An Understanding of Idolatry from the Perspective of the Torah

The Greek words combined from Eidolo + Latreia (image/idol + worship) give us the word “Idolatry”. The Christians and Muslims use this term to describe Pagans – the term they use to describe people who are Heathen (not part of Abrahamic Faiths). In reality, it’s much more than this.

Generations after HaShem fashioned the Luminaries, people worshiped them. The planets appear as stars yet do not move in the same direction as all the other constellations. The Sun, Moon, and visible Planets [were seen as having special qualities to them]. Many ancient civilizations saw them as powerful entities, but they took it too far by [making idols out of] these celestial bodies. The best example would be solar and lunar deities. Another example would be Mars – representing warfare in Babylon, Greece, and Rome.

Most unlearned and secularized Jewish people lack the proper understanding of the definition of Idolatry or the danger it holds. Avodah Zarah refers to foreign worship.

It may seem more foreign to most people of what made Avodah Zarah feel potent. Did  the ancient world feel as if they derived benefit from the mere worship of statues? Avraham destroyed his father’s Idols. So what caused them to value it if they knew the statues alone had no power?

An ancient object that resembles a simple battery was found in a town near Baghdad. Theoretically, the light electric charge of a low-powered battery could conduct a light voltage of electricity that when placed [preposition] a statue, could [make people feel a sense when touching it].

Assimilation can lead to Avodah Zarah. The extended dwelling in the social atmosphere foreign cultures can lead to us viewing our own way of life as less ideal, less interesting, and less valuable. This can enable us to commit Avodah Zarah. In our exile, assimilation to host cultures is what led to [various] Jewish people converting to Christianity and/or Islam.

Due to the fact that our path is hard, we have the potential to choose the easier route. Thus, we may fantasize about other ways of life. The exotic appeal of foreign nations is something that is very apparent in plenty of societies. The romanticism of anything from Ancient Civilization to Indigenous societies shows such love some have for relatively distant cultures whether it be from curiosity of the outside world or an internalized hatred for our own.

The Ancient Israelites had a strong urge for them. It was like magnetic attraction (analogy). The specific attraction towards foreign deities is less of a specific urge today, but the desire to repress or run away from our own Yiddishkeit is a [serious issue].  The existence of Avodah Zarah in present-day Jewish culture can also be alluded to a common social trend – the inclination to avoid our Jewish responsibility. Many of our people get caught up in things ranging from Humanism to Wiccanism merely for the purpose of avoiding the fact that Torah and Mitzvot come with real responsibilities and attempt to escape these duties which are directly related to their purpose in life. The easier path might not always be the best even though it may look. In many cases, Jews even would go as far as converting to Christianity or Islam to attain a higher social status in the nations they dwelled in.

Many ancient Israelites have practiced idolatry which did create issues in the nation. From the Golden Calf to the Cult of Molokh, idolatrous cults have plagued the nation of Israel. It doesn’t matter if the cult is from another Semitic culture, it still impacts us, but it is obvious that we have been influenced by foreign cultures…The Kheit Ha-Eigel (the sin of worshiping the Golden Calf).

Avodah Zarah has affected us on the highest level since Shlomo Ha-Melekh….
Later, King Ahab’s Phoenician wife, Jezebel, invited various people from her nation and brought over these creeds. The fact that corruption existed on the highest level damaged us as a nation. Luckily, this Avodah Zarah eventually declined in Israel when [a later king] destroyed the Avodah Zarah from the Beis Hamikdash.

But does idolatry still exist today? Well unfortunately, it does. Once you look at the broader spectrum of can count as worship, you’ll begin to realize that it’s more than just these alien faiths and cults. In fact, it hasn’t gone away. It’s just changed form, and it still exists today in larger forms.

Enosh, the grandson of Adam, is considered the first person to practice. He perceived the world as being controlled by different powers. He was aware of the divine energy from the angels that represent the sun, moon, and other celestial bodies in the sky. People began to worship them, and this led to idolatry. In contemporary terms, most of this would be categorized as astrology. Upon this, was the worship of the earth itself as well as the sky and sea.

The cult-like worship of dictators is a humanistic form of idolatry. The way in which Lenin and Hitler are globally worshiped is, in itself, a form of idolatry. Mao and Kim-Jong Il were  essentially treated as deities in those countries. Turning man into a deity is a form of idolatry. Narcissistic, human dictators are essentially idols. Treating a totalitarian dictator like a deity gives a human too much power, and if G-d determines if something is right, as opposed to man, then man is wrong if he disagrees with G-d.

 In the 1930′s and 40′s, the world was filled with an overwhelming amount of Avodah Zarah. Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao were essentially Idols, but why didn’t anyone stop these idols from destroying our civilizations before it was too late? This was probably because the average person (back then) was already desensitized to enough degeneracy to not even find this large form of evil to be that degenerated. In fact, many members of the Nazi German Elite were involved in the occult.

In a way, many of us were essentially robbed from the [experience]. It would have benefited our development as a people to have been closer to our Yiddishkeit at a younger age. That is what happens when people have their own identity shielded from them, and thus, being more exposed to Avodah Zarah than Torah.