in Palestine to have commercial intercourse with them on the fifth and sixth day in each week; and obviously on the first day itself, this is everywhere forbidden. A similar rule applies to all their feasts.
תשובה אלו הישמעאלים אינם עובדי עבודה זרה כלל וכבר נכרתה מפיהם ומלבם והם מיחדים לאל יתברך יחוד כראוי יחוד שאין בו דופי...
These Ishmaelites are not idolaters at all, and the whole ideas has already been cut from their mouths and their hearts. They are devoted to the single Blessed God, as is appropriate, a unity that has no defect...
The Edah Journal 1:1 / Marheshvan 5761
In considering the prohibition on commercial dealings with a gentile on his festival day, the Me’iri says, “It appears to me that these matters all pertain only to worshippers of idols and their forms and images, but that nowadays, these [commercial] activities are wholly permitted” (Beit Ha-Behirah Avodah Zarah, A. Sofer ed., p.4)... The Me’iri thus distinguishes between ancient times, when idolatry was prevalent, and his own era…
“We have already explained that rules such as this were instituted in their times, when those gentiles were devout in their idolatry, but now idolatry has come to an end in most places, and there is accordingly no need to be stringent with respect to them in the manner of the old innovations and general embellishments” (id., p.28). …
Notwithstanding the concept of progress that he developed, the Me’iri was of the opinion that idolatry had not totally departed the world. It could still be found at the “extremities” of the inhabited world: “In my opinion, all those remote places in which idolatry remains are subject to the strict rulings applicable to the early [nations]” (Beit Ha-Behirah Avodah Zarah, p.214). He gave the distinction between restricted and unrestricted nations definitive geographic expression, with civilization found at the “center,” and barbarian nations lacking any civilizing laws to be found at the margins. Here, too, the Me’iri makes stunning halakhic use of a widespread medieval image. The concept that wild, lawless nations exist on the fringes of the settled world is referred to in Jewish sources that pre-date the Me’iri, and is tied to theories of climate that were widespread in the Muslim and Christian worlds during the Middle Ages.Until the Me’iri, however, no halakhist using the term had identified the gentile or idolater of the talmudic tradition with these fringe nations. After creating the juridical category of the brotherhood shared by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, the Me’iri drives the concept of the threatening “Other” away from the Jew’s society. The enemy as defined in Jewish tradition continues to exist. Its existence may be required for the community’s self-definition, but it is cast out to the margins of the settled world. The Me’iri’s unique use of the concepts “possessed of religion” and “religious ways” and his idea of progress provide an instructive example of how a philosophical conception intertwined with halakhic analysis can lead to a changed interpretation of earlier halakhic sources.
The first Hindu-Jewish leadership summit took place in Delhi 17-18 Shvat, 5767; corresponding to February 5-6, 2007; at which the delegation of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel convened with major religious leaders of Hindu dharma. It is planned that this historic gathering will lead to ongoing bilateral meetings on shared values and common concerns, many of which were highlighted at this summit.
The participants affirmed that:
1. Their respective Traditions teach that there is One Supreme Being who is the Ultimate Reality, who has created this world in its blessed diversity and who has communicated Divine ways of action for humanity, for different peoples in different times and places....
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/idolatry-the-ultimate-betrayal-of-god/
https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/2011-2020/hammer-non-jews-law-lore.pdf
https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/cjl/texts/cjrelations/resources/articles/Brill.htm
https://kavvanah.blog/2019/11/02/rabbi-on-the-ganges-new-book/
The Hebrew Bible contains no prohibition on atheism, but is filled with prohibitions against idolatry. The Torah teaches that it is safer to worship no God than to worship the wrong one. So it is worth asking why? What exactly is the point of prohibiting idolatry?
The conventional answer is to emphasize that God has no image. Therefore it is sacrilege to fashion any kind of image and call it "God." Idolatry is an insult to the Almighty. Well, it is possible, one supposes, that we refrain from idolatry to spare God the insult. But after all, God is omnipotent and can presumably endure our insults. Jewish law presumes that all these rules are for our benefit, not for God's. What benefit is there in avoiding idolatry? In one interpretation at least it is precisely the opposite of what we might assume.
Often we hear that the ban on idolatry is to ensure that we do not worship the results of our own labor. When we fashion something of stone and call it "god," it is an oblique way of saying we are capable of creating the divine and giving ourselves far too much credit.
But what if idolatry was really about giving ourselves too little credit? Abraham Joshua Heschel had a beautiful and compelling answer to explain why we should not worship idols. Idols are forbidden, explains Heschel, because there already exists an image of God in this world: it is found in every human being. Therefore there is only one medium in which one may fashion an image of God, and that is the medium of one's life. To create an idol of wood or stone and call it "God" is less an insult to God than it is an insult to ourselves, to human dignity. And that is not permitted. The message of the Torah is to make oneself a worthy image of God, and not to seek images of God in that which we create.
As images of God we are given a sacred task. The task is to reflect that image in our lives each day. A mitzvah is a brushstroke; a well-lived life an ephemeral yet indelible work of art. An idol is the work of our hands. A divine image begins in the work of one's heart.
Accordingly, the great danger in receiving the Torah, in encountering a revelation of God, is that it will be perceived as a complete experience, a perfect experience, one that is designed to be set in stone. The Torah itself, our image and knowledge of God, is at risk of becoming an idol. Calling the Torah—that is, your current understanding of the Torah—complete and not subject to change is idolatrous. It is a denial of the living God. Idolatry is when you call something “god” that is not God, when you worship something other than, or instead of, God’s true essence. This teaching argues that since it is impossible for human beings to know God completely, idolatry is an ever-present risk which we succumb to whenever we claim to know God with certainty. Inflexibility, unwillingness to expand our understanding of who God is, how God operates, and what God demands from us is thus inherently idolatrous, no matter how pure our motivations and how sincere and devoted our actions.
However, the true challenge lies in the fact that it is also incorrect—and perhaps even more dangerous—to throw up one’s hands and say that because our knowledge of God is unstable, we therefore don’t know anything about God. It is not the case that the only thing one can know about God is that God is unknowable. We do know a tremendous amount about God and the world, but what we need to understand is that the knowledge that we have is provisional. Partial revelation asks one to labor under temporary norms as if they are permanent. It isn’t the case that we haven’t met God at all; we have met God, but only an initial version of God. We have to act with both certainty and uncertainty at the same time. While this is incredibly challenging, it is also necessary. It is as natural and inevitable as the evolution of night into day and day into night. This is how progress works; the laws of nature are constantly being refreshed. The world is being perpetually constructed and destroyed.
Idolatry is the practice of treating something of relative importance as though it were of ultimate significance. In our idolatrous age, we often act as though money, careers, sex appeal, or prestige are of ultimate importance, when in fact, they are only worthwhile to the degree that they can contribute to our becoming better, more compassionate and more responsible people.
Parshat Vayera highlights another source of idolatry. It is altogether common to treat honesty as the highest value possible. We justify an unkind remark with the observation that it is true; we make a virtue of telling it like it is, regardless of the effects of our self-centered “integrity.”