Questions tagged [avodah-zarah]
Worship of foreign deities, one of the three cardinal sins.
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Are there any ill-effects for mis-directed prayers?
Inspired by the end of this answer:
Just remember that all non-Jews don't follow the Sheva Mitzvot and could [even] be in Avodah Zarah and then would...a blessing [of theirs] matter? It might even ...
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Pronunciation of YHVH in the Pesel Micha story
The Minchas Shai on Shoftim 17:3 quotes the Gemara (Shevuos 35a) and Maseches Sofrim (4:6) regarding if the names יהוה and אלהים in the story of Micha's idol are holy or not. The Tanna Kama says that ...
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May a Jewish actor playing a role swear "falsely"?
Avraham the Jew from New Jersey puts on a costume, takes off his head covering, walks onto a stage, or movie set ... action! And says "I, John Jacob Schmidt of Oklahoma, do solemnly swear that I ...
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Graven Image Question
Can someone give me sources from Tanakh and Halakhah on why it is permissible for a Jewish [certified kosher] bakery to make images from Christianity and their winter holiday? And if it is permissible,...
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Are Tibetan Prayer Flags a form of Avodah Zara?
I recently received in the mail a set of prayer flags as part of a mailer, which got me thinking (and researching).
Without a question, using the flags normally would be an act of darchei emorie or ...
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Is it Mutar to Listen to Music Recorded in a Church?
I read somewhere that listening to music recorded in a church is asur, because it essentially brings the church into one's home. This is common practice for classical music. Has anyone heard of or not ...
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Bowing at the royal coat of arms
In British Magistrate and Crown Courts the royal coat of arms is located behind the bench where the magistrates or judge sit. It is etiquette for solicitors/barristers and anyone giving evidence to ...
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How can ancestors leave a makom l'hisgader?
The gemara in חולין on 6b / 7a (apologies, on mobile so can't provide link) discusses how the copper snake of Moshe should have been destroyed by earlier Kings (specifically referring to those kings ...
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Is there a problem with buying a Christian a Christmas gift?
To make the question easier, suppose that the recipient of the Christmas gift is a devout Christian who actually celebrates for religious reasons.
Potentially there are several issues with buying a ...
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Are gold (or silver) jewelry charms considered avodah zarah?
Many years ago, I started to buy small gold charms specifically with Jewish symbols for my mother who added them to a necklace, much like gold charm bracelets circa 50 years ago. Among them were tiny ...
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What are the ways of the Amorites?
When we are told not to go in the ways of the Amorites (Shabbat 67a, Yerushalmi Shabbat 6:9), However the practices enumerated there do not seem to be specific to the Amorite people. Were there other ...
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Is the board game "Snakes and Ladders" kosher?
It appears to be a game based on the Hindu religion. Here is an excerpt from wikipedia:
The game was popular in ancient India by the name Moksha Patam. It was
also associated with traditional Hindu ...
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Bowing when davening outside
If one is davening outside, and one says aleinu* and wishes to bow, should one change how he bows?
I have seen (h/t Harel13) it written that, when one says Birchat Hachama, one should bow to the ...
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Standing in the presence of an idol / entering a room which has an idol
The question is remarkably simple (even though the answer may not be so).
Is it allowed by halacha to stand in the presence of an idol or enter a room where an idol is present ?
Specifically, I'm ...
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What to do with idol worship relics or impure objects
Once knowing the truth of the Torah, and the seven noahide laws,I disposed of many things. I want to know how exactly are you to dispose of these things.( Parashat Re'eh) gives a set of instructions ...
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Waving or otherwise recognizing the English flag and its variants
Related to this question and this question the English flag and many of its variants from former colonies have the cross of someone who is recognized as a saint by Catholics, George. This cross was ...
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Questions regarding selling "mitzvah" items to Christians for use in their Church service
My understanding is that one is not aloud to intentionally sell anything to an oved avodah zarah ("idol worshipper") if he knows that he will use that item for his idol worshipping purpose.
There are ...
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The "Sign of the Horns" and 'Avodah Zarah
Is the "Sign of the Horns" a manifestation or an act of 'Avodah Zarah? What if someone uses the gesture as a pop culture reference (eg., heavy metal), or just jokingly - or even mockingly about ...
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Midrash - Avraham Avinu and the idol worshipper
A came across a Dvar Torah here which states the following:
The souls that they made in Charan (12:5) – Rav Ovadiah Yosef ztl. cited a midrash which described how far Avraham went in order to be ...
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Rav ha Meiri's interpretation of the term "notzrim" in Talmud Bavli-Avodah Zarah 6a and 7b
According to the legal determination established in Talmud Bavli -Avodah Zarah 6a and 7b, the halachic status of christians (“notzrim”) appears to be that of idolaters:
Avodah Zara 6a
Avodah Zarah 7b
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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 ...
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May one listen to Mozart's The Magic Flute?
The Magic Flute is a famous opera by Mozart. Its lyrics can be found here.
It seems to be completely secular to me. It includes lyrics that include characters talking to pagan gods, but Mozart himself ...
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Movie on the history of the sages
I've always loved studying about our history and sages. In particular, I am quite a fan of Rabbi Akiva's life and adventures. With the quarantine, I have found myself with some extra time and was ...
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Why is one who's influenced by a Persian priest liable to death?
It says in Shabbat 75b that if a magosh tries to influence a Jew to adopt even a single one of his customs, that Jew should be put to death:
אמר רב זוטרא בר טוביה אמר רב: ... והלומד דבר אחד מן המגוש ...
