Now we have started learning Hilchos Avodah Zarah, the halachos about not serving Avodah Zarah. Hashem gave us many mitzvos about keeping away from Avodah Zarah, so we will be learning many mitzvos every day while we learn these perakim!
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #10) We are not allowed to learn about or think about Avodah Zarah, for example to learn about a religion which is Avodah Zarah. We are also not allowed to look at and think about an image of Avodah Zarah, like a picture or statue.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: אַל תִּפְנוּ אֶל הָאֱלִילִם
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #47) “VeLo Sasuru” — This is a mitzvah for our thinking. We are not allowed to feel free in our mind to think into non-Torah ideas. Our thoughts need to be only according to the way Torah teaches us. The second half of this mitzvah is not to let our minds get too busy thinking about taavos, enjoying things which won’t help our Avodas Hashem. (This is one of the 6 Mitzvos Temidiyos, the mitzvos we need to keep ALL the time.)
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shelach: וְלֹא תָתוּרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #60) “Birchas Hashem” — We are not allowed to give the opposite of a bracha to Hashem.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: אֱלֹקִים לֹא תְקַלֵּל
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Zayin.
4) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #6) We are not allowed to do things to an Avodah Zara if that is how it is served, even if it is not bowing down to it or bringing it korbanos. So if a certain Avodah Zarah is served by throwing a rock at it, we aren’t allowed to throw a rock (even though it’s okay to throw rocks in other places where they won’t hurt anyone!)
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Yisro: וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Zayin.
5) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #5) We are not allowed to bow to or bring korbanos to ANY Avodah Zarah, even if that’s not how most people worship that Avodah Zarah.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Yisro: לֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָהֶם וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Zayin.
6) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #2) We are not allowed to make an idol ourselves or pay someone else to make an idol, even if we won’t use it.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Yisro: לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה לְּךָ פֶסֶל וְכָל תְּמוּנָה
The details are explained in Mesechta Avodah Zarah.
7) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #3) We are not allowed to make an idol for someone else who will use it as an Avodah Zarah, even for someone who is not Jewish.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: וֵאלֹהֵי מַסֵּכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ לָכֶם
The details are explained in Mesechta Avodah Zarah.
8) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #4) We can’t make a statue of a person, even just because it looks pretty.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Yisro: לֹא תַעֲשׂוּן אִתִּי אֱלֹהֵי כֶסֶף וֵאלֹהֵי זָהָב לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ לָכֶם
The details are explained in Mesechta Avodah Zarah perek Gimmel.
9) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #15) We are not allowed to say things that get a group of people to do Avodah Zarah. A person who does this is called a Madiach.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: לֹא יִשָּׁמַע עַל פִּיךָ
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Yud.
10) (Mitzvas Asei #186) If there is a city of people who serve Avodah Zarah, we need to burn it down! This is called an Ir Hanidachas, a city that let themselves be convinced by a Madiach to serve Avodah Zarah.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: וְשָׂרַפְתָּ בָאֵשׁ אֶת הָעִיר וְאֶת כָּל שְׁלָלָהּ
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin.
11) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #23) We can’t rebuild an Ir Hanidachas after it was burned down.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: וְהָיְתָה תֵּל עוֹלָם לֹא תִבָּנֶה עוֹד
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Yud.
12) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #24) We can’t take anything from an Ir Hanidachas — it ALL needs to be burned.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: לֹא יִשָּׁמַע עַל פִּיךָ
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Yud.
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