You Shall Make or You Shall Not Make Carved Images
Idolatry undoubtedly is the most serious violation against the Creator of the universe. To Him and to Him alone, and to the exclusion of everyone else, honor is due. The most pronounced example of the prohibition of idolatry is what is spoken in the Covenant. The Eternal prohibited the making of images of any idol, of what is in heaven, what is in the earth, and what is in the water. Five chapters later, however, He told Mosheh to make two images of pure gold of what is in heaven and place them as a cover for the ark of the Covenant. When Mosheh returned from the mountain with the tablets of stone, on which this prohibition was written, the people made an image of the Eternal, an image of pure gold. For this transgression, they were punished, as about three thousand people died on that day. If the reader is not yet perplexed, the Eternal also told Mosheh to make an image of a snake, which is to be erected on a pole. Now, an obvious question presents itself: If once the command against making graven images was issued, why were the commands to make such images given that seems to be in contradiction to the main command in the Covenant to make them? Perhaps, the last thing we would expect the Eternal to command would be to make such images. This controversy forces us to search for answers.
This whole subject in the Torah concerning making carved images is extremely confusing, when we look only at what appears on the surface. But it is possible to explore this issue once we know what the text indeed reads in its proper context. In the following, we would like to posit another way to look at this issue, specifically in reference to the prohibition to make graven images. We will explain the reason for this in due course, as we will now remove all the difficulties.
There is no greater error than to suppose that the Unchangeable One changes. Navah
The matter will become clear once we understand what exactly was prohibited in the Covenant. It all began with the three verses in the Torah, to which we now turn. From the summit of the mountain Sinai, the Eternal first uttered the command that prohibits idolatry, and then He wrote it with His own finger on a tablet of stone. We read,
You shall have no deities of the others upon My face. You shall not make for you a carved image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the waters under the earth, you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, YHVH your Elohim am a jealous El, … (Exo 20:3-5)
A closer examination of the text shows that the Torah is not merely being repetitive or informative here, saying, “of what is in the heavens above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the waters under the earth” but that it refers to deeper understanding of the Covenant. What exactly is being described here, and to what issue the Torah is referring here? Understand this according to what it literally says. The Second Statement of the Covenant prohibits all kinds of worship, except to the Eternal only. Bowing not only to any physical object but also to any mental ones created by the intellect is considered idolatry by the Torah. This is hinted at in the apparently extraneous words “any likeness”, which include all images. The reason why this line is necessary, although the command would have been understood without it, is because making such mental images of the Creator washes away the boundary of idolatry. And indeed, very often we focus too much on physical idols at the expense of exposing the mental images of what God supposedly is, images created by the religions. This subject requires a lengthy exposition, but it is all explained in our commentary in “Guide for the Perplexed in the World of Dualism“, to which we would like to turn the reader’s attention.
This command that prohibits idolatry also explicitly states that the Eternal YHVH is a “jealous El[ohim]”. It is remarkable that this description of the Supernal One as jealous is only associated with idolatry and with no other sin. The 16th-century Torah commentator, Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno, explains that this prohibition should not be taken to mean that the Eternal actually envies other deities, for such deities do not even exist. But this should be understood to mean that He does not tolerate that someone who worships Him worships also someone else beside Him. The reason why we find this important to emphasize was made clear in the article foresaid.
A replica of the Ark of the Covenant with the two cheruvim on the top of the lid. Courtesy of The Temple Institute, Jerusalem.
As clear as this can be, five chapters later, however, the Eternal commanded Mosheh to make structured image of what was in the heaven above of pure gold, not one but two cheruvim that were to be on the lid of none other than the ark of the Covenant, as we read,
And you shall make two cheruvim of gold, make them of beaten work, at the two ends of the lid of atonement. (Exo 25:18)
These cheruvim were to be spreading out their wings above the lid of the ark with their faces turned toward each other. The ark itself was to be made of acacia wood overlayed with pure gold, inside and outside, according to the instructions given to Mosheh. According to the account, the purpose of the ark with the two cheruvim on top of it was to serve as a place from which the Eternal would speak, and more specifically, from in between the cheruvim. If so, what do the cheruvim represent? The account in Gen 3:24 describes that two cheruvim were placed outside the Garden of Eden to block the entrance to it, should Adam and Chavah want to return. Those cheruvim appear to have been frightening heavenly guard of the Garden of Edern.
So He (the Eternal) drove out the man. And He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cheruvim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life. (Gen 3:24)
This imagery of frightening heavenly guard is reinforced in the appearance of the cheruvim in the first Temple (in 1Ki 6:23-28) by their sheer size of ten cubits high.
And in the Sanctuary, he (Shlomoh) made two cheruvim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cheruv; from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. (1Ki 6:23-24)
Unlike the cheruvim on the ark, the cheruvim Ling Shlomoh had made them built were gigantic in size and both faced the door, so that their display would be to intimidate those (other than the high priest) who may want to enter the most set-apart place on the earth. In the opinion of the Rabbis, the cheruvim had the forms of a human being, as the term cheruvim suggests “like lads”. Such cheruvim appear elsewhere in the Torah as two-dimensional images decorating the tabernacle (See Exo 26:1, Exo 36:8, Exo 26:31, and Exo 36:35). Yet, the question that is forced upon us is: Why did the issuer of the command, “You shall not make any carved image”, also said, “You shall make two cheruvim of gold”?
Another difficulty is that when the Torah refers to the incident of the golden calf. Mosheh, in the view of the people, did not come down from the mountain when he was expected. They came to Aharon to inquire about him. Their concern was that there was no