EXOD368 God's relationship with the Jewish people is compared to that of a scorned lover, (Midrash Tanchuma 94:6) much like the Sotah and her jealous husband [Numbers 5:14]. One commentator [Rabeinu Bechaya on this verse] notes that the only time in the entire Bible that God is referred to as jealous is in the context of idol worship, to demonstrate that special husband-wife relationship between the Jewish people and God.

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EXOD369 The other peoples of the world, whom the biblical authors and the talmudic rabbis knew, were, by and large, not monotheists, but idolaters, whether Canaanite, Greek, or Roman. The Hebrew Bible is relentlessly opposed to idolatry, prominently enshrining the prohibitions against it in the Decalogue announced on Mount Sinai and repeating it as well in many other places in the Bible. (Exodus 20:3-6 and Deuteronomy 5:7-10. Examples of other places that mention this prohibition: Deuteronomy 4:15-19, 23-24, 28; 7:25; and 8:19). Moreover, according to the Torah, the reason God wants the Israelites to occupy the Land of Israel and displace the seven nations already there is precisely because of the natives’ idolatry and the immorality to which it led them. (Genesis 15:16 and Deuteronomy 9:4-5). The Bible speaks, for example, of the sacrifice of children to Molech and of sanctified acts of adultery and incest within the Canaanite cult. (See Leviticus 18; 2 Kings 21:3-7 and 23:4-12; Jeremiah 7:30-31). The Rabbis carried this further. They devoted an entire tractate of the Mishnah and Talmud -- Avodah Zarah -- to the subject of idolatry to define it clearly and to prevent Jews from getting too close to idolatry or idolaters lest they be tempted by such practices. In some passages, the Rabbis actually made fun of idolatry (e.g. B. Avodah Zarah 2ff), and they wrote liturgy that thanks God for enabling Jews to be part of those who spend their time in studying and practicing the Jewish tradition rather than being among those who waste their lives away following the emptiness and immorality of idolatry. (J. Berachot 7d). Another part of the Jewish rejection of idolatry is based on theological considerations. Worshipping the sun, moon, or stars amounts to making part of reality the whole of it, taking one of God's creatures as God Himself. That error is even more egregious if one makes an idol of a human artifact, for then one reduces God to what human beings can make. Thus idolatry involves both moral and theological errors that ultimately makes it impossible even to recognize God let alone to worship God properly. To accomplish their divinely ordained task, then, Israel had to remain separate and apart from the other nations that might lead them astray: “’You shall be holy’ [means that] even as I am holy, so you too should be holy; as I am separate [the prime meaning of the Hebrew word usually translated “holy”], so you too should be separate.” (Sifra, “Shemini 12:4 on Leviticus 11:45, p. 57b.) The Torah records that fraternization with the Moabites led the Israelites to both idolatry and immorality, (Numbers 25) and that early incident set the stage for the Jewish tradition's evaluation of non-Jews.

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EXOD370 See [[EXOD684]] Exodus 22:23 your OXFORD 39

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EXOD372 Regarding the injunctions associated with idolatry, the pasuk says [this verse]. This means to say that He will not forgive the transgression of idolatry the way He forgives other sins, as the pasuk states (Yirmeyahu 5:7), "How should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me; they swear by non-gods." In the same manner, this is stated regarding the injunctions against swearing falsely (Exodus 20:7), "For Hashem will not absolve one who swears by His Name in vain"; and the injunction pertaining to a false oath is written subsequent to that of idolatry, the reason being that a false oath carries in its wings the transgression of the desecration of Hashem's Name [i.e., just as idol worship does].

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EXOD373 See [[LEV1107]] Leviticus 26:3 If LEHRMAN 160

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EXOD374 See [[EXOD126]] Exodus 10:1 hardened FOJE xvi-xviii

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EXOD375 It is well known that the measure of God's beneficence exceeds the measure of His punishment. Punishments last to the third and fourth generation; while of beneficence it is written [this verse]: "And doing kindness to the thousandth generation" as Chazal has explained (Tosefta Sotah Chap. 4). How much greater, then, is the effect if, in a specific instance, one does his neighbor a favor and through it accrues benefit to the neighbor's household and to others as well. Whatever good results from his act will be added to his credit when he is to receive his reward. Once man reflects on this, he will strive to help his neighbor in every way possible.

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EXOD376 See [[EXOD296]] Exodus 18:20 way AHAVCH 26

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EXOD377 The virtues of solitude and the ill effects of association with fools. When a person's soul longs for the company and comraderie of other people, he should reflect on the virtues of solitude and separation from others, and on the ill effects of associating with fools when this is not absolutely necessary. Among the ill effects of companionship with them is ... false and trivial oaths, of which the Creator has said: “God will not allow it to go unpunished” (Shemos 20:7). A pious man once said to his disciples, “The Torah has permitted us to swear truthfully in God's Name; but I advise you not to swear by His Name [at all], either truthfully or falsely. Just say, ‘It is so,’ or ‘It is not so.’” … Another “[consequence of their company] is the obligation to enjoin right conduct and warn against evil, as we were commanded by the Creator when He said: “You must reprove your fellow” (Vayikra 19:17). We are obligated to object to evil in three ways: (1) by striking it with the hand, as manifested in the incident of Zimri and Kazbi; (2) by objecting in words, as Moshe [our Master] did when he said to the wrongdoer, “Why are you striking your fellow?” (Shemos 2:13); and (3) by [objecting] in one's heart, as David, peace be upon him, said: “I hate a crowd of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked” (Tehillim 26:5). If one can intercede with force and does not do so, he is delinquent. If he cannot intercede with force, he should object verbally. And if he cannot object verbally, he should object in his heart. Thus we are bound to object to evildoers under all circumstances, as the uneducated inevitably fall short of filling their duty. When you are alone, however, you are undoubtedly excused from the duty to enjoin good and warn against evil, which is a duty difficult duty to fulfill and discharge, as our Sages, of beloved memory, said: “I doubt if there is anyone in this generation who can accept reproof ... I doubt if there is anyone in this generation who knows how to reprove.” (Arachin 16b).

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EXOD378 If a beis din requires one to take an oath, and that person knows that he has spoken falsely, he must not accept upon himself to take such an oath, declaring, "I will swear"--without any real intention to swear--[merely] in order to intimidate the defendant [i.e., it is forbidden for one to make the pretense of swearing merely to intimidate the defendant into capitulation], as the pasuk says [this verse], "You shall not bear," for this also implies that you must not be willing to accept upon yourself an oath that is in vain. So said our Sages, z"l, (Mechilta 20:7; [similarly,] the Targum of "Do not bear a false report" (Exodus 23:1) is, "Do not accept" [As we have seen in paragraph 42, this is a prohibition not to accept lashon hara from another. Rabbeinu Yonah is proving from the Targum that "to bear" means to accept.] It is[further] forbidden to swear in vain, although he may be swearing truthfully, as the pasuk says [Ibid. 20:7), "You shall not bear the Name of Hashem, your God, in vain"; the Targum of ["in vain"] is "for no reason." Similarly, one who causes another person to swear in vain has committed a grave sin.

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