20 Elul – 6 September 2023
“You saw their abominations and their detestable idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold that were with them”
If these idols are so repulsive, how could anyone even think of going after them to worship them? Why does Moses have to warn the people against doing this in the following verses?
According to the Alshich HaKadosh, this verse must be seen as having two parts. ‘Wood and stone’ refer to the abominable idols; but ‘silver and gold’ refer to the people worshipping those idols.
Of course there would not really be any attraction to pathetic idols of wood and stone. But the Children of Israel will notice “the silver and gold that is with them” – the wealth and prosperity of the idol worshippers. Here, the evil inclination could seduce the people into thinking that the riches of these people flowed from their idolatrous practices. This potential temptation is what concerned Moses, and so he warned the people against this ploy of the evil inclination.
By Rabbi Michael Skobac
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