Rabbi's Musings

The Ten Commandments tells us not to commit idolatry. This kind of seems like a “gimme” these days. After all, I don’t see many Canaanite goddesses in people’s front yards. However, this week's Torah portion reminds us that idolatry is a little more complicated. Abraham is told by God to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. (It’s a test.) He quickly says yes. This does not mean he does not want to spare Isaac’s life. He wants to obey God more than protect his son. He is privileging the value of serving God above the value of protecting his son. When we privilege a value far above other values, that is, in fact, committing idolatry.
 
Being human is hard. Being human and aware of conflicting values is a moral choice but also a difficult position. Every day we have to choose between different values. Religion makes it more complicated because people often make bad choices thinking religion permits or even instructs them to make them. The medieval philosopher Maimonides taught that bowing to graven images was not the problem. The problem was believing in an image of God you have created in your mind. And worse, often we don’t bother to call it God. We just worship it. "It" being worldly pursuits like wealth, influence, power, etc.

All forms of idolatry share one thing in common: they think that obeying God or some sacred value is all that matters, and they think that this is a good thing. Abraham killing Isaac would not have been a good thing.
Anything can become an idol if it becomes the be-all of human life. The Buddhists understand this, which is why they taught, “If you meet the Buddha on the road to enlightenment, kill him.” They mean kill the faulty image you have of him.

The antidote is to practice discernment with humility and never presume you know what God is saying. Listen and think, but also act carefully. Life is a mystery to be lived. Only God knows if we passed the test.