Komentarz do Kapłańska 26:1

לא תעשו לכם אלילם YE SHALL MAKE YOU NO IDOLS This command is repeated here with reference to one who has sold himself as a slave to a non-Jew in order that he should not say "Since my master is a libertine I will be like him; since my master worships idols, I will be like him; since my master desecrates the Sabbath, I will be like hin", on this account have these verses (v. 1 and v. 2) been stated. Indeed all these sections (these of the whole Sedrah) are stated in the sequence in which the incidents to which they refer actually occur. First Scripture warns the people about the seventh year's produce (not to do trade in them). If, however, one is covetous of money and brings himself under the constant suspicion of trading in the seventh-year fruits, he will at some time have to sell his movable property on account of his destitution. It is for this reason that Scripture put in juxtaposition to it (the“And when you make a sale [to your fellow-Jew]” (25:14) “or make a purchase from the hand…,” something that is transferred from hand to hand). If he still does not repent, he will eventually have to sell his inheritance (25:25). If he even then does not repent, he will eventually have to sell his home, and if even then, he does not repent, he will eventually have to borrow money with interest (verses 25:35-38). Now, the later the scenario in this passage, the more severe it is [i.e., first he sells his belongings, then his property, then his home and then even borrowing with interest which is more severe than selling one’s property; (Nachalath Ya’akov) thus, the passage continues accordingly, for] if he still does not repent, he will eventually have to sell himself [to his fellow Jew as a servant] (verses 25:39-46); and [finally,] if he has still not repented, not enough that he had to be sold to his fellow Jew - but he will [be forced to sell himself] even to a non-Jew! (Kiddushin 20a)

YE SHALL MAKE YOU NO IDOLS. “Scripture is speaking with reference to this person [mentioned above] who sold himself to an idolater, that he should not say, ‘Since my master worships idols, I will also worship them; Since my master is immoral, I too will be dissolute; since my master does not observe the Sabbath, I will also profane the Sabbath.’ Scripture therefore states, Ye shall make you no idols … Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My Sanctuary.²²⁵Verses 1-2. Thus Scripture warned concerning [the observance of] the commandments.” This is the language of the Torath Kohanim,²²⁶Torath Kohanim, end of Behar. and the interpretation [thereof is as follows]: Scripture warned the servant who sold himself to an idolater to be heedful of the commandments concerning idolatry and the Sabbath, — as well as the reverence due to the Sanctuary, which he should come to on the festivals and treat with awe,²²⁷See “The Commandments,” Vol. I, pp. 29-31. and the same warning applies with regard to all the commandments. However, He mentioned only these commandments as they are the main ones, and they indicate [that the same principle applies] to all of them. Now some texts of the Torath Kohanim have this reading: “Scripture ‘mentioned here’ [the commandments,” instead of “Thus Scripture warned,” as stated above]. If this is the correct text, then the Rabbis [of the Torath Kohanim] alluded to [the concept] that all the commandments are included in the Sabbath and the Sanctuary. The person learned [in the mysteries of the Cabala] will understand.²²⁸See Ramban above in Seder Kedoshim 19:30.
Bechukothai

לא תעשו לכם, even though you yourselves are now subservient to the pagans, as for instance the Jew who was forced to sell himself to a pagan, you must not trade your dignity, i.e. your religion, for a religion which is totally useless. Although this whole line appears superfluous, as the Torah had spoken on this subject repeatedly, the Torah here inserts this line so that people who due to force of circumstances had to enter the service of pagans, and who attribute this to their own G’d having abandoned them, do not commit the additional error of thinking that Judaism no longer has a claim on them in such circumstances. In Ezekiel chapter 20 the prophet dealt with the people who wanted to know how G’d could still have a claim on them seeing he had “sold” them to the pagans into exile. The matter was compared to a husband who had divorced his wife and continued to dictate to her. One of the most convincing answers is that G’d continues to speak of “My servant David” in Samuel II 3,18, the same description G’d applies to Nevuchadnezzar in Jeremiah 28,9. In other words, no human being whether out of his own volition or because he considers himself rejected by G’d, is ever free from the obligation to serve the Creator, His ultimate Master. At the end of the תוכחה, the predictions of the retribution we will experience for failure to observe G’d’s commandments, (Leviticus 26,44) G’d is on record as saying that even when the Jewish people have reached a historic low in their fortunes, G’d did not despise them nor abandon them permanently.

משכית, the word is derived from שכה in the same manner as מרבית is derived from רבה. It has no companion in the Bible except Psalms 73,7 עברו משכיות לבב, a reference to visions of one’s heart. Here too, the stone and its multi-coloured decorations are designed to awaken one’s fantasies.

לא תעשו לכם אלילים, “You shall not make idols for yourselves.” This line is addressed to the unfortunate people who have been sold to idolaters. Even while in the service of idolaters the Torah urges such people to make an agreement with their employers that they need not violate primary laws of our faith, such as working on the Sabbath, to retain his belief in the sanctity of the Temple, etc., and to try and make the thrice annual pilgrimage there. Alternately, seeing the Torah had just written that all the Israelites are עבדי, “My servants,” it had to stress that under no circumstances are any of us to try and become someone else’s (idolatrous cults) servants. According to the Targum Yerushalmi the word שבתותי does not refer to the weekly Sabbaths but to the sh’mittah years, which the Torah has also described as “G’d’s Sabbaths.”

