Ó
Copy Right 2022
Rabbi Dr Zvi Aviner
IDOLATRY-10/
ELKM Made Adam to Withstand the IDOLATRY Challenge
Know your CRETOR, Know Yourself, and know the Difference
Teaching Adam Modesty
So far, we’ve learned that in order to accommodate YHVH’s presence
in the Heavenly Court,
and in order to make Adam in the Form and Image of both Attributes,
ELKM made a “concession” by stepping down from His high pedestal
as a sole Dictator, to rule as a “KING WHO CONSULTS,” who speaks in plural
before making a decision.
That concession came with a cost. For by relinquishing His sole authority
and speaking in plural, by listening to opinions of others,
ELKM ‘became’ tolerant to rejection of His rule!
The Midrash portrays this by the following putative dialogue
between ELKM and His angles.
Hearing ELKM speaking in plural, the angels asked:
“Our KING! Aren’t you worried that by speaking in plural,
You’ve opened the door for idolaters to think that
there are more than One CREATOR, You?” (Rashi)
The angles called ELKM a KING, since by speaking in plural
He had just become a “KING WHO CONSULTS,” instead of a DICTATOR.
And by speaking in plural, He had given the wrong impression that
there are more than One CREATOR, opening the door for IDOLATRY to exist!
Indeed, such an IDOLATRY could have never existed under the sole
rule of ELKM as a DICTATOR.
The cost oof democracy, after all, is the existence and the tolerance
of OPPOSITION!
Hearing the angels, ELKM said:
“I take the risk of IDOLATRY, and I speak in plural,
for I wish to teach Adam modesty: that the superior
would consult the inferior prior to making DECISION!” (Rashi)
Hence teaching Adam modesty is paramount.
ELKM, after all, has risked having IDOLATRY in the world
for the purpose of teaching it.
FOR IF ADAM SHOWS ARROGANCE, THE OPPOSITE OF MODESTY,
YHVH WOULD NEVER ENTER ADAM’S HEART,
AND ADAM WOULD NEVER REACH THE SABBATH.
Adam is Born into the IDOLATRY Trial
Since the same verse that describes the planning of Adam,
is the verse that opens up IDOLATRY in the world,
it means that ADAM IS BORN SPECIFICALLY TO WITHSTSAND
THE IDOLATRY TRIAL.
Hence, IDOLATRY is not just another Command, another sin
in the list of sins in Noah’s Seven Laws.
IDOLATRY is the only sin mentioned in Genesis Chapter One,
and it is intertwined with the making of Adam.
The IDOLATRY challenge, then, encompasses our entire life,
as individuals and as a species. It is a major obstacle for mankind
to reach the Eternal Sabbath!
So, who Can Serve as an Idol?
From the verse we can derive that the basic notion of IDOLATRY
is thinking that there are more than One CREATOR, ELKM.
Hence, believing in OTHER GODS, equal or greater or inferior to ELKM
is sheer IDOLATRY.
Such false G-DS are putative FAMILY MEMEBERS of ELKM,
such as His son, wife, daughter, etc.
Other false G-ds are putative G-D’S PARTNERS,
either PARTNERS in creating the world and ruling over it,
or PARTNERS in creating Adam.
The verse also establishes who are the false PARTNERS of ELKM
that ‘helped’ ELKM to create Adam.
They are: Whoever ELKM consulted with by saying
“Let Us Make an Adam in Our Form and Our Image.”
With Whom did ELKM consult at Adam CREATION?
The Midrash counts these entities as follows:
ELKM “stands” in the text at the Sixth Day,
Making Adam by consulting whoever is mentioned in the Chapter,
either before or after making Adam.
Thus, ELKM consulted with:
- The Six Days,
- The Beginning,
- The Spirit of ELKM,
- The Self of ELKM,
- The Drive to procreate (Be fruitful and multiply)
- The Drive to wield Power (Rule over..)
- YHVH
ELKM “consulted” these entities and made Adam,
Thereby making Adam a very complex creature,
giving Adam precious gifts that make Adam so unique and smart.
Yet, each of these very gifts can also serve as a source of IDOLATRY,
as a false PARTNER of ELKM, worthy of worshipping for its own power.
To make it clear, let’s go over the “consultants” one by one.