Relationship with God, Part 4

1. Relationship with God, Part 4
Introduction
XXXIV.Read Leviticus 19:4.
This is understood to go beyond the mitzvah we discussed earlier that
simply prohibits the making of idols. This, Maimonides says, prohibits us
from making an idol for others to worship. Why?

2. (We are not to turn to an idol or to lead others to idolatry, even if we do not
follow idols ourselves. Doing either is equally serious - especially within a
people who have the principal mission of spreading God’s sovereignty. This
behavior takes us away from that mission and puts us in the position
indeed of spreading the sovereignty of idols.
How could we do such things in our modernlives?
Could we first think about and discuss idols? Then might we publish books,
make pictures or movies, write or produce songs, create policies or ideas
that work against or encourage others to live outside of God’s
expectations? Isn’t this serious? And doesn’t this indeed happen in many
and serious ways? And doesn’t it happen with explanations by the maker
saying, “I don’t believe it myself;” “It’s forthem to decide;”or “It’s a free
marketplace of ideas.” This mitzvah says powerfully that those explanations
are unsatisfactory to God, don’t you think?
XXXV-XLIV

3. A. Read Exodus 23:13,Deuteronomy 13:12,Deuteronomy13:9,
Deuteronomy7:2, Exodus 23:33,and Deuteronomy12:2
1. What’s the theme in the mitzvoth that I’ve grouped here. And what’s the
great concernthey’re designed to address?Who is a misleader, and what’s
a misleader’s offense?
(They reveal a Divine contempt and intolerance for those who influence
others toward idolatry or mislead others from the Way, away from God’s
expectations and toward idolatry. We started this discussiona moment
ago, but these mitzvoth continue and expand it. While some believe some
of these mitzvoth apply specifically to pagan practice the people confronted
in the land, the broaderidea basically is that those who use their life force
in a way that leads others away from God and perhaps toward idolatry are
engaged in the mostcorrosive and dangerous behavior of all. This is quite
clearly the Bible’s view. As Chinuch says, the misleader has earned the title
of “one who hates God.”

4. We find in the Mishneh Torah this idea: “To be cruel to those who lead
people astray after foolishnessis to be merciful towards mankind.” This is
crucial thinking here: punishing those who are hopelesslyevil is an act of
compassionto the rest of society.
Yet, this harsh approach runs counter to Torah instruction in most
circumstances: generally, we’re to come to the assistance of even those
who commit grave sins. There are also counter-views among sages of
treating even idolaters in certain situations with kindness, based on God’s
concern for all human beings. “The Lord is good to all, and His tender
mercies are over all His works.” (Psalm 145).
But, with this more loving attitude in mind, I still want us to wrestle with this
strand of more severe thinking and its rationale to try to get to the bottom of
what might distinguish this problem from what we generally encounter.
Perhaps it begins with the understanding that the vast majority of sinners
are not enemies of God, but rather people who have erred and can and
likely want to return.)
2. Multiple questions arise. Let me throw a few out on the table; let’s
answer them; and then we can get to even harder questions, and then
perhaps some answers.

5. a) While the language of these mitzvoth are harsh to our eyes, ears, and
minds, why is there such a powerful concern with these behaviors?
What does it really mean to be a misleader, why do the behaviors of the
misleaderso worry God and those who follow God?
(Discussion)
b) Further, what do we take away from these mitzvoth, and what do we do,
if anything, to follow their intent in our own lives?

6. In answering these questions, be mindful of these huge challenges: a) how
do we define misleading behavior that is dangerous enough to be forbidden
and/or punished?, b) how, in a time of live-and-let-live and maximum
deferenceto people’s freedom“to do their own thing,” how could we even
think of opposing these behaviors, much less punishing people for
engaging in them and “demolishing their means of idol worship?”,c) how
do we avoid wrongful excess in which we committhe opposite sin of
engaging in witch hunts, and d) in today’s big and brawling commercial
world, how would we ever succeed at avoiding mixing with or doing
business with idolaters?
Do we live in times in which we can do nothing at all but be upset with this
behavior? Or is there some basis for some action, perhaps in the middle? If
so, what would that be?
(A few ideas come to mind: 1) we are to be perpetually vigilant at all times
in looking in ourselves and in our world for those forces that lead us and
others to idolatry, 2) we’re to be as careful and correct as possible in using
true criteria in our judgment, 3) we should, with love and strength, bring our
understanding to bear within ourselves and those in our company, and 4)
we strive to remove,limit, weaken, change, and/or escape from the
misleading force, with the approach depending upon the severity and
danger of the misleading we face.Indeed the death of the idolator might at
least mean the death of one’s idolatrous self, that we seek the death of the
wickedness or the sinfulness of the wicked/sinner.)

