בס"ד

Idolatry and the Noahides: What Is It All About?

This post is a summary of a Torah class. I recommend watching the whole class, because it has more sources and more details. [Link to the full class: add link here]

Idolatry is a very famous subject, and in my humble opinion it looks simple. But when we look closely, there are some problems. The goal of this class is to be as simple as possible, while still showing what the sources really say.

We will look at four things: where idolatry comes from, what it means, some small but important details, and what it means for us today.

A quick note first. Ancient idolatry meant that people took a brick or a statue and said: “This is my god.” They prayed to it and brought it food and wine. In most of the Western world this does not exist anymore. It still exists in some places, but for most of us it is hard to imagine. So we may ask: “Why would anyone give bread to a brick?” To understand the Torah’s warnings, we first need to understand how it started.

How Idolatry Began

The Rambam (Maimonides) tells the story at the beginning of his Laws of Idolatry.[1] The first people spoke with G-d many times. So how did their children forget Him?

Step 1: “Let us honor G-d’s servants.” In the time of Enosh, the grandson of Adam, people made a big mistake. They said: G-d created great things, like the sun, the moon and the stars. G-d made them important, so it is right for us to honor them too.

They thought this made G-d happy. Think of a king. When people honor the king’s ministers, it is also an honor for the king. So they built temples for the stars and brought offerings to them.

The important point: they did niet forget G-d. The Rambam says they would not say that there is no other god. They said: there is a G-d, and there is also a sun.

Step 2: “G-d told me to serve the star.” Many years later, false prophets appeared. They said: “G-d commanded us: serve this star.” They described a vision, and people began to make images in temples, under trees and on hills. People believed that the image could bring them good or harm.[2]

Step 3: “The star itself spoke to me.” Then other cheaters said: “The star (or the angel) spoke to me and told me how to serve it.” Now G-d was not part of the story at all. Slowly the whole world forgot G-d, until Abraham was born and brought back the knowledge that there is one G-d.

So there are two stages:[3]

  1. G-d exists, but He gave power to the stars.
  2. G-d does not exist. The star is god.

What Is the Definition of Idolatry?

The Rambam is writing here for Jews. He says the essence of the commandment is that one may not serve any created being: not an angel, not a star, not any part of nature. Even if the person knows that G-d is the true G-d, but still serves a created being, he is an idolater. That is exactly what Enosh’s generation did.[3]

The Middle Step: Shituf

Between serving G-d and idolatry, there is a middle step called shituf. The word comes from shutaf, a partner. Shituf means to believe that G-d has partners. People who believe this say that G-d Himself put them there and gave them some power. They think: G-d is so high and so busy, so He lets angels manage the world.

Shituf does not deny that G-d exists. It denies His eenheid. Most people think “unity” means “there is only one G-d.” But from the deeper, mystical point of view, the unity of G-d means that there is nothing except G-d.

Let me be clear. The ideal is that everyone believes in this unity. Shituf is a mistake, and I would never say “go and do it.” The question here is only a legal one: is a non-Jew forbidden to do shituf, so that it would be punished with the death penalty? Today this punishment does not apply, for many reasons. But the question helps us to understand the law.

Is Shituf allowed for Noahides?

The Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, Poland, 1500s) writes that non-Jews are not forbidden to do shituf.[4] The Rebbe repeats this in many places. Another authority, the Pitchei Teshuva, disagrees. He calls the popular idea that shituf is allowed for non-Jews “a misconception.”[5] The Pitchei Teshuva brings this from Rabbi Yehuda Landau, who explains that the Rama only meant making an oath, not the act of worship. So the opinions are not the same.

Waarom zou dat toegestaan worden? The sources give two very similar explanations.

In simple words: G-d does not like shituf. But He did not forbid it for non-Jews. If they choose it anyway, they face the result of a wrong choice.

And what does the Rambam say?

The Rambam does not mention shituf in his book of laws. But in his Book of Mitzvot he writes about the commandment to believe in G-d’s unity, based on “Hear, Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One.” The Rebbe points out that this was said to Israël, so Noahides are niet verplicht to believe that G-d is one.[9]

The key word is verplicht. Is it a good idea to believe it? Yes, of course. In other places the Rebbe explains that the Noahide commandment against idolatry includes believing in G-d, praying to Him and trusting Him.[10] But here the Rebbe speaks as a matter of law, and law only asks: what is forbidden, and what is not?

