Avodah Zarah 055

1:
Our mishnah is concerned with idols – statues, icons and so forth – that have been abandoned by their adherents. If the erstwhile worshippers have truly abandoned the idol then as far as Jews are concerned it has lost any religious status that it had in the eyes of the idolators and Jews may derive benefit from it. The benefit might be material or aesthetic or financial – or any other kind of benefit.

2:
The question to be decided is whether the abandonment of an idol may be understood as indicating that it has lost all religious significance for the idolators who abandoned it.

3:
Our mishnah distinguishes between two situations. If the idol was abandoned 'in time of peace' that may be accepted as a sure sign that it has no further significance for idolators. The designation 'time of peace' refers to any situation in which the idol was abandoned quite voluntarily.

4:
However, if the idol was abandoned 'in time of war' we cannot be certain that the idol is no longer seen as being sacred. 'Time of war', of course, means any situation in which the idol was abandoned involuntarily. Most often in ancient times this would mean that the town or village was attacked and the inhabitants had to flee for their lives. There is always the possibility that they will return to retrieve the idol.

5:
In the last clause of our present mishnah the term 'royal pedestals' refers to large stones that were temporarily set up to serve as the base of statues to decorate the path along which a king or other dignitary was to pass. After the celebration they would be dismantled. Our mishnah says that such stones are permitted once they have fulfilled their function. The Gemara [AZ 53b] asks a pertinent question:

If the stones were set up for a religious purpose – to celebrate the divine status of the monarch – how can we just assume that they have automatically lost that status at the end of the ceremony? The Amora from Eretz-Israel, Rabbi Yoĥanan, says that our mishnah is not speaking in general terms but is referring to a very specific kind of situation:

This explanation is understood as meaning, as we would naturally assume, that these statues are not necessarily appurtenances of idolatry: it is more likely that they were only set up to honour the king during his procession. Therefore, as our mishnah states, they are permitted to Jews.

Comments are still coming in concerning Jewish congregations worshipping in non-Jewish premises. Ron Brown writes:

My Conservative congregation, Kol Shofar, in Tiburon, California, is undergoing an 18 month renovation of a very old tired synagogue building. During the course of a five year battle with the Town and our surrounding community, who felt that a nicer building would bring increased traffic and noise to their neighborhood, one of our staunchest supporters was a local Presbyterian minister who operates a church only about 1/2 mile from the synagogue. When we finally received permission to build, they offered us the use of their sanctuary for our services. Relying on the opinions of the sages you have quoted, that Christianity is not idolatry, our Rabbi determined that it would be permissible to use their space. It is a quite simple space, with only one religious symbol, a Cross, that we can cover during services. Once that is done, and with an Aron Kodesh in place, the room feels most comfortable to our membership. Incidentally, when you walk in the door of the Church, it now has a mezuzah in place and next to the pictures of their two Pastors are pictures of our two Rabbis. During our long fight to begin the project, we found that the surrounding Christian communities were of much greater support than many of the Jews in our neighborhood. This is an unfortunate reality of Jewish life in America today. I believe that it would in fact have been disrespectful to turn down the offer of support from these wonderful people.

You may recall an ongoing discussion concerning the relevance of our study of idolatry in these modern times. Michael Epstein writes:

I think Avodah Zara is broader: when we cheer for football teams; when we watch American Idol; when we build houses that dwarf their neighbors; when cars are status symbols instead of means of transportation; when we wear watches with diamonds; when we read people magazine. Idol worship is idle worship: when we place anything on a pedestal or give our heart and soul to any task other than one that serves Hashem we transgress. We need to ask ourselves always – what were our Rabbis teaching?

There are many more of your messages waiting in my inbox, but they will have to wait until after Passover because the Virtual Bet Midrash is now going on its traditional recess for the holiday. God willing, we shall return after Passover. I take this opportunity to wish everybody a kasher and very happy Passover.