A Child’s Wisdom
A boy reads in the Synagogue bulletin that the congregation hired a new rabbi, Rabbi Dr. Epstein. He is excited that the new rabbi is also a doctor, and the next time he has a stomach ache, the boy calls the Synagogue.

“I’d like to speak to the Rabbi Dr.,“ the boy says. The rabbi gets on the line and asks how he can be of help.

“Rabbi,“ the boy says, “I have a stomach ache. What should I do.“

“Sorry son, I'm not a medical doctor,“ replies the rabbi.

“Then what type of doctor are you?“ asks the boy. “I am a Dr. of Philosophy,“ was the response.

The boy thought for a moment and asked, “Philosophy? What type of sickness is that?“


What's the big deal?
The highpoint of Jewish history, the Divine Revelation at Sinai, also has a downside. Forty days after receiving the Ten Commandments, some Jews panicked at not seeing Moses descend from the mountain (he came down one day later), and joined the rabble to find a new Leader: the Infamous Golden Calf.

It is difficult for us to relate to the passion that drove them to worship a calf after hearing G-d decree: “You shall have no other gods.“

Can you think of someone among us today who’d delight in dancing around a molten calf exclaiming, “This is Your god, O Israel?“

Even a superficial reading of this event indicates the cataclysmic effect of this event on Jewish destiny. Why, indeed, is the foolish creation of an idol in the desert so central in Jewish history?

Abraham's Quest
In his introductory background to the laws in the Mishne Torah section on idolatry, Maimonides begins by describing the first Jew's quest for truth and Monotheism. “Initially, Abraham was immersed among the idol worshippers of Ur Kasdim in Mesopotamia. His father, mother and the entire population — he among them — all worshipped idols.“

Asks Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi: Why must Maimonides include in his book of Jewish law (not Jewish history) the uncomplimentary fact that the first Jew came from an idol worshipping background?

The soul of idol worship
By failing to understand the underpinnings of idol worship we may be engaging in just that: idol worship.

What is the essence of idol worship? Idolatry is basically a person in need of power in his life, attributing that power to a particular object or person and thus surrendering his self to that object or person, worshipping it as a deity.

The problem of idol worship lies not in the yearning for a power that leads one to worship an idol; this yearning and need is, in fact, positive, even sacred. The problem is in accepting the notion that a lifeless object carries within it the fulfillment of one's yearning – which turns idol worship into a meaningless and destructive pursuit.

This is why it is important that we know that the first Jew had once worshipped idols. Had this young man been indifferent to the idols around him, he never would have searched for and discovered the true G-d. Since Abraham yearned for truth and craved intimacy with G-d, he originally worshipped the idols of his father's home in the erroneous belief that they embodied the ultimate cosmic truth.

Underlying Abraham's idol worship was a soul yearning for the One living G-d. As he matured, he redirected his sacred craving toward the true G-d and rejected the false substitutes.

The soul of an impulse
We all experience various impulses and urges directed toward certain people or particular things.

Are you infatuated with a particular person? Are you starving for attention, compliments and approval? Are you obsessed with an unceasing urge for physical intimacy? Are you in love with food? Do you enjoy dominating and controlling other people's lives?

Judaism teaches that these and other impulses are not necessarily negative or destructive. In fact, all these cravings may express the purest and most spiritual needs of the soul. At the core of a crush on another person or an obsession with intimacy, food or attention, may be their soul yearning for inner worth and dignity, companionship and self fulfillment.

Our psyches, however, distort our clarity and attribute false symbolism to these essentially hollow pursuits. As a result of this distortion we — like the Jews in the desert — misdirect our time and energy to carefully construct and worship our personal “golden calves“ in the belief that they will fill the void in our heart and nourish the hunger of our souls.

The Torah's condemnation of the Golden Calf is central to our mission. It symbolizes our daily relentless effort of turning our attention from false carriers of value to the true carriers of value.

My gratitude to Shmuel Levin of Pittsburgh for his editorial assistance, and to Dr. Jeffrey Satinover for sharing his wisdom.