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What kinds of statues does the Rambam mean we shouldn't put our mouths on?

B"H In hilchos avodas kochavim chapter 3 halacha 8 the Rambam says: 8 A person should not place his mouth over the mouths of statues which serve as fountains that are located before false ...
Awtsmoos--עצמות's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
90 views

Yemeni manuscripts about the Hebrew expression - in Mishneh Torah Hilchot Avodah Zarah 9:4 - translated as "idolaters"

I am an Italian Noahide. in Mishneh Torah Hilchot-Avodah Zarah 9:4-, Rambam states that Christians are idolaters. Now, in various editions of the work, including the one available on the Chabad ...
Amos74's user avatar
  • 2,646
3 votes
0 answers
88 views

Idols made by robots/machines

Maimonides says in Avodat Kochavim, Chapter Eight: It is permitted to derive benefit from anything that has not been manipulated by man or that was not made by man, even though it was worshiped [as a ...
GGG's user avatar
  • 572
15 votes
1 answer
840 views

When did idolatry begin, post-flood?

Related. Rambam famously describes how idolatry began in the days of Enosh (Hil. Avodah Zara 1:1-2) and finishes off by writing: "but the Rock of Ages, not a man was there to recognize Him or ...
Harel13's user avatar
  • 28.4k
2 votes
2 answers
387 views

Who were the Sabians?

In the Guide, Maimonides talks about the religion of the Sabians (first idolators). He tells us that he has spent much time learning about the Sabian religion (he was sort of an anthropologist). After ...
Jonathan's user avatar
  • 721
8 votes
1 answer
482 views

Sources on the Rogochover and Islam

Someone once told me the Rogochover says that Muslims are idol worshippers, as they secretly worship the moon. I couldn't find where the Rogochover actually writes this. This article (fn. 20) says ...
robev's user avatar
  • 20.2k
4 votes
1 answer
81 views

Do objects of idolatry contaminate?

Rambam in Mishneh Torah, Foreign Worship and Customs of the Nations 7:9 speaking about idolatrous objects says that "everything it mingled with and its identity lost" is forbidden property. Is Rambam ...
Dan Weisberg's user avatar
  • 1,215
0 votes
0 answers
223 views

No Talmud and Rambam fear of Indian idolatry?

India is mentioned in many ways in Talmud, and clearly our sages had extensive trade with India, for example Kohen Gadol's garments and Ketoret ingredients see Mishnah and Talmud dealing-with-indian-...
Al Berko's user avatar
  • 28k
3 votes
1 answer
160 views

What is the source of the Rambam's historical account of idol worship?

Rambam in his code of law under the section of idol worship (1:1-2) delineates the historical process which lead to the existence of idol worship starting with according honor to elements in nature ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
511 views

Asking a Human to Interecede with God

Rambam writes (Hil. T'shuva 3:15) that it is forbidden to utilize any entity as an intermediary between oneself and God (more accurately that one who does so is a heretic who loses his share in the ...
mevaqesh's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
228 views

Destruction of Angel Worship Sites

PREFACE: THIS QUESTION IS MEANT PURELY THEORETICALLY AND NOT PRACTICALLY AT ALL!! According to Deuteronomy (12:2) idolatrous sites are to be destroyed under certain circumstances. אַבֵּד תְּאַבְּדוּן ...
mevaqesh's user avatar
  • 36k
14 votes
3 answers
1k views

Does Maimonides Allow Prayer to Angels?

In his Mishna Commentary to Sanhedrin 10:1 Maimonides lists as his 5th principle the prohibition to pray to an angel even as an intermediary. He counts this in his enumeration of his 13 principles in ...
mevaqesh's user avatar
  • 36k
4 votes
1 answer
377 views

Assuming Christianity is Avodah Zarah (RamBam), can I get my car fixed by a gentile right before/during Nittle Nacht?

Assuming Christianity is Avodah Zarah (RamBam), can one get his car fixed by a gentile, with a new part, put in, over Christmas? Obviously, there's no way to know whether the mechanic will work on the ...
warz3's user avatar
  • 1,487
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

How did the Tammuz die?

In reference to the verse in Yechezkel (18:4) which states "and the women sat, weeping over the Tammuz" - many commentaries try to explain who the Tammuz was. Amongst the opinions brought, and perhaps ...
AKayser's user avatar
  • 1,096
5 votes
0 answers
186 views

Greek Ruins -- Previous Sites for Pagan Worship

I know that Maimonides states not to enter places of idol worship. That being the case, is it permissible to visit Greek ruins that where once used for a pagan religion?
astone26's user avatar
  • 189
-8 votes
3 answers
2k views

Did the Rambam say it's OK for a Jew to convert to Islam? [closed]

I read that the Rambam considered a Jew who converts to Islam NOT to be an Apikorus(אפיקורוס)\heretic or an ovdei avodah zarah, as opposed to a convert to Christianity who he considered to be heretic ...
knowit's user avatar
  • 2,013
32 votes
6 answers
3k views

Did the Rambam believe in magic?

If you read through Chapter 11 of the Rambam's laws on Idol Worship, you'll see what seems to be the Rambam forbidding anything that even resembles magic, all while calling such practices foolish and ...
HodofHod's user avatar
  • 21.2k
28 votes
9 answers
7k views

If Christianity is avodah zarah and Islam is not, why has the Christian world triumphed over the non-Christian, and why do Jews prefer to live among Christians and not Muslims?

The Rambam quite clearly considered Christianity to be avodah zarah. He did not feel the same way about Islam, however, going so far as to condone praying within a mosque, and many Orthodox Jewish ...
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