Summarized by Itai Weiss, Translated by David Strauss
Introduction: "The Pillar of the World"
At the beginning of Hilkhot Avoda Zara, the Rambam describes the development of idol worship since the generation of Enosh, and the transmission of the true faith via a tradition that was passed down by individuals – until the dramatic turning point in the days of Avraham Avinu:
During the times of Enosh, mankind erred greatly, and the wise men of that generation gave thoughtless counsel. Enosh himself was one of those who erred. Their mistake was as follows: They said God created stars and spheres with which to control the world; He placed them on high and treated them with honor, making them servants who minister before Him, and accordingly, it is fitting to praise and glorify them and to treat them with honor. [They perceived] this to be the will of God, blessed be He, that they magnify and honor those whom He magnified and honored, just as a king desires that the servants who stand before him be honored. Indeed, doing so is an expression of honor to the king.
After conceiving of this notion, they began to construct temples to the stars and offer sacrifices to them. They would praise and glorify them with words, and prostrate themselves before them, because by doing so, they would – according to their false conception – be fulfilling the will of God. This was the essence of the worship of false gods…
As the years passed, [God's] glorious and awesome name was forgotten by the entire population. [It was no longer part of] their speech or thought, and they no longer knew Him. Thus, all the common people, the women, and the children would know only the image of wood or stone and the temples of stone to which they were trained from their childhood to bow down and serve, and in whose name they swore.
The wise men among them would think that there is no God other than the stars and spheres for whose sake, and in resemblance of which, they had made these images. The Eternal Rock was not recognized or known by anyone in the world, with the exception of a [few] individuals: for example, Chanoch, Metushelach, Noach, Shem, and Ever. The world continued in this fashion until the pillar of the world – the patriarch Avraham – was born.
When this mighty man was weaned, he began to explore and think. Though he was a child, he began to think [incessantly] throughout the day and night, wondering: How is it possible for the sphere to continue to revolve without anyone controlling it? Who is causing it to revolve? ….
His heart was exploring and [gaining] understanding. Ultimately, he comprehended the way of truth and understood the path of righteousness through his accurate understanding. He realized that there was one God who controlled the sphere, that He created everything, and that there is no other God among all other entities. (Hilkhot Avoda Zara 1:1-3)
Many important elements arise here regarding the essence of faith in God and, very differently, regarding idolatry and its development. It is worth noting, for example, the fact that despite the existence of a faith tradition, Avraham himself arrived at his faith through his "accurate understanding."
"Ultimately, thousands and myriads gathered around him"
As the Rambam goes on to describe Avraham's actions, it becomes clear that the faith process described here is not only personal; rather, Avraham began to spread the faith to the masses:
He was [saved through] a miracle and left for Charan. [There,] he began to call in a loud voice to all people and inform them that there is one God for the entire world and it is proper to serve Him…
When the people would gather around him and ask him about his statements, he would explain [them] to each one of them according to their understanding, until he turned them to the path of truth. Ultimately, thousands and myriads gathered around him. These are the people of the house of Avraham, and he planted this great principle in their hearts. (Ibid., continuation of halakha 3)
From where does the Rambam know this? The Torah does speak about "the souls that they had made in Charan" (Bereishit 12:5), and Rashi famously explains that the reference is to people whom Avraham and Sara converted: "[The souls] which he had brought beneath the sheltering wings of the Shekhina. Avraham converted the men and Sara converted the women" (Rashi, ad loc., in the wake of Bereishit Rabba 84, 4).
However, there is no further hint to those "thousands and myriads" described by the Rambam, to a broad religious movement that was led by Avraham. Why not? To where did all those people disappear?
To sharpen the difficulty, let us remember that Yaakov would go down to Egypt two generations later with only "seventy souls" (Devarim 10:22). Before that as well, it seems from the verses that both Yaakov and his father Yitzchak conducted their lives within a relatively small family framework, not as leaders of an entire community. Thus, again the question arises: What happened to the great religious awakening that was led by Avraham?
Permissiveness and Coercion
To understand why that mass movement disappeared, let us turn to two great religious movements in human history that dominated the Rambam's world: Christianity and Islam. Each began with the "prophecy" of a single person who swept thousands of people after him (Jesus and Muhammad, respectively), and both led to the establishment of entire empires.
The gospel of Jesus drew multitudes due to one thing – the ease that it offered; the waiving of the obligation to fulfill commandments and engage in self-improvement, in exchange for faith that was presented as sufficient for attaining salvation. In this respect, Christianity continues pagan perspectives, which also did not place heavy demands on believers.[1] This is in complete contrast to the path and faith adopted by Avraham. The selection of Avraham and his descendants is largely based on a commitment to work hard and strive to do what is right in the eyes of God. As the Torah states:
For I have known him, to the end that he will command his children and his household after him, and they will keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice… (Bereishit 18:19)
Waiving this obligation constitutes a renunciation of an essential part of Avraham Avinu's innovation. This is the first reason for the disappearance of the movement led by Avraham after his death.
The second religious movement that has enjoyed worldwide success is Islam, under Muhammad. Unlike Christianity, in this religion there are undoubtedly quite a few imperatives and binding practices – and it includes a written Law (the Koran) and an oral Law (the Hadith and the Sharia).
Thus, Islam gained its global acceptance not by "selling" the religion for free as did Christianity, but in another way: by coercion and the sword. The Arab tribes who accepted Muhammad's faith swept across the known world and imposed their religion on idolaters wherever they went: "Islam by the sword."
Avraham and his followers did not adopt this approach either. The true faith ultimately remained the inheritance of the few, from the days of Yitzchak and Yaakov until the years of the long exile: Judaism did not lower the bar, nor did it try to impose itself by force of arms, and this is why there was no continuation of those "thousands and myriads" who followed after Avraham and Sara.
And yet, despite all this, we strongly believe that the day will come when all nations will recognize the kingdom of God, and the words of the prophet will be fulfilled:
And many peoples shall go and say: "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Yaakov; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Yeshayahu 2:3)
[This sicha was delivered by Harav Yaakov Medan on Shabbat Parashat Noach 5778.]
(Edited by Sarah Rudolph)
[1] The justication for this waiver was, however, different: In the pagan world, the "gods" were perceived as submissive and driven by jealousy, lust, and the pursuit of honor, so that man's only requirement was to please the gods. He is under no obligation to live his life on a certain moral level – the main thing is that he be desirable before the gods. In Christianity, on the other hand, the waiver comes from the crucifixion of their "savior" which is understood as achieving "atonement" for everything. But either way, the end result is the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment