The Prohibition of Idolatry for Noahides
איסור עבודה זרה לבני נח
Idolatry is forbidden to all human beings, for there is no transgression that diverts a person’s mind from truth to falsehood and from good to evil more than idolatry. Therefore, it is agreed that it is the first commandment, with which Adam himself was already commanded.
The law for a ben Noaḥ (Noahide) is the same as the law for Israel: one who worships idols is liable to death. However, as we learned (above 3:2), the main intent of this is to express the severity of the sin under the laws of Heaven, but in practice, the attitude toward people who committed this sin is complex. For just as there are commandments whose punishment is death, such as idolatry, so too there are many commandments that earn life, and the overall reckoning of every person is made in the Heavenly Court. And just as God desires the good of all His creatures, so it is proper for the righteous to do good even to idol worshippers and to draw them closer to faith in God. This is how Abraham our father conducted himself: he related to everyone with love, and he would seek out guests to bring them into his home, honor them with food and drink, and draw them closer to faith, even though in his days everyone worshipped idols. He conducted himself this way even toward lowly idol worshippers who worshipped the dust of their feet (Rashi, Bereishit 18:4). This is also evident from the fact that he defended the people of Sodom, who, in addition to all their grave sins, certainly also worshipped idols.¹
In defining worship as well, the law of Noahides is the same as that of Israel: the severe prohibition, whose punishment is death, is to declare acceptance of the idol as a god, or to worship it in the manner of worship specific to it, or through one of the four important services that were performed in the Temple, namely: a) bowing; b) slaughtering a sacrifice; c) burning a sacrifice on the altar; d) pouring a libation of wine, or sprinkling blood and the like, in honor of the idol.
As for Israel, so for a ben Noaḥ: it is forbidden to express honor or affection for an idol even when this is done not in the accepted manner of worship of that idol, such as hugging the statue, kissing it, or sweeping before it. However, one is not liable to death for this. Likewise, it is forbidden for a ben Noaḥ to make a statue, but one who makes it is not liable to death (Sanhedrin 56b and Meiri there; Rambam, Melakhim 9:2; above 3:3).²
Notes (2)
- It is brought in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 56b): “R. Yehuda says: Adam was commanded only concerning idolatry… R. Yehuda ben Beteira says: also concerning birkat Hashem,” meaning not to offend the honor of Heaven by cursing. “And some say: also concerning dinim (laws).” The prevalent view is that Adam was commanded six commandments: a) not to worship idols; b) not to “bless” (curse) God; c) not to murder; d) not to commit adultery; e) not to steal; f) to appoint judges. After the Flood and the rescue of the animals by Noah, people were permitted to eat the meat of animals, and then a commandment related to the suffering of animals was added: not to eat a limb from a living animal. These are the seven Noahide commandments (Sanhedrin 56b; Rambam, Melakhim 9:1). For all seven Noahide commandments one is liable to death; however, this does not mean that this is how one must act in practice. Rather, it comes to teach the severity of the transgression, that when it is done in grave defiance, the judges, with the consent of their nation, are permitted to execute for it. This is as we learned above (3:2) regarding those liable to death in Israel, that the death penalty was only rarely carried out, mainly for murderers, since their sin involved severe harm to faith and to national consensus. The main purpose of mentioning the death penalty for the various sins was to express the severity of the prohibition under the laws of Heaven. See Tosafot, Avoda Zara 64b, s.v. “Eizehu,” who explained regarding a ger toshav (resident alien) that even though he transgressed the seven commandments and seemingly became liable to death, as long as he has not been sentenced to death, there is a mitzva to sustain him (see further Tosafot, Avoda Zara 26b, s.v. “Ve-lo moridin”; Amud Ha-yemini 16).
- Some explained that all expressions of honor toward idols are forbidden out of doubt, for in Sanhedrin 56b there is a dispute about what is included in the prohibition beyond its ordinary worship: whether it also includes making a statue, or worship not in its usual manner and not by one of the four Temple services. Out of doubt, it was ruled that everything is forbidden, but one is not liable to death for it (so explained Arukh La-ner, Sanhedrin 56b; Likutei Halakhot of the Ḥafetz Ḥayim there; Or Same’aḥ, Melakhim 9:2). Others explain that the doubt in Sanhedrin concerns liability to death, but it is agreed that there is a general prohibition for all Noahides to honor idols or to make them (Binyan Shlomo, Sanhedrin 56, s.v. “Hinei”; Ḥemdat Yisrael, in Kuntres Ner Mitzva, negative commandment 2, s.v. “U-lefi zeh”; She’elat Shlomo 21; Igrot Moshe, YD 2:55, s.v. “U-mi-ta’am”). Included in the severe prohibition of idolatry, it is also forbidden for a gentile to declare that he accepts an idol as a god, and it implies that this is at the level of liability to death (Taz, YD 148:3; Nekudot Ha-kesef there; Minḥat Ḥinukh 86:9). Below, in halakhot 8-10, we will learn that according to most poskim, idolatry in shituf (association) is permitted to Noahides, and then all the prohibitions mentioned here apply when they do not associate the Name of Heaven.