7. XLV. Read Leviticus 18:21.
Briefly, this refers to an idolatrous practice at the time of giving children
over to priests who worshipped the god,Molech, who would pass the
children through fire as part of a ritual in service to the idol. Why this
particular cult practice was singled out has been the subject of discussion
over the centuries. I don’t want to stop here to get into that debate. What
interests me is the concernabout parents bringing and giving up their
children for such a ritual. What might this be about? Does this resonate in
any way to you in our own time?
(Do we hand our children over to “priests” who “worship” other “gods”and
practice rituals before those gods? Are the values, practices, and directions
of all our children’s media idols, celebrities, friends, and even certain
community and school leaders in service of God or in service of idols? Do
we turn our children over to others out of ease or actually sharing wrong

8. values and allow them figuratively to be passed through the fires of rituals
held in service of an idol?)
XLVI-LXX
A. Read Leviticus 20:23,Leviticus 26:1, Deuteronomy 16:21,Deuteronomy
16:22,Deuteronomy22:5, Leviticus 19:28, Deuteronomy14:1, Leviticus
19:27,Deuteronomy32:38, Numbers 15:39
1. What’s the commontheme in these mitzvoth? And what’s the danger
they’re concerned about?

9. (If we’re to be on guard against falling into idolatrous practice, we must be
careful about getting close to idolaters and their practices and taking on
such practices, particularly as we allow our eyes and minds to wander to
see and consider them. We plant hedges to keep our tender flowers safe
from harm; so, we should keep far away from activity that would endanger
our relationship with God.)
2. Let’s look at a few of these and see if they resonate in any way.
a) We don’t literally make stones upon which we prostrate ourselves as
idolaters did in the ancient past, but what might we do?

10. (One good example is perhaps when we prostrate ourselves all night
before the great stone of our culture, the TV set, sitting frozen, passive,
enslaved really before our electronic altar.)
b) When might we “plant trees” in our sacred space and erect pillars which
people will come to honor?
(Are we sometimes too concerned about a dedication, an honor, a display
in our name, the tribute upon giving, even and especiallyto support the
building of our sacred space? Isn’t that a form of living as idolaters do?)
c) We are not to engage in such pagan practices of excessive mourning as
evidenced in cutting of the skin. Rather we mourn, but do so without
excess, understanding that God gives life, that our earthly time has limits,
that we trust in God,that God wants us to continue to live on with a strong
bond with and duty to God,and further that there is eternal life, at least with
respect of the soul to its Source. (For all such reasons, cutting our skin is
inappropriate).

11. d) I’ll avoid for now the mitzvoth of dressing in the clothes of the other
gender, tattoos, markings on the skin, etc., exceptto note that these are
customs of heathens in earlier times. Are they the signs of heathenism in
our own time? Let’s just leave the possibility on the table.
B. Read Deuteronomy17:16, Deuteronomy23:8, Deuteronomy7:2,
Deuteronomy20:17,Deuteronomy 20:16,Deuteronomy7:3, Deuteronomy
23:4, Deuteronomy23:7, Deuteronomy7:21, Deuteronomy25:17,
Deuteronomy25:19
1. A. What’s the theme here, and what’s the great concern?
(It is that direct and close contact, indeed living closely, with heathens is
dangerous to our spiritual health and our relationship with God.Before we

12. get into the difficulties, complexities, and controversiality of that thought,
let’s first try to establish the basis for understanding the problem.
Isn’t it so that we tend to take on the characteristics and act in the way of
our own crowd? Our religious, political, moral, ethical views as well as
those parts of the culture to which we expose ourselves (music,movies,
material values, etc.) - aren’t all these affectedby decisions we make in our
associations?
It was certainly thought in our parent group that one could get the best
sense of own child’s well-being by simply knowing “who they were hanging
with.” Is this true, or not, and in what ways?
Discussion)
B. So, we understand the crucial importance of the matter of “who we
associate with.” But, if folks aren’t good,it’s quite a step to…destroythem?
Or have no covenant with, or favor for, them? Is that even possible?
Feasible? Desirable? We have ethical pulls going both ways, no? How do
we resolve them? What do we do with all this in the world in which we live?

13. ((Now, let me say first that some of these mitzvoth appear to be, and some
sages argue they are, aimed only at some peoples who no longer exist.
Yet, there is among them also the view that they have a continuing
application as to idolaters and idolatry.)
In any event, what could they mean to us in our own time?
(First, let’s bring back to mind all the activities/ways of being that we’ve
come to think in our study as amounting to idolatry. Then we can come to
understand these mitzvoth as teaching us to shun such things and to
refrain from associating with, or showing favor to, those who practice them.
This forces us to considerhow we use our time, energy, resources with or
in the midst of idolaters. If we admire, fraternize with, consideras charming,
flatter, or do favors for or receive favors from idolaters, aren’t we
associating with or endorsing or embracing their ways? Further, isn’t it
God’s wish and our duty to work toward the goal of more life lived in service
to God and less idolatry?
One exception that is commonin the tradition: to support all poor, including
idolaters. This supports peace, not fraternization.)