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Which Divrei Minus are forbidden to read/hear today?
The Talmud in (Avodah Zara 16b–17a) brings that Rabbi Eliezer was upset that he had been accused by the Romans. His student, Rabbi Akiva suggested that perhaps he had heard a teaching of the minim and ...
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Do idolaters pray to God?
A long time ago I read that our Sources say, "It is forbidden to disturb an idolater praying to his idols because, although he does not know it, he is praying to God." Is this accurate and ...
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Egyptians not turning to their gods?
We read about a couple of "sorcery contests" between Moses and Egyptians, first turning the rods into serpents and then through the first plagues.
Some well known facts:
Egypt was a land of idol ...
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What was the Talmudic and Rambam view on Hinduism (from idolatrous point)
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-...
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Are "mudra" considered to be idolatry?
Mudra (pronounced "moo-druh") is a hand gesture used in some forms of meditation. Wikipedia says that mudra are from Hindu and Buddhist traditions, and based on the information here, it sounds like ...
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Atonement and the Death Penalty
"Ordinary murderers are allowed to achieve atonement for their souls in their execution. Only especially vile murderers - such as a false witness whose lies are discovered after the person who was ...
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Is a Jew allowed to collect royalties on a song that glorifies Jesus?
You may not, offhand recognize the name Norman Greenbaum until you realize that he composed the One-Hit wonder song "Spirit in the Sky" first released in 1969, and played often on radio and other ...
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Proof that calling upon deceased righteous people is polythiesm
My assumption is that in the Jewish faith, if someone were to call upon a righteous person who is not alive for help, that would be considered polytheism.
Are there any explicit verses in the Torah ...
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Praying with pictures or money on the table
It has been established that one may not pray facing a picture.
May one pray by a table where pictures or money bills lie?
How about engraved images like coins?
If prohibited, how can the practice of ...
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Tattoo of an image of idolatry
According to this exhaustive article on the subject of tattooing in Halachah, there is an important opinion with many ramifications that states that one is only liable for the biblical prohibition of ...
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Get an Idol out of the house
Say you buy a work of art, then you find out the painting has an image of an idol. You want to get it out of the house. Can you keep the frame if the frame is not connected to the image? The frame ...
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Buying products from store that sells avodah zarah?
What is the Halacha on buying products (not used for Avodah Zarah and not intended) from stores that sell things that can be used for Avodah Zarah?
Assuming that buying such products is forbidden, ...
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Living body becomes an Idol and avodah zarah
If a living person is worshipped like praying to him and the living person encourages his own worship, and the living person himself becomes object of worship then will that person become a living ...
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Idol worship temples by Hindus in Israel allowed?
I read the current State of Israel allows idol worship in Israel by Hindus from India. What is the justification for same by State of Israel? And are Jews allowed to help them?
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Mirror in Shul?
Is a mirror allowed in shul if it is hanging on a wall that no one faces when they daven?
It feels wrong to me, but I cannot find a source stating that it is explicitly forbidden since no one is ...
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Is the use of beads as a meditation tool acceptable if they aren't an item of idolatry?
Beads have a history of use in different religions. They also have a general use in human society as a whole detached from religion.
One simple example of the nonreligious version is the Greek ...
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Why are attempts to predict the future as abhorrent as Molech worship?
Devorim 18 (10, 11) lists in possukim 9 & 11 the following activities as תוֹעֲבֹ֖ת (abhorrent practices):
consigns a son or daughter to the fire,
or who is an augur,
a soothsayer,
a diviner,
a ...
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Avoda Zara - Star & Crescent
Are there any sources on restrictions on objects adorned with the Islamic star and crescent like there are the Christian cross? I'm aware that whether Islam is Avoda Zara is debated, but I'm not ...
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Halachic status of Hindu greetings
I'm not intimately familiar with Hinduism as a religion, but I have a passing awareness of it as potentially an avodah zarah due to its paganism and polytheistic tendencies.
My question is as follows. ...
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How did Joseph become vizier under Pharaoh, an idol, without violating the prohibition against encouraging others to idol worship? Same Q for Esther
I'm definitely not suggesting either Joseph or Esther broke this prohibition (at all, or at worst unless it was necessary to save life or other exceptions granted by the Torah). I have little ...
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Is celebrating the secular new year forbidden or problematic since it is based around a calendar relating to Jesus' birth?
The secular calendar in most countries is based around the BC/AD system. This calendar is derived from the Julian and Gregorian calendar traditions which mark the birth of Jesus as a focal point for ...
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Question about the religious life of beni Israel in Egypt before the Exodus?
How was the religious life of beni Israel in Egypt before the Exodus?
It is well known that the ancient Egyptian viewed their kings as gods, because the divine power of kingship was incarnated in them,...
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Selling Christmas ornaments?
Long ago I met a Jewish couple whose business was selling secular Christmas ornaments and paraphernalia. Is there universal agreement on whether this is halachically allowed?
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Is it forbidden to chant Om?
It is a common Hindu meditative practice to chant Om, which is the sound of the universe. Would doing so then transgress mitzvah 35 in Sefer Hamitzvot that prohibits chanting incantations which would ...
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Is "taking a knee" prohibited
Is it prohibited to perform "taking a knee" for Black Lives Matter?
The question is about the action of taking the knee itself, not to support or rejection of the movement or its ideas. ...
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Can a Jew encourage non-Jews to convert to other monotheistic religions?
Would it be permissible for a Jew to encourage or help a non-Jew convert from a faith that involves avodah zara to one that does not? For example a Christian (on the notion that Christianity is avodah ...
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