Here is an example. If someone teaches a non-Jew what Judaism’s message is, he should not say: “You may also associate G-d with something else.” That is not the way to guide people to G-d! But if the person asks directly, the honest answer is: “You are not forbidden, according to the Rama, but I do not recommend it at all.”

A student asked: “But Noah was a monotheist, and he was not a Jew.” The answer is that we do not follow Noah. We follow what G-d commanded at Mount Sinai.

Idolatry Today

Most of us do not bow to bricks. So what does idolatry mean for us? Our Sages say that some behaviors are “like idolatry.” Please do not misunderstand: nobody gets the punishment of an idolater for these. These are attitudes, and the Sages teach us to stay far away from them, because they are as dangerous as idolatry.

Baseless hatred. The first Temple was destroyed because of idolatry. The second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred. So the Sages see them as equal.[11]

Evil speech (ashon hara). The Psalm says “the tongue that speaks great things.” The Torah calls the golden calf “a great sin.” The same word “great” connects them, so evil speech is like idolatry. This kind of connection is a gezerah shavah: the Sages received a tradition that two places with the same word are connected.[12]

Arrogance. The Torah calls the arrogant person “an abomination,” and uses the same word for idolatry. And when the heart becomes proud, a person forgets G-d.[13]

Flattery. Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas, in Reshit Chochmah, also compares flattery to idolatry.[14]

Anger. The Rambam says anger is an exceptionally bad trait. We should go to the opposite extreme and not become angry, even when it seems right to be angry. He quotes the Sages: “Whoever becomes angry is like one who worships idols.”[15] Why? Think about why we get angry. Usually it is because “I do not deserve this!” But that means we do not accept that G-d knows what is right for us. It is like saying: “I know better than G-d.”

Not giving charity (tzedakah). Are Noahides obligated to give? There is a difference of opinion. The Ramban says it is part of the laws of justice and society. The Rambam says they are exempt.[16] But in practice they agree that it is the right way to behave. It is like two doctors: one says “you must drink two liters of water,” the other says “you do not have to, but it is good for you.” The advice is the same!

Why is not giving charity like idolatry? The Torah uses the word bliya’al (“without the yoke”) in two places: about not giving charity, and about people who lead others to idolatry.[17] The Chida gives a nice explanation. The Torah, the Prophets and the Sages praise charity again and again. So someone who refuses to give is rejecting the Torah and the Sages. He thinks G-d will not reward it. In the end, he is denying G-d Himself.[18]

Modern Idols

There are also modern forms that are not written in the old books. Someone can make an idol of beauty or of himself, for example by looking in the mirror all day. Sports can be an idol, if a person’s whole life goes through it. Money can be an idol too, if someone is ready to give up his values for more money. This does not mean that watching a game is forbidden. But we should be careful to see the difference between what is forbidden and what is simply not a good use of our time and heart.

In Short

The ban on idolatry is not only about statues. It should lead us to work on our character, for example to stay away from anger and arrogance. And most of all, it should bring us closer to believing in G-d, to knowing that He is one, to praying to Him and to trusting Him.

Les van Rabbi Tuvia Serber

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Voetnoten

  1. Rambam (Maimonides), Mishneh Torah, Laws of Idolatry 1:1.
  2. Rambam, Laws of Idolatry 1:2.
  3. Rambam, Laws of Idolatry 2:1.
  4. Rama on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 156.
  5. Pitchei Teshuva on Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 147:2.
  6. Mikdash Melech on the Zohar, Part 3, 286b (Rabbi Shalom Buzaglo).
  7. Likkutei Sichot, Vol. 16, p. 555.
  8. Rashi on Deuteronomy 4:19, as quoted by the Rebbe.
  9. Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvot, the commandment about belief in God’s unity (Deuteronomy 6:4); the Rebbe’s comment is in Bati LeGani 5713, ch. 3.
  10. The Rebbe, in other talks, where he explains that the Noahide commandment against idolatry includes belief in God, prayer and trust.
  11. Yoma 9b.
  12. Arachin 15b; Psalm 12:4; Exodus 32:31.
  13. Sotah 4a–b; Proverbs 16:5; Deuteronomy 7:26; Deuteronomy 8:14.
  14. Reshit Chochmah, Shaar HaKedushah, ch. 12.
  15. Rambam, Laws of Character Traits 2:4; Shabbat 105b.
  16. Ramban on Genesis 34:13 (Noahides and the laws of justice); the Rambam’s view is that they are exempt.
  17. Deuteronomy 15:9 and Deuteronomy 13:14.
  18. Chida, Petach Einayim on Bava Batra 10.

 

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