לא תעשו לכם אלילים, “Do not make idols for yourselves.” Here the Torah refers to the various forces named earlier whom people worship as אלילים from the root אילות, “strength, power,” calling such idols אלילים rather than אילים [which would mean something powerful, Ed.] in order to remind us of the impotence of such idols. Even though such idols may sometimes appear as very imposing and therefore powerful, the fact that their power is derived from outside influences makes them essentially weak, impotent. Having already mentioned אלילים, idols which are natural phenomena such as the sun and the moon, etc., the Torah goes on to mention man-made symbols such as statutes and pillars which were constructed in order to be recipients of the power presumed to reside within the aforementioned idols. All this leaves us with the question of why idolatry has been inserted into this paragraph altogether. Our sages in Sifra at the end of our portion answer that the Torah wants to contrast the situation of a Jew who has been sold to an idolater with the danger that being in such an environment he might fall victim to such religious tenets as are believed by his master. He might say to himself that seeing his (successful) master worships such forces it might be well for him to do the same. From this it is only a small step to argue that seeing the sexual mores of his master are quite permissive, he himself would also adopt such mores. Furthermore, seeing that his master does not observe the laws of the Sabbath, he, the servant and property of the Gentile would do the same. The Torah therefore warns that even though one is the employee or slave of such a Gentile this must not lead one to adopt his master’s religious practices.

Since my master commits sexual crimes. You might ask: I can understand [why Rashi mentions] idolatry and Shabbos [as they] are written here, in the verses of this section. But why does Rashi mention sexual crimes which are not mentioned in this section? The answer is: Even though the verses do not mention sexual crimes, it they hints at them by mentioning idolatry. As the Midrash says, “’Your two breasts, etc.’ (Shir Hashirim 4). [This hints] that the two Tablets correlated one to another, with one command corresponding to [the opposite] command. ’Do not commit adultery’ (Shemos 20:13) corresponding to ’You must not have any other gods’ (verse 3),” i.e., idolatry. Alternatively, this is based on the sages’ statement that Yisroel served idolatry only for the purpose of permitting immorality for themselves. Rashi mentions Shabbos since whoever desecrates Shabbos is considered as if he denied God’s Creation of heaven and earth, [which is like idolatry]. Alternatively, the master might buy the slave for homosexuality, which is a sexual crime.

ואבן משכית, “nor any figured stone;” this describes a stone in which the figure or face of a human being has been carved out, so that it would serve as something to be worshipped. The root of the word משכית, is שכיה , “something admired by everybody for its beauty, (exquisite craftsmanship)

לא תעשו לכם אלילים, “do not make for yourselves idols;” this law is repeated as if a Jew is sold to a gentile the subject of making himself an idol out of frustration over what has befallen him is quite understandable. Compare Rashi and Sifra on this verse.

ואבן משכית (a kind of mosaic pavement) — The word משכית is an expression denoting “covering”, similar to the verb in (Exodus 33:22) “I will cover thee (ושכותי) with my hand”. Such a mosaic is so called because people cover the ground with a pavement of stones

ואבן משכית לא תתנו בארצכם להשתחות עליה, “and you must not place a flooring stone made to show an image and bow down to it.” You are not even to use such an image to prostrate yourself to G’d in heaven (Maimonides Hilchot Avodah Zarah 6,6). The same rule applies to the planting of trees next to the Altar in the courtyard of the Temple (Halachah 9 in above-mentioned chapter by Maimonides). The reason for all this is that these were heathen practices at the time. Sifra Behar 9,5 sees in the word בארצכם, “in your land,” a limiting factor for this prohibition; “only in your land,” i.e. outside the Temple, must you not prostrate yourselves to the Lord G’d; inside the holy precincts of the courtyard of the Temple you are allowed to do so on the stones which cover the floor of that building.

If he does not repent. (Gur Aryeh) Re’m asks: Why does the verse mention a “foreign family” (verse 27)? If he is sold to idol worship itself (see Rashi there), how much more [will he be sold] to a non-Jew? I do not understand this question, as Re’m should [also] have asked, why does the verse (ibid.) mention a “resident foreigner”? If he is sold to a non-Jew, how much more to a foreign resident, so why write “foreign resident”? However, the verse writes them all for the reason Rashi says, that the Holy does not bring them all onto upon him at once. So if it wrote “offspring” [i.e. idol worship] (verse 27), I would think that he was sold to the “offspring” first. But the Holy One does not do so; rather He brings it onto upon him gradually.

להשתחות עליה TO PROSTRATE YOURSELVES UPON IT, not even to the Lord, since prostration involves stretching forth of hands and feet (the highest form of adoration) and Scripture forbids doing so outside the Temple (Megillah 22b)

The spreading out of hands and feet. You might ask: How does Rashi know this? Perhaps it is forbidden even in the Temple? The answer is: It is written in the verse, “A prostration stone you shall not set in your land upon which to prostrate oneself,” which implies that the Torah forbade this in your land, but did not forbid it in the Temple.