Daily Verse: Exodus 20:4
Friday 19 Shevat 5783 (10.02.23)
By Rabbi Michael Skobac
"Don't make for yourself any idol..."
The Hebrew here is "Lo ta'aseh lecha pesel" which is ordinarily translated to teach we shouldn't make an idol for ourselves.
But it can also imply that we shouldn't make ourselves into an idol! Idolatry is ultimately a placing one's own will over the will of the Almighty. The serving of one's self rather than serving G-d.
Psalm 81:10 warns us that
"there shall be no strange god within you..."
Our sages teach that one who explodes in rage is as if s/he has engaged in idol worship (Shabbos 105b). This kind of explosion is an over-extension of our ego into the world that ultimately asserts oneself as a god. Idolatry is not just an ancient challenge that went the way of the dodo bird. We each face it every day.
By Rabbi Michael Skobac
Rabbi Michael Skobac had been involved with Jews for Judaism (Canada) since 1989 and currently serves as its Director of Education and Counselling. He is a leading authority on missionaries, cults and issues relating to Jewish continuity and Jewish spirituality. Rabbi Skobac's publications include Missionary Impossible; Counter-Missionary Survival Guide; The DaVinci Code: A Jewish Perspetive; and Intermarriage: Is There Ligth at teh End of the Tunnel? Republished by Angelique Sijbolts with permission for the Noahide Academy.
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Republished by Angelique Sijbolts with permission for the Noahide Academy.
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