Questions tagged [avodah-zarah]
Worship of foreign deities, one of the three cardinal sins.
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Is Christianity Avodah Zara?
It is commonly accepted that Islam is not Avodah Zarah (idolatry) since Islam has a clear monotheistic theology with a belief in Allah that parallels our view of "kail" or Hashem. It is even ...
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Ethics in video games: idol worship
Background
I sometimes play a certain computer role-playing game (RPG). In this game, my character (whom I might name after myself but who does not otherwise resemble me) fights mythological creatures ...
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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 ...
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Why isn't the Kabbalistic doctrine of Sefirot considered Shittuf if the Christian Trinity is?
From the answers to this question it seems that most if not all Jewish sources treat Trinitarian Christianity (in particular, their doctrine of the Trinity) as either Shittuf or outright Avoda Zara, ...
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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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Is practicing Yoga against Torah?
What does Halacha and Halachic Authorities have to say about the permissibility of a Jew practicing Yoga? Is it Avodah Zarah?
If it is problematic, are there methods of doing it where it would be ...
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Have Jews believed that Ezra was the son of God?
In reading the Qur'an, I noticed this passage:
Qur'an 9:30 The Jews say, "Ezra is the son of Allah "; and the Christians say, "The Messiah is the son of Allah ." That is their statement from their ...
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Is it permitted for a Ben-Noach be an atheist?
Avoda zarah is one of the things prohibited by the Seven Noachide Laws. But what about atheism? I know that the 7 Laws are often taken to include a larger number of halachot from the Torah, so would ...
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Why do we bow down in the direction of the ark?
This is a question I've had for many years, to which I've never received a satisfactory answer:
In Hebrew school, we were taught that idolaters bowed to a idol of their god. They would claim that ...
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Is a Jew allowed to be knighted? Problem with kneeling?
Is there any halachik problem with going through the knighting (or Damehood for women) process of kneeling etc?
The current ceremony does not contain many of the Christian or pagan overtones of the ...
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Is there sufficient evidence to support the theory that ancient Israel practiced monolatry?
I just came across this Wikipedia article on monolatrism that says some people believe ancient Israel practiced monolatry.
The highest claim to be made for Moses is that he was, rather than a ...
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May a Jew be a Freemason?
According to what I've been told by several people who have inquired of "practicing" (is that the right word?) Freemasons, and supported by Wikipedia, "Freemasonry explicitly and openly states that it ...
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Calling a Jew a "guru"?
Is it appropriate to use the term "guru" to refer to an expert in matters of Judaism or Jewish law on the assumption that it will be understood as the second definition here, or is it inappropriate no ...
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Is kneeling and bowing down in Kung Fu an idolatry (Avoda Zarah)?
I am exercising at Kung Fu's dojo and wonder whether kneeling and bowing down is an idolatry (Avodah Zarah)? The floor has soft mats. The reason explained to me is that it's done as a form of greeting ...
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What is the red string all about?
Where did the concept of wearing a red string come from? I have heard different opinions ranging from "you should definitely wear it" to "its forbidden like idol worship" - who is right?
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Can a Christian "Grace" invalidate food?
Suppose there's a communal meal in a secular workplace, at which some of the food is reliably kosher. Now suppose that right before anyone takes any food, one of the participants, to general assent, ...
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Nullifying Ancient Israelite Idols
Following up on a question raised on the Avodah list (see here & here under the subject “Destroying Idols”).
Archaeologists often dig up idols whose worshipers have abandoned them over the ...
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Permissibility of images of celestial bodies
There is precedent in halachah that one may not create images of celestial bodies such as the moon and stars; see here for background. This is derived in the Gemara from the pasuk "Do not make [images ...
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Dipping fingers in Havdalah Wine
What is the source or origin of the custom to dip one's fingers in the wine poured over the candle to extinguish it at the conclusion of Havdalah?
As a side note, and a reason I'm tagging it this way,...
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Why is the idea of sefirot not shituf?
Why are the sefirot not considered a problem of Shituf? Is there anything wrong with believing in sefirot?
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Is there a problem with saying "for Pete's sake"?
Is there a halachic issue with invoking the name "Peter," or, as is more commonly used, "oh, for Pete's sake!," which I assume is a reference to Saint Peter. Wikipedia agrees with this conjecture, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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What happened to Avraham's students?
We read how Avraham was going around convincing people to believe in one G-d and of his many students. Yet we don't hear of those students (or their descendants) ever again.
What happened to them ...
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is it permitted to make a snowman?
Is it permitted to make a snowman? Or is it considered constructing a graven image?
Prompted by this:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/saudi-arabia-issues-fatwa---4967400
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Should the Christian cross be seen as an idol?
As Christianity is Avodah Zarah, is a Christian cross which people kiss, pay respect to, and face toward when praying, considered to be an idol?
Here is a brief excerpt from a scholarly Christian ...
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Why use Babylonian calendar instead of our own?
Why did the Hebrews not create their own calendar system instead of copying the pagan Babylonians'?
I find it interesting that they use a pagan calendar which often honours pagan gods. Why is this ...
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How to Resolve Kiddush Levana and Celestial Worship, (Avodas Kochavim)?
In general Kiddush Lavanah has always seemed to me to be akin to "Avodas Kochavim" - so does anyone know of a satisfying answer that works with Occam's razor?