14. 2. What do we make of the mitzvoth that prohibit us from settling in the land
of Egypt but not automatically excluding descendants of the Egyptians (or
Esau) from our community?
(It could be understood literally, though sages have had a hard time with
the fact that Maimonides lived in Egypt for a good while. It could also mean,
more deeply, that we’re not to return to the ways of Egypt, either our ways
or, more especially,their ways, which we could emulate. We don’t go back
to the enslavement, the enslaving, the ease, or to eschew our
responsibilities.
We not only take others into our community because we love the stranger,
but we do so if and when they choose and become committed to the way
with God. It seems that if we open the doorto the descendants of Esau and
Egypt, we are open to reconciliation with all, so long as it is true and
consistent with God’s way of life, on our part and the others’.)

15. 3. In the last batch of mitzvoth, we read again and again of the warnings
about all sorts of associations with heretics, remembering what heretics do
and have done to us, and to opposethis heresy. What do you make of
this? The people had specificexperienceswith many of these heretics,
including Amalek.
(The issue again arises, asking us to consider it further: if there are people
in our midst or nearby who are heretics and pose a danger to us physically
and spiritually, do we take a laissez-faire approach to them and the
problem,or do we take a strict a view, such as we’ve read here, or is there
some in-between position? How would we identify such people, and how
would we remain apart from them and/or protect ourselves from them?
Discussion)
LXXI-LXXVIII

16. Read Deuteronomy18:20,Deuteronomy 13:4,Deuteronomy 18:22,
Deuteronomy6:16, Deuteronomy18:15,Leviticus 19:4, Deuteronomy12:4.
1. What’s the differencebetweentrue prophets and false prophets who
typically are those who preach in some way in the name of an idol? Is this
an issue in our own times, and what does this guidance mean to us?
(Prophecyis a capacity fueled by direction from God to see and to speak of
the consequences of our living or failing to live in God’s way. While we
might not have prophets as in the days of old, we certainly do have people
in our own day who engage in such speech. And, on the opposite side,we
have people, like false prophets of the past, however sly and slick they may
be, who speak and act in ways that are subversive of God’s expectations of
us.)

17. 2. How can we tell the difference?
(It may be in their true motives, the record of their deeds and their effects,
the ways in which they live in sync with, or opposed to, God’s expectations,
the ethics in their encounters with others, their degree of lived devotion to
wisdom and spirituality. It certainly is not in the hype or the ideologyor the
pleasing ways or the “public relations” images.
These mitzvoth are hugely important in that they teach us the importance of
being vigilant about whom we follow, the importance of having true God-
centered (as opposed to feel good or surface appeal) criteria for judging,
and making us aware of the dangers to us and our societyif we make
superficial and incorrect judgments in this matter. After all, how often have
people fallen for false prophets, and to what devastating effects?)

18. 3. What might the importance to us be of the idea of not excessivelytesting
prophets?
(In the Bible, we see the dispiriting effect of such behavior on Moses and
subsequent prophets, the pain it causes them, and the damage it inflicts on
the people and the hopes God has for them. It’s a bit of an extension, but
shouldn’t we be constrained from acting in such ways with decent leaders
in our own time who are doing their bestto serve God’s interests and
ours?)
LXXIX-LXXXIX
Read Deuteronomy18:10,Leviticus 19:31,Deuteronomy 18:11,Exodus
22:17,Leviticus 19:26

19. 1. I realize some of these names are unfamiliar to us; they come from
ancient times. But I think you get the picture. What’s the concern of these
mitzvoth? And what concerns do we face in our own time that they
address?
(First, these idolatrous behaviors tend to mistake the created with the
Creator. Nature may very well affect our lives, but there’s nothing in nature
that rules our lives or deserves ourdevotion. Our direction comes from
God, not from spirits, omens,gods, the stars, or, as we’ve discussed, any
created thing. The shots are not called by ghosts,the planets, or any
ancient or present forces or beings.To act as if we are regulated by such
forces is idolatrous behavior.
Second,as with all other idolatrous behavior, we waste our precious time,
energy, spirit, and resources when we go off in these directions instead of
following God and living as fully as we can in the constructive and positive
ways to which we’re called.
Third, as slaves to the stars, we diminish the unique role that God has
created for us. While it is not for us to tell fortune and deferin our choices
to such activity, it is for us to decide our beliefs and actions, to act, to use
our time in living our lives in service to God as God has shown and
instructed us.
The mitzvoth don’t in any way discourage our study of science,which
distinctly is the study of God’s creation and how it works. Nor are we taught
to ignore or fail to learn from lessons in such study. But our spiritual/ethical
direction comes from God,to Whom we shall be wholehearted, wholly

20. inclined. Only properly situated and oriented in this way can we exercise
our free will to live the sort of right and good life God expects of us.)
2. Do we believe this? If so, why do many still look to astrology (some
ancient believers did, too), cards, fortune telling, spirits, etc.? Even if “just
for fun,” shouldn’t we avoid this?
(Discussion)