I often recall the anecdote about the time I was teaching my Shabbos Gemara shiur, focusing on the tractate of avodah zara. I went to Tuvia’s seforim store in Monsey looking for an Artscroll copy of this volume. Yet, no matter how hard I looked I could not seem to find the volume I was looking for on the shelves. Finally, being exasperated, I went to Tuvia himself and exclaimed, “I am desperate. I am looking for an avodah zara.” He responded, “No problem… Come to my house. I have a 60 inch television mounted on my wall.”
As cute as the answer sounded then, I often wonder what was the attraction of avodah zara, idolatry. Was it all about worshiping statues? Do we still have any remnants of the desire to worship strange things, which is what the term, “avodah zara,” literally translates into?
It seems that many verses in the Torah are spent on the topic of avoiding avodah zara. We read the admonition not to forget that Hashem is the true God of the universe and that we dare not worship other entities (Devarim 8:19, 11:28.) In fact, the second of the 10 Commandments (Devarim 5:7-10) directly deals with avodah zara and the directive of not to engage in such worship.
The desire for avodah zara was virtually universal in ancient times. Societies all over the world had their peculiar religious beliefs, practices, priests and temples. Many temples, burial sites or great architecture marvels of the ancient world were devoted to these perceived spiritual needs. Even the most unnatural and unthinkable of practices — such as child sacrifice and self-flagellation — were rampant. The god of Ba’al Peor was actually the god of anything goes and was worshiped by defecating in front of the idol. The god, Merkules, was worshiped by throwing stones at the altar. Once the worshiper believed that anything goes, they were free to engage in licentious and immoral behavior with no restraints.
Looking back at history as described in the Tanach, we see that the attraction towards avodah zara was very strong. The kings of Israel were drawn towards the dark side and avodah zara was rampant. The northern kingdom of Israel was officially idolatrous, and in the South, idolatry was a constant enticement. Even some of the most righteous kings were not able to uproot the private altars which appear to have been present throughout the land. (Kings I 22:44 and Kings II 12:4.) The Gemara in Sanhedrin (63b) described the strange ways that idols were worshiped; some in what would otherwise be considered, disrespectful manners. We start to wonder to ourselves, “What were these people thinking?”
The Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim) explained that the average avodah zara worshiping person felt that Hashem was very busy. He did not get involved in the day to day operations of the universe. He, therefore, delegated the various powers associated with running the world to these avodah zaras. Therefore, the sun was to be worshiped for providing us with daylight and energy, etc. This followed the Roman model where Zeus delegated authority to the various sub-gods who were then to be invoked when personal requests were being made in their domain.
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 64a) related that the rabbis were finally able to tame the evil inclination towards idol worship. They tell the story of how this inclination manifested itself as a fiery lion cub that was captured and subdued by the sages of Israel. Today, we no longer have this desire. In fact, it can be difficult to imagine what it was once like.
However, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking that this desire has completely vanished. Perhaps, in modern times, it has taken another direction. Rabbi Eli Mansour points out that no one worships money as a divine being. Sadly, however, many people afford too much importance to it, seeing it as the ultimate value. There are some people who are preoccupied with money and the pursuit of wealth most of the time. They may sacrifice family time, time for Torah study or sacrifice their health in order to earn extra wealth and buy more and more luxuries. While our religion is not opposed to accumulating wealth, we are warned not to make anything other than God our highest priority; not to worship strange things. We need to keep money and wealth in its proper perspective, recognizing the other areas in our lives that are far more valuable and important. As the verse reminds us,“Man does not live by bread alone, but by that which emanates from the mouth of God, ” (Devarim 8:3).
Rabbi Nesanel Quinn, my former Menahel at Mesivta Torah Vodaas, used to quote the verse from Tehillim (Psalm 115) which describes, “their idols are silver and gold.” He told us not to necessarily read that the idols are made of silver and gold. Rather, there are people who worship actual silver and gold. Once they only value wealth to the exclusion of all else, they have a mouth but cannot speak. They have eyes that cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear. They become impervious to the needs of their friends and family.
Avodah zara — worshiping strange things — may also apply to those who are addicted to illicit substances, alcohol, sex or the internet. They may prioritize these addictions to the exclusion of family, friends or religion. Once a person forgets about the true God who rules the universe and gets caught up with the single minded pursuit of money or other addictions, things have a way of spiraling downwards, especially in his spiritual and physical life.
Although classic forms of idol worship may no longer exist, we need Hashem’s help and blessings so that we recognize our true priorities in life. We have to be careful not to pursue modern forms of avodah zara. While we need money to pay our bills, we need to especially value our spouses, our children, our well-being, our spiritual pursuits and the way in which we spend our time.
Rabbi Dr. Avi Kuperberg is a forensic, clinical psychologist and a member of the American Psychology-Law Society. He is acting president of the Chai Riders Motorcycle Club of NY/NJ. He is the coordinator of Bikur Cholim/Chesed at Congregation Torah Ohr in Boca Raton, Florida. He can be reached at [email protected].