More specifically:
We say Just as I can ...
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Did all of Bnei Israel worship the golden calf?
When Prophet Moses went up to the mountain, did all the people end up worshiping the cow, or were there some who remained aloof? What happened to such people who did not become idolaters? Were they ...
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Are Jews permitted to martyr themselves?
Are Jews permitted to martyr themselves? For example, if it is a question of converting or being killed, is the Jew permitted to sacrifice himself rather than convert?
Separately: which would be ...
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Is believing that God, Israel, and Torah are one Avodah Zarah?
The Zohar said that God, Israel, and Torah are one.
I thought Judaism is strictly monotheistic. When Jesus said, "I and the father is one", he was being a heretic. So how come the Zohar includes even ...
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Reading books about Avodah Zarah
Is it permissible to read books about Avodah Zarah?
Is it permissible to read Greek mythology for informational purposes, seeing as it's not particularly tempting to anyone nowadays?
Is it ...
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Issachar's Banner in Halacha
Inspired by this answer.
Bamidbar Rabbah 2:7 describes the symbol on Issachar's banner as the sun and the moon.
I have researched the topic of what it is permitted to draw, and it seems that ...
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Providing services to a forbidden ceremony
If a secular society criminalizes discriminating against a ceremony (e.g., a wedding between arayot [forbidden sexual unions, e.g., incest, bestiality, or homosexuality] or an idolatrous ritual), is a ...
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the tangled web of prophecy
The sages removed the inclination for idol worship (gemarah in Yoma) and subsequently prophecy ceased. It is postulated that the two are interconnected. Meaning that in order to maintain free will if ...
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Does “foreign religious obligation” = “Takruvas Avodah Zarah”?
Background: There is a verse in the Christian scriptures (Luke 6:30) that, when read out of context, implies that a follower of osso ha’ish should give anything anyone asks for. I had heard an urban ...
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Is it possible to be a Noahide and a Christian at the same time?
Rambam states that for gentiles who wish to have a place in the world to come, they don't need to convert to Judaism. All they need to do is keep the 7 laws of Noah because they were mandated by ...
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Pokemon Go and Churches
This is intended to be an academic question. All practical halachic questions should be decided based on a consult with your local Orthodox rabbi.
Pokemon Go is a new game for smartphones where you ...
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Visiting sites previously used for idol worship
Given the prohibition on entering a place of idol worship (Rambam, Peirush ha-Mishnayos, Avodah Zarah 1:3), when, if ever, is one permitted to visit a historical site that has been used as a place of ...
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Aesthetics and chukoseihem
In general, there is a prohibition to adopt practices from other cultures (See, e.g., Maimonides' Laws of Idolatry 11; see also here) if there is no clear, reasonable, non-idolatrous justification for ...
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Belief-with worship only towards HaShem - in the real existence of intermediaries between the Almighty and the Gentile Nations
I am an Italian Noahide.
There are several discussions in this forum about shituf, understood as associating other entities with HaShem.
Unless I am mistaken, it is generally held that on the halachic ...
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May Jews create sculpture, and under what restrictions?
I do not know if a realistic or abstract freestanding or hanging sculpture of any
creature as art (for a museum or store) is permitted me to create or
for Jews to view, or whether it would be ...
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Conversion to Islam
Although Islam is considered monotheistic I would imagine that in a case of 'oness' (coercion) one would still not be allowed to convert. Is conversion to Islam considered to be a case of יהרג ואל ...
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No yetzer hora of idolatry, so no nevuah?
I remember learning in a shiur (sorry, can't think of the reference) that Chazal was able to essentially destroy the yetzer hora of avodah zora but with the side effect that there wouldn't be nevuah ...
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How could Yaakov name his children Gad and Dan?
Shabbos 67b says Gad was the name of an idol of the Amorites, and Dan was an idol of Samaria. If we're not supposed to even say the name of idols, how could Yaakov name his sons after them? (or is it ...
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Asking non-Jews to pray for someone
Is it appropriate to ask non-Jews to pray on behalf of someone in dire straits (sick, wrongfully imprisoned, trapped, etc.)?
Edit: If it's appropriate, would it be inappropriate if the person being ...
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What is the exact definition of Shituf (vis a vis 'Avodah Zarah)?
"Shituf" is the heretical idea of some sort of co-mingling of something with G-d (Has VeShalom). According to many rabbinic opinions, Christianity is Shituf (cf., Is Christianity Avodah Zara?), and ...
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Is "Siman Tov u'Mazal Tov" Halachically problematic?
Literally translated, this is what is commonly said in the Jewish community, upon hearing very good news (typically life-cycle events as such as engagement, marriage, birth).
"A good sign and a ...
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What to do with the Cross on the Chess King?
Many (perhaps most) Chess sets come with a King piece that has a cross on the top of it. Is there any problem with owning or using such a chess set? Should one break off the cross?
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Ramban and Shituf. What is his position?
The Ramban on Devarim 7:6 says:
בך בחר ה' אלהיך להיות לו לעם סגלה שאין לך קצין שוטר ומושל בכל מלאכי מעלה אבל אתה סגולת ה' תחת ידו ולכך לא תטעה לעבוד ע"ז מאלהי העמים וכבר הזכרתי זה פעמים רבות
...
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