Avodah Zarah (Idolatry): Difference between revisions

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Avodah Zarah is a negative commandment, the second in the Torah's list of commandments and the second of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before Me." Non-Jews are also obligated in this commandment, though with fewer restrictions than Jews.

Avodah Zarah is a negative commandment, the second in the Torah's list of commandments and the second of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before Me." [[Nations of the World|Non-Jews]] are also obligated in this commandment, though with fewer restrictions than Jews.

While for most commandments the rule is that if someone is forced to transgress, they should transgress rather than die (since the Torah says "you shall live by them"), there are three severe transgressions - idolatry, forbidden relations, and murder - for which one must give up their life rather than transgress. The source for this is the verse "And you shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart and all your soul," which our Sages interpret as "even if He takes your soul." For these three commandments, which represent the core of love for Hashem, one must fulfill "and you shall love" even when it involves "with all your soul" - giving up one's life.

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	Avodah Zarah is a negative commandment, the second in the Torah's list of commandments and the second of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before Me." Non-Jews are also obligated in this commandment, though with fewer restrictions than Jews.		Avodah Zarah is a negative commandment, the second in the Torah's list of commandments and the second of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before Me." [[Nations of the World\|Non-Jews]] are also obligated in this commandment, though with fewer restrictions than Jews.

	While for most commandments the rule is that if someone is forced to transgress, they should transgress rather than die (since the Torah says "you shall live by them"), there are three severe transgressions - idolatry, forbidden relations, and murder - for which one must give up their life rather than transgress. The source for this is the verse "And you shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart and all your soul," which our Sages interpret as "even if He takes your soul." For these three commandments, which represent the core of love for Hashem, one must fulfill "and you shall love" even when it involves "with all your soul" - giving up one's life.		While for most commandments the rule is that if someone is forced to transgress, they should transgress rather than die (since the Torah says "you shall live by them"), there are three severe transgressions - idolatry, forbidden relations, and murder - for which one must give up their life rather than transgress. The source for this is the verse "And you shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart and all your soul," which our Sages interpret as "even if He takes your soul." For these three commandments, which represent the core of love for Hashem, one must fulfill "and you shall love" even when it involves "with all your soul" - giving up one's life.