Likutey Halakhos, Yoreh Deah 1, Avodas Elilim Akum 2 – Para. 5b-6. Speaker: Rabbi Nasan Maimon. Topics: Avoda Zara – Idol Worship; False Religion is Rooted in Materialism, Illegitimate Child, What is Idolatry?
Hilkhos Avodas Elilim Akum 2 is based on 2Likutey Moharan 78.
00:00 – PARAGRAPH 5b. Spiritual aspects of the ממזר – illegitimate child.
*05:00 – Everything in creation contains Hashem. Every individual in Am Yisrael has the capability and responsibility to reveal the light of Hashem that’s hidden in all things in the physical world.
12:20 – עבודה זרה – is rooted in גשמיות – materialism and excessive physicality.
14:55 – How can so many people in the world be so far from the truth?
18:15 – The connection between idolatry and anger – “There shall not be an idol within you” (Zohar HaKadosh).
20:26 – Q&R about the source of Avoda Zara.
21:23 – Q&R about the spiritual potential of a Non-Jew. The Seven Mitzvos of the Bnei Noach.
23:00 – Q&R about how to view non-Jewish religious practices, especially practices that may not appear to be materialistic.
*22:46 – There are two forms of evil: immersion in physicality and false spirituality.
25:59 – Nadav and Avihu.
26:15 – Q&R about how excessive physicality causes idolatry in our present generation.
28:02 – Story from the life of Rav Noson of Nemirov ז”ל and his son Rav Yitzchak Tulchiner ז”ל about the power of tefilah at chatzos. Rebbe Nachman speaks about people who seem to be doing miracles, while the actual power is coming into the world via a hidden tzaddik.
30:11 – Reference to Likutey Moharan 66. The challenge of being honest when a person needs favors from others.
31:19 – Chiddush from Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld ז”ל about how Hashem punishes a person who collects funds by pretending to be a tzaddik.
33:40 – Q&R about physical pleasure being a test.
35:37 – Q&R about why comparatively few people seek the truth in this world. Hashem loves Am Yisrael because it is small and humble.
37:50 – Q&R about the process of geulah – redemption.
38:54 – PARAGRAPH 6. An idol made by a Jew does not become a forbidden object until it is worshipped. A Jewish soul is above everything in this world.
42:51 – Avoda zara is rooted in the physical world and apportioned to the Seventy Nations, as in אֲשֶׁ֨ר חָלַ֜ק יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ אֹתָ֔ם – “which Hashem assigned” (Devarim 4:19).
*48:09 – No matter how “artistic” or “beautiful” the objects of idol worship may appear, they block the light of Hashem. [This includes philosophical or spiritual constructs that are man-made.]
49:47 – What does it mean that the sun and moon are “their” (the idolators’) portion? In contrast, the portion of Am Yisrael is Hashem, as in יְֽהֹוָ֗ה מְנָ֣ת חֶלְקִ֣י וְכוֹסִ֑י אַ֜תָּ֗ה תּוֹמִ֥יךְ גּוֹרָלִֽי – “Hashem is my allotted portion and my cup; You guide my destiny” (Tehillim 16:5).
50:21 – Story of Avraham Avinu destroying the idols of his father.
51:23 – Am Yisrael relates to the spiritual aspects of the sun, moon, and all the other components of the physical world.
53:02 – Q&R about the distinction between an idol made by a Jew and one made by a non-Jew. This topic is to be continued.
53:48 – Closing blessing.
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