Like Shackles in Egypt
01/23/2025 11:43:17 AM
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One could argue that the second commandment of the Big Ten, “No Idolatry,” is actually the first. Technically, the first of the Big Ten doesn’t come across as a commandment, but as an affirmation or a reminder, perhaps a baseline. The first commandment reads, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” It sounds more like a preamble, than an affirmative command. In this context, the proscription against idolatry commands an even more powerful priority. More important than any ritual act or effort of kindness towards your fellow human being, is this fundamental requirement that thou shall not worship any graven image. What is it about idols that God or the Torah or our tradition is so wary of?
Our sages would come to teach that idolatry is such a craven sin, that it is one of the three acts we cannot commit, even at the risk of our own life. If someone threatens our own life, unless we commit murder or incest, or engage in idolatry, our rabbis teach that we are to allow ourselves to be killed rather than follow through with the demand. Anything else, from eating pork to robbing a bank to committing adultery, in order to save our life, we are permitted. But when it comes to these three above (murder, incest or idolatry), we cannot. I think that one could make obvious arguments for the first two. But what is it about idolatry that causes our Sages, our tradition, our God, to insist that there is no room for this?
As with all things Torah, I believe there’s a bigger picture involved and frankly, I cannot say that if someone was able to save their own life by literally bowing down to an idol, that they shouldn’t do it. Perhaps physical idolatry can be seen, as in the eye of the
beholder, or “bower” as the case may be. Rather, I think that this intense proscription against idolatry is a warning against what is so natural to we human beings – distraction.
What do the Israelites believe they need in the desert that leads them to build a golden calf? They’re scared. They don’t know what has happened “to that man Moshe.” They have already forgotten the miracles, that they witness themselves that brings them to this place, free from slavery. They need gold. They need silver. They need a bright shiny object to distract them from the fear that is making them feel out of control. It’s human nature to desire the quieting of the mind and the heart. Even if it leads us to a discernment of bad news, if we can quantify it and qualify it, and put it in a box so that we know what we are pointing to for assurance or blaming as the source of our pain, an idol fits the bill. A limited, untested object, or assessment, or determination around which we and others can gather, can give us the ability to reestablish an odd (but often unhealthy) sense of equilibrium.
Our political world appears to be shifting before our eyes and under our feet. I plead with you, our community, to slow your roll. To bring some breath and mindfulness to what you watch and listen to and follow, how much, and how often. To me, one of the greatest challenges of our focus on our national and even statewide politics, is the distraction from what is happening, both good and bad, in our own homes, on our own streets, and in our own neighborhoods, in our cities and county.
One last message – the Hebrew of the second commandment reads, לֹֽ֣א־תַֽעֲשֶׂ֨ה־לְךָ֥֣ פֶ֣֙סֶל֙
Lo taaseh lecha fesel, which can be read as saying, “Do not make of yourself a graven image,” which might be the most resonant reading of all. I’m one who believes that God is not really as jealous as we humans make God out to be. I don’t think God is terribly concerned with how we depict God; God is literally above that. But I do think God cares greatly for the ways in which we can freeze our minds, allowing pride and fear to keep us stuck in place. Freeing ourselves from our human tendency to find solace in certainty is perhaps one of the most important lessons we can carry into the next months ahead as our great country traverses a tumultuous time in the wilderness. May we ever strive to arrive in the promised land with free and flexible minds, to discern what is truly before us, what we must assess and respond to, and what we can leave behind like shackles in Egypt.