24
votes
Accepted
Does the fact that "Elohim" is plural indicate that parts of the Tanakh hearken from a pre-Jewish polytheistic culture?
The reason this is confusing is that in Biblical Hebrew, the plural can be used to denote a position of authority. For example, in Exodus 22 the Bible refers to a property owner in the plural even ...
- 7,118
22
votes
Why isn't the Kabbalistic doctrine of Sefirot considered Shittuf if the Christian Trinity is?
The straightforward answer to this question is that whereas the Christians are discussing what Hashem is made up of, the Kabbalists are discussing the ways in which He chose to reveal Himself.
Just ...
- 4,906
16
votes
Would anybody be able to point me in the direction of legitimate Jewish meditation practices?
I would recommend R' Aryeh Kaplan's book, Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide. It is halachically kosher and quite comprehensive
If you are interested in more theoretical sources, same author has
...
- 2,913
14
votes
Accepted
is it permitted to make a snowman?
According to Volume 3 Issue 8 of "Halachicly Speaking" (page 3) it is permissible for two reasons:
No one bows down to snowmen
A snowman does not last for very long.
- 31.6k
14
votes
Accepted
Is there anyway to repent for proselytizing for idol worship?
The Rambam doesn't say that such a person is unable to repent, just that Hashem won't provide him an opportunity like He does for most people (אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה). In halacha 6 there, the ...
- 7,587
12
votes
Accepted
is idolatry one of the noachide laws? there is a discrepancy between websites
The source for these laws is traditional from Chazal, and they explicitly list them in Sanhedrin 56a:
תנו רבנן שבע מצות נצטוו בני נח דינין וברכת השם ע"ז גילוי עריות ושפיכות דמים וגזל ואבר מן החי
...
- 3,794
12
votes
Accepted
Source for it being a mitzvah to make fun of Avodah Zarah?
I'm quite surprised that in my below research, I did not see any references to the Gemara in Avodah Zarah 45b-46a (edit: I saw it mentioned as an aside in one source), which not only implies that it ...
- 20.8k
11
votes
Accepted
Does Maimonides Allow Prayer to Angels?
There is indeed at least unnamed but very early Rabbi who believed this prayer to be proof that there's no prohibition of praying to angels. See the responsum published by Simcha Emanuel in Hamayaan, ...
- 21.7k
10
votes
Providing services to a forbidden ceremony
There are two concerns here: chanufa, which means telling a sinner that you approve of their sinful action; and mesayea / lifnei iver, being involved in (or enabling) someone else's sin.
For a rabbi ...
- 128k
9
votes
Is practicing Yoga against Torah?
The Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote the following letter:
By the Grace of G-d
Teveth, 5738
MEMORANDUM
It is well known that certain oriental movements, such as Transcendental Meditation (T.M.), Yoga, Guru, ...
- 40.1k
9
votes
Where is it written that anger is like idolatry
It is a a baraita in Masekhet Shabbat 105b:
המקרע בגדיו בחמתו והמשבר כליו בחמתו והמפזר מעותיו בחמתו יהא בעיניך כעובד ע"ז
שכך אומנתו של יצה"ר היום אומר לו עשה כך ולמחר אומר לו עשה כך
"If one ...
- 44.5k
9
votes
Ramban and Shituf. What is his position?
R' Yaakov Kaminetzky discuses the opinion of Ramban in his Emes LiYaakov, parshas ViEschanan 4 19 on the verse
וראית את השמש ואת הירח גו׳ אשר חלק ה׳ אלקיך אתם לכל העמים תחת כל השמים.
He says there ...
- 32.8k
9
votes
Why is asking for a bracha allowed?
The gemara in Bava Batra 116a says
Anyone who has a sick person in his home should go to a sage, and the
sage will ask for mercy on the sick person’s behalf, as it is stated:
“The wrath of a ...
- 44.5k
9
votes
How can people dance around bonfires on Lag Lo'Omer - it's darchei emori?
Merely dancing next to a bonfire has nothing to do the ways of the Emorites, nor is it a form of fire worship, if the dancer(s) has/have no such intent.
The question is based on a misunderstanding of ...
- 4,307
9
votes
Does the fact that "Elohim" is plural indicate that parts of the Tanakh hearken from a pre-Jewish polytheistic culture?
R. Judah Halevi addresses this in Part IV of the Kuzari:
The word has a plural form, because it was so used by gentile idolaters, who believed that every deity was invested with astral and other ...
- 48.4k
9
votes
Does the fact that "Elohim" is plural indicate that parts of the Tanakh hearken from a pre-Jewish polytheistic culture?
Often I see ignorant skeptics of the Torah as using this argument to "prove" that Judaism adopted terms from polytheism, but this not at all the case.
The reason why Elohim ends with "-...
- 319
8
votes
Accepted
Was Baal worshiped via child sacrifice?
The prophet Jeremiah (19:5) clearly identifies the baal as one of the gods to which the Caananites offered their children:
וּבָנוּ אֶת בָּמוֹת הַבַּעַל לִשְׂרֹף אֶת
בְּנֵיהֶם בָּאֵשׁ עֹלוֹת ...
- 2,610
8
votes
What exactly do Noahides do?
Writing as a ben Noach, there is no definitive answer on what we do; only what we can't do(save setting up a court). Bnei Noach can do whatever they want as long as they don't transgress the seven. ...
- 1,277
8
votes
Is Islam Avodah Zara?
Many jewish/rabbinical sources state that it is.
https://web.archive.org/web/20210226122037/https://www.jerusalem-herald.com/single-post/2017/12/13/is-islam-idolatry
"it appears that a legal ...
- 2,059
8
votes
Accepted
Sources on the Rogochover and Islam
In the book "Shu"t Ach Tov Leyisrael" by Rabbi Efraim Kachlon, he has a siman discussing the potential Avodah Zara status of Islam, and he mentions this claim about the Rogatchover (pg. ...
- 23.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Which ancient cults would cut out the hearts of live animals and offer them as sacrifices?
A possible answer:
Rambam on the mishnah states that this was done as part of worship of Baalim. The city of Baalbek, which was originally a Baal center of worship, eventually became a center of ...
- 23.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Is the following Trinitarian conceptual understanding of the deity polytheistic according to Jewish theology?
During the 1263 Disputation of Barcelona between Nachmanides and the Church of Aragon, Nachmanides was asked about the trinity (translation from the Jewish Encyclopedia):
"Fra Pablo asked me in ...
- 23.1k
7
votes
How could Yaakov name his children Gad and Dan?
In my newest book, God versus Gods: Judaism in the Age of Idolatry (Mosaica Press, 2018) on pg. 322, I address this question:
R. Chaim Palagi (1788–1868) asks why Jacob allowed his son to be called ...
- 5,952
7
votes
May a Jew be a Freemason?
Freemasonry is considered by some to be Luciferian (1). When witchcraft was legalized in the U.K., see here, Wicca copied the rituals of Freemasonry as their own magick rituals. It's based on ...
- 81
7
votes
While playing a computer game, may I "worship" one of the game's "gods" to help me win?
A seemingly very similar question is posed by Rabbi Gil Student on his website https://www.torahmusings.com/2017/05/video-game-idolatry based on a version of the game Zelda. He goes through several ...
- 1,297
7
votes
Is there a problem with saying "for Pete's sake"?
Referring to the names of men or women made deities is not problematic. See Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Dei'ah 147:2.
The problem is that Beis Yoseif there quotes Rabeinu Yerucham (TAvC 17:5 [159c]) who ...
- 261
7
votes
Accepted
Why does specifically searching for a white chicken for kapparos "resemble the Amorites"?
According to the Mishnah in Avodah Zarah 1:5, white chickens are singled out as items associated with idol worship, especially when the person is looking specifically for them. Making an issue of the ...
- 5,104
7
votes
Accepted
May one immerse in a body of water that was used for baptism?
A private mikvah used for baptism would be prohibited. As per BT Avodah Zarah p.58B and 59A, though, a body of water in the public domain cannot become prohibited, see discussion below:
ר"ל איקלע ...
- 4,663
7
votes
Accepted
Is friendship with Christians and other idolaters permitted?
The Talmud says that if a non-Jew is destitute, we must provide charity; if ill, we tend to them; if they die without relatives, we bury them.
This applies even to downright pagans, and certainly to ...
- 128k
7
votes
Source for it being a mitzvah to make fun of Avodah Zarah?
Megillah 25 B
מר רב נחמן כל ליצנותא אסירא בר מליצנותא דעבודת כוכבים דשריא דכתיב (ישעיהו מו, א) כרע בל קרס נבו וכתיב (ישעיהו מו, ב) קרסו כרעו יחדיו לא יכלו מלט משא וגו' ר' ינאי אמר מהכא (הושע י, ה) ...
- 1,826
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