JEWISH WORLD

JEWISH WORLD • AUGUST 11-17, 2023 7 stand the Ineffable and the Infinite, does grant him a partial glimpse: “The Lord, the Lord, is a God of Compassion ( rahum ) and free- ly-giving love, long-suffering, full of lovingkindness, and truth …” (Ex. 34:6). Even Maimonides suggests that these descriptions, known as the 13 Attributes of the Divine, are not so much theological as anthropo- logical, to teach us mortals --com- manded to imitate God -- precisely how to do so: just as He is Com- passionate, you humans must be compassionate, just as He gives love freely, so must you humans… Hence, the essence of Judaism is not proper intellectual under- standing of the Divine, (which is impossible), but rather proper hu- man imitation of the Divine traits, acting towards other human beings the way God would have us act in compassionately righteous and just [And the Lord] shall give you com- passion, and He shall be compas- sionate towards you, and He shall cause you to increase as he has sworn to your forbearers. … This is because you have harkened to the voice of the Lord your God to ob- serve all of His commandments… to do what is righteous ( hayashar ) in the eyes of the Lord your God” (13:18, 19). Compassion? Righteousness? Are these fitting words to describe such an extreme punishment? To understand the simple mean- ing of the Biblical command, it is necessary to explore the actual meaning – and nature of the offense – of idolatry. By SHLOMO RISKIN “You shall smite, yes smite, all of the inhabitants of that city by the sword…and you shall burn entirely with fire the city and all of it spoils to the Lord your God, and it shall be an everlasting desolation (tel); it shall not be rebuilt again” (Deut 13: 16,17). T he Bible ordains the de- struction of an entire city which has been seduced and deceived into practicing idolatry. And, although many sages of the Talmud maintain that such a situa- tion “never was and was never cre- ated” (B.T. Sanhedrin), the harsh words nevertheless sear our souls. . What is even more difficult to understand are the concluding words of the Bible regarding this idolatrous and hapless city: “… Bible seems to support the Meiri’s position. To give but two examples: “You shall not bow down to their gods and you shall not serve them; you shall not act in accordance with their deeds (Exodus 23:24)”… “You shall destroy, yes destroy [the seven indigenous nations of Ca- naan] lest they teach you to do all the abominations which they do be- fore their gods (Deut. 20:17, 18).” T he Bible never understood monotheism in terms of faith alone. From the very beginning of God’s election of Abraham, who was commanded to convey to sub- sequent generations not only belief in one God, but rather in a God “whose path it is to do compassion- ate righteousness and justice” (Gen. 18:19), belief in ethical mono- theism. Moses asks for a glimpse into the Divine (Ex. 32:18). The Almighty, after explaining that no mortal being can ever truly under- The Fate Of Idolaters Parshat Re’eh Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 The Bible lashes out against idolatry more than any other trans- gression, and of the 14 verses that comprise the Decalogue, four of them focus on idolatrous worship, its evils constantly reiterated. Moshe Halbertal and Avishai Margalit, in their penetrating study Idolatry , cite various commentaries as to why idolatry is presented as so repulsive in the Bible. For Maimon- ides the sin of idolatry is theologi- cal; for the Meiri it was the number of innocent children sacrificed to Moloch, the eating of flesh cru- elly torn from living animals, and the wanton sexual orgies associat- ed with the Dionysian rites which so incensed the Lord. Indeed, the The Bible lashes out against idolatry more than any other transgression, and its evils are constantly reiterated throughout. DVAR TORAH continued on page 19 PHONE ORDERS FOR TAKEOUT WELCOME! 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