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Good morning. Just wanted to let you know I appreciate what you do. I read your notes almost every week and we have included them now in what my wife and I read aloud over breakfast. It helps keep us grounded. Glad to hear you are taking this week off. Rest is necessary. See you next time. Thanks.
By all means, do rest yourself, and as the world will be the same when you return.
Can you say: “Avoda Zarah sucks”?
The 2nd commandment forbids any and all comparisons to anything in the Heavens, Earth, or Seas. Words convey ideas just as do all forms of פסל. פסל inclusive of “word images” based upon the Golden Calf/אלהים. The כלל second commandment of Sinai defined through the פרט of the Golden Calf אלהים – פסל word translation! פסל does not translate into carved idol any more than “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” fulfills the words of the prophets! Θεός (Theos) no different from אלהים\Golden Calf!
The second commandment indeed prohibits any representations or comparisons to God, explicitly rejecting idolatry in all forms—physical, verbal, and conceptual. This includes any attempt to reduce the divine essence to human understandings or depictions. The understanding of פסל extends beyond the טיפש פשט “carved idols.” The gospel parallel between Θεός (Theos) with אלהים (Golden Calf) exposes the fundamental negative commandment which curses avoda zara. Attempts to restrict avoda zara to graven images, the prophets utterly mocked in total absolute contempt. This same vomit equally applies to the theological nonsense called “Monotheism”.
Neither the ancient Greeks or Romans or Church or Mosque ever to this very day accept the revelation of the Torah at Sinai – to pursue justice: fair compensation of damages through common law courts of law. תורה לא בשמים היא. Pirkei Avot instructs in ג:ב — כל אדם שמביט למעלה ולמטה ולפנים ואחור – טוב לו שלא נברא. The NT simple a cheap counterfeit fraud. אלהים and Θεός (Theos) serve as linguistic representations – both of which communicate “interpretations” “beliefs” “theologies” about God(s)! Isaiah openly mocked wooden carved idols made from wood used to heat ones’ home!
Therefore the Torah restricts “faith” to צדק צדק תרדוף. The utter nonsense of the gospel parallel between Θεός (Theos) with אלהים (Golden Calf) exposes the fundamental negative commandment which curses avoda zara, specifically through the gospel of “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to Θεός what is Θεοῦ..” Only the gospel “Lord’s Prayer” which directs prayers unto Heaven rather than within the heart expresses greater total ignorance and stupidity.
Human beings cannot comprehend the divine any more than a worm can comprehend human civilization. Therefore any attempt to conceptualize, describe, or “image” God — even in words — Av tumah avoda zarah. The Torah explicitly defines the differences which separate tohor from tuma spirits! To restrict פסל blind to the distinction which separates tohor from tuma spirits – simply טיפש פשט. Greek Θεός and Hebrew אלהים both – human attempts to conceptualize that which Man simply cannot grasp much less understand. Torah never commands “believe in God.” Torah commands “do justice,” “walk humbly,” “remember,” “act,” “judge,” “pursue.”
The Second Commandment prohibits any human attempt to conceptualize, describe, imagine, or linguistically represent the divine. Therefore פסל includes not only statues but all human God‑concepts — including אלהים, Θεός, “monotheism,” and theological language itself. The sin of the Golden Calf teaches that the ערב רב שאין להם יראת אלהים – did not worship “another god”; they worshipped a prepresentation of the God of Sinai. No different from later avoda zara which worships the stars as representatives of the Gods as Gods in their own right.
Isaiah command straight mussar: ואל מי תדמיון אל? No likeness, analogy, metaphor, conceptualization, theological creed/linguistic labels (אלהים, Θεός, Deus, Trinity, Tawhid, Allah) can jump from finite to beyond infinite. The gospel counterfeit introduces a philisophical argument; nothing more other than the essence of avodah zarah, dressed up as political theology.
Torah Commands Justice, not Belief: לא תטה משפט; לא תכיר פנים; לא תעשוק; לא תגזול; לא תעמוד על דם רעך. Neither the church or mosque has ever “fulfilled” this prophetic mussar. The Sinai revelation commands faith as the righteous pursuit of justice through Sanhedrin Torah mandated common law courtrooms.