Idolatry
Idol worship is extremely common, even today. It is very easy for even an educated and God-fearing individual to break this commandment, like kissing the Blarney Stone...
This week we will be exploring the first of the Seven Universal Commandments:
1. Do Not Worship Idols
When I became a Bat Noach, I came from the secular world, not raised in any religion. This commandment seemed to me to be something quite easy to avoid doing. I found it difficult to imagine worshiping an idol. People coming from a religious background to Judaism might not have the same reaction. Nevertheless, some view the rule to not worship idols to be the essence of all of the Seven Universal Commandments.
What follows is an incomplete list of what constitutes idol worship. This list is largely compiled using a terrifically useful books The Path of the Righteous Gentile1, by Chaim Clorfene and Yakov Rogalsky. It is important to study this commandment further to ensure that you don’t engage in idol worship, even accidentally. It is a mistake to think that this is something that happened thousands of years ago, but not in this modern and sophisticated time. Idol worship is extremely common, even today. It is very easy for even an educated and God-fearing individual to break this commandment.
When we are deeply careful about this issue we are honoring our Creator and setting a great example that redirects others towards The Source. We need to remember that only Hashem can give us what we need ultimately. Again, this is an impartial list. Please learn more about this subject.
- Do not worship a created thing whether it’s your car, a tree, a mountain, or a person. Instead worship the Creator who made the thing and who sustains the thing. Go back to the Source. We can enjoy some things that God has created – a sunset, the smell of your baby daughter’s skin, the way Itzhak Pearlman plays the violin – but one should not stop there, rather continue back to the Source of all of these wondrous creations.
- We are not commanded to lay down our lives rather than bow down to an idol in a situation where one may be compelled to by threat of harm or death. We may choose to take it that far, but are not compelled to.
- One should not study idolatrous activity, lest one be pulled into it.
- One should not claim that an idolatrous religion is true, even if one doesn’t participate in the religion. It seems to me that this is easy to do by accident. I often hear people saying, with good intention to be sure, “One religion isn’t more true than another.” This is often said coming from a respectful place or in an effort to mitigate strife between religious groups. But one doesn’t need to accept another religion as true to be respectful to people who believe in it. One doesn’t even need to pretend to believe it’s true to be respectful. I can be incredibly generous and loving to my fellow man without making claims about the truth of his or her religion. Personally, I think it is powerful when a person says to me, “I do not believe what you believe, but I love and respect you anyway.”
- One should not eat foods intended for the offering of an idol.
- One should not do things like throw coins in a fountain surrounding a statue if the statue is said to somehow make your wish come true. This also applies to something like kissing the Blarney Stone. It is easy to see how activities like this can pop up in your wanderings. The stone does not grant your wish. Only Hashem can give us what we need. We should ask Him!
- One should be careful to not even joke about idol worship.
- One should be careful about engaging in superstitious rituals that might be ascribing power to anything except God.
- One should be careful to not even appear to be worshiping or bowing down before an idol.
- One should not pray to a person, but rather to God.
- Be careful about tourist trinkets that you might bring home from a trip or buy at a yard sale, that sort of thing. I had a statue of a cat from Egypt that I thought was just a pretty little statue of a cat. I then learned that Ancient Egyptians believed in a god that was a cat and that this statue was an idol.
- Be careful of owning or creating depictions of the sun or moon, angels, or sculptures of people. Clearly this is an easy mistake to make. If the sculpture of the person is not complete, or is damaged or blemished in some way, it may be acceptable. It is a good idea to check with a rabbi about such objects or depictions. Sculptures of animals or trees and such are acceptable, assuming they are not created for worship or your part or someone else’s.
- One should not try to consort with ghosts or spirits to know the future.
- Don’t play with Tarot cards, palm reading, and the like. It can be considered an attempt at divination.
1 There are two books:
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