New answers tagged avodah-zarah
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Images/statues of people are not A"Z by itself, no matter what. You can have pictures of Rabbis and Moses and your grandfathers in your house.
What makes it A"Z is the fact that those are worshipped by different ways of worshipping an A"Z like in a church:
In a place where those pictures serve only as decoration, staying is permitted. Think about St. X ...
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You can "wish" for whatever you want. Your thoughts are your own. I am not sure you could control them anyway. (Action is a different matter.)
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This is only a draft answer to N.D's fire:
As Rambam discusses in the non-censored version at the end of Hil. Melachim (I think) about the importance of Christianity in overall spreading the Word of G-d, it should be weighted against two aspects:
The possible problem of idolatry in certain branches of Christianity
The never-ending anti-semitism that took ...
4
R. Moshe Feinstein tangentially mentions donating money to building churches in a responsum (Y.D. 1:102) about donating to federations that distribute to Jewish institutions:
והנה בפעדעריישאן שנותנין הגבאים גם למוסדות הכופרים כהא דשל הרעפארמער וקאנסערוואטיוון הרי אסור ליתן לשם כלל אף לא ממעות צדקה דנמצא דתומך במעותיו מוסדות המחנכים ילדים לכפור בעיקרי הדת ...
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In a shiur by Rav Zvi Sobolofsky on YUTorah called "Inyanei Sfeikos 12," Rav Sobolofsky discusses the
"בית המנוגע" (house of leprosy) and notes that while even though this is something the gemara says will never happen, there are nonetheless very important practical halachos that are learned from it.
For example:
Chazakah - The gemara on Chullin 10b ...
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I wrote about this issue at great length in my essay "Uttering the Names of Idols" which was published in the Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society vol. 73. The crux of my argument is that if you don't mean to refer to the deity (like you refer to Nike the shoe, not Nike the Greek god), then it's less of a problem. Also, if people don't even realize ...
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The Rebbe of Lubavitch used to say about influencing those around us on proper level, being example of moral and civility in order to improve the world, that is, making to them (directly and indirectly) aware of the Sheva Mitzvot Bnei Noach. Per his words, i understant that this implies to interact in a pleasant manner with them, avoiding confront and ...
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It appears that according to HaRav Asher Weiss shlita there is "no prohibition" in encouraging non-Jews to observe the sheva mitzvos bnei-Noach and it is "certainly a meritorious act".
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No, it is not forbidden. In fact, Maimonides said Moshe was tasked to convince the world to accept the 7 Noahide laws. Source: "Holy War in Judaism: The Fall and Rise of a Controversial Idea" by Reuven Firestone
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Christian is not necessarily equal to idolater.
Concerning people that are fully convinced in their ways and even preaching to others, the best way is to stick to that Rambam. However, for those who hesitate and are open to hearing other views, it is a Mitzvah to minimize the overall Chilul Hashem in the world. That what Abraham was and many Chabadnikes are ...
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Intuitively, I expect that your first source is referring to a class of animals that's generally worshipped by a society, while your second source is referring to a particular animal that's been worshipped by individual worshippers.
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In חכמה ומוסר (p. שטו, s.v. ועפי"ז), R' Simcha Zissel discusses a very similar question to this point. The basic thrust of his discussion is that it made no sense for פרעה to chase after בנ"י after Hashem had just completely obliterated Egypt without any impediment or opposition. Thinking it was a bad idea to send them away was preposterous - they sent them ...
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It's Judaism. The answer is "it's complicated," "it depends," and "potentially there's a dispute involved."
According to Wikipedia:
Totem poles can symbolize the characters and events in mythology, or convey the experiences of recent ancestors and living people. ... Pole carvings may include animals, fish, plants, insects, and humans, or they may ...
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This is explicitly addressed in Avodah Zarah 3:7:
שְׁלשָׁה בָתִּים הֵן. בַּיִת שֶׁבָּנוּי מִתְּחִלָּה לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, הֲרֵי זֶה אָסוּר. סִיְּדוֹ וְכִיְּרוֹ לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְחִדֵּשׁ, נוֹטֵל מַה שֶּׁחִדֵּשׁ. הִכְנִיס לְתוֹכָה עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְהוֹצִיאָהּ, הֲרֵי זֶה מֻתָּר.
There are three houses: (1) A house which was initially built for idolatry, ...
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