This weeks Torah portion is Ki Tisa.
In Parshas Ki Tisa, the Jewish people make the mistake of creating a golden calf and worshipping it, when they see Moshe did not return when expected from Mt. Saini. G-D now wants to destroy the entire nation but Moshe intercedes on our behalf. When he comes down with the tablets and sees the Jews worshipping a idol, he breaks the tablets, destroys the golden calf, and puts the culprits to death. He tells Hashem "If You do not forgive them, blot me from Your book that You have written." Hashem forgives, but says the effect of this sin will be felt for the generations to come.
Whats so terrible about idolatry? Why is Judaism so intolerant of it? What does it mean in the eyes of Hashem for a Jew to worship non-jewish and foreign deities?
I want to broaden on this subject because it is something a lot of Jews have problems with and something i'm very serious about.
The laws that prohibit idolatry are:
Not to make a graven image; neither to make it oneself nor to have it made by others (Ex. 20:4) (CCN9).
Not to make any figures for ornament, even if they are not worshipped (Ex. 20:20) (CCN144).
Not to make idols even for others (Ex. 34:17; Lev. 19:4) (CCN10).
Not to use the ornament of any object of idolatrous worship (Deut. 7:25) (CCN17).
Not to make use of an idol or its accessory objects, offerings, or libations (Deut. 7:26) (CCN1 cool . See Grape Products.
Not to drink wine of idolaters (Deut. 32:38 ) (CCN15). See Grape Products.
Not to worship an idol in the way in which it is usually worshipped (Ex. 20:5) (CCN12).
Not to bow down to an idol, even if that is not its mode of worship (Ex. 20:5) (CCN11).
Not to prophesy in the name of an idol (Ex. 23:13; Deut. 18:20) (CCN27).
Not to hearken to one who prophesies in the name of an idol (Deut. 13:4) (CCN22).
Not to lead the children of Israel astray to idolatry (Ex. 23:13) (CCN14).
Not to entice an Israelite to idolatry (Deut. 13:12) (CCN23).
To destroy idolatry and its appurtenances (Deut. 12:2-3) (affirmative).
Not to love the enticer to idolatry (Deut. 13:9) (CCN24).
Not to give up hating the enticer to idolatry (Deut. 13:9) (CCN25).
Not to save the enticer from capital punishment, but to stand by at his execution (Deut. 13:9) (negative).
A person whom he attempted to entice to idolatry shall not urge pleas for the acquittal of the enticer (Deut. 13:9) (CCN26).
A person whom he attempted to entice shall not refrain from giving evidence of the enticer's guilt, if he has such evidence (Deut. 13:9) (negative).
Not to swear by an idol to its worshipers, nor cause them to swear by it (Ex. 23:13) (CCN13).
Not to turn one's attention to idolatry (Lev. 19:4) (CCN16).
Not to adopt the institutions of idolaters nor their customs (Lev. 18:3; Lev. 20:23) (CCN21).
Not to pass a child through the fire to Molech (Lev. 18:21) (negative).
Not to suffer any one practicing witchcraft to live (Ex. 22:17) (negative).
Not to practice onein (observing times or seasons as favorable or unfavorable, using astrology) (Lev. 19:26) (CCN166).
Not to practice nachesh (doing things based on signs and portents; using charms and incantations) (Lev. 19:26) (CCN165).
Not to consult ovoth (ghosts) (Lev. 19:31) (CCN170).
Not to consult yid'onim (wizards) (Lev. 19:31) (CCN171).
Not to practice kisuf (magic using herbs, stones and objects that people use) (Deut. 18:10) (CCN16 cool .
Not to practice kessem (a general term for magical practices) (Deut. 18:10) (CCN167).
Not to practice the art of a chover chaver (casting spells over snakes and scorpions) (Deut. 18:11) (CCN169).
Not to enquire of an ob (a ghost) (Deut. 18:11) (CCN172).
Not to seek the maytim (dead) (Deut. 18:11) (CCN174).
Not to enquire of a yid'oni (wizard) (Deut. 18:11) (CCN173).
Not to remove the entire beard, like the idolaters (Lev. 19:27) (CCN177).
Not to round the corners of the head, as the idolatrous priests do (Lev. 19:27) (CCN176).
Not to cut oneself or make incisions in one's flesh in grief, like the idolaters (Lev. 19:28; Deut. 14:1) (CCN2 cool .
Not to tattoo the body like the idolaters (Lev. 19:28 ) (CCN163).
Not to make a bald spot for the dead (Deut. 14:1) (CCN164).
Not to plant a tree for worship (Deut. 16:21) (negative).
Not to set up a pillar (for worship) (Deut. 16:22) (CCN162).
Not to show favor to idolaters (Deut. 7:2) (CCN20).
Not to make a covenant with the seven (Canaanite, idolatrous) nations (Ex. 23:32; Deut. 7:2) (negative).
Not to settle idolaters in our land (Ex. 23:33) (negative) (CCI26).
To slay the inhabitants of a city that has become idolatrous and burn that city (Deut. 13:16-17) (affirmative).
Not to rebuild a city that has been led astray to idolatry (Deut. 13:17) (negative).
Not to make use of the property of city that has been so led astray (Deut. 13:18 ) (negative).
(http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm)
(So yes Buddah is in fact without question idolatry, as it states: Not to make any figures for ornament, even if they are not worshipped (Ex. 20:20))
But why? Because a Jew has a certain mission in this world, and any practice or even thought of idolatry completely corrupts that purpose. What is the purpose? To bring moshiach to not only us with the rebuilding of the temple, but also for the entire world and non-jewish nations. Infact, the mission statement of a Jews life is in the aleinu, which is said during the 3 daily prayers aswell as shabbos, starts with "It is incumbent upon us to praise the Master of all things, to exult the Creator of all existence. For he has not made us like the nations of the world, nor caused us to be like the families of the earth" and ends with, "that we may speedily behold the splendor of Your might, to banish idoltry from the face of the earth- and the false gods will be utterly destroyed- to perfect the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty."
Therefor if a Jew was to be worshipping a idol, or any form of non-jew religious practice, they are deceiving not only themselves but G-D. Everything that Judaism is based on is to build a direct relationship with G-D and bring on the messianic redemption, were supposed to be wiping out idolatry from the world, not letting our animal nefesh take over and instead of destroying, bowing.
This is not only physical idols, money and greed are also idols, as they idolize yourself. This is why a Jew is commanded to give atleast 10% of their earnings to tzadakah. A strong desire to gain fame is also idolatry. Anything that causes you to gain someone at the expense of another is idolatry.
Worship of humans is considered idolatry for a Jew, such as Yushke (jesus) or the like (Buddah) Many other concepts in Christianity also constitute idolatry for a Jew, not for a Christian. Judaism has no concept of a triune deity (the trinity) and by doing so it is splitting G-D in three. By saying jesus is G-D in a body is idolatry, as in the Torah it clearly states G-D can never be man and man can never be G-D, no matter how perfect they claim jesus to be, he was faulty, and his religious devotion was problematic.
"Today is the fifth day of the week, on which the Levi'im in the Bes Hamikdash used to say:
For the choirmaster, upon the [musical instrument] gittit; by Asaf. Sing joyfully to G-D our strength; sound the shofar to the G-D of Jacob. Raise your voice in song; sound the drum, the pleasant harp and the lyre. Blow the shofar on the New Moon, on the designated day of our Holy Day; for it is a degree for Israel, a ruling of the G-D of Jacob. He ordained it as a precept for Joseph, when he went forth over the land of Egypt; I heard a language which I did not know. I have taken his shoulder form his burden; his hands were removed from the caldron. In distress I called and I delivered you; [you called] in secret, and I answered you with the thunderous wonders; I tested you at the waters of Merivah, Selah. Hear, My people, and I will admonish you; Israel, if you would only listen to Me! You shall have no alien god within you, nor shall you bow down to a foreign deity. I am the Lord, your G-D who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open wide your mouth [state all your desires] and I shall grant them. But My people did not heed My voice, Israel did not want [to listen to] Me. So I sent them away for the willfulness of their heart, for following [their] evil design. If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would only walk in My ways, then I would speedily subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their oppressors; whose who hate the Lord will shrivel before Him, and the time [of the retribution] shall be forever. I would feed him [Israel] with the finest of wheat, and sate you with honey from the rock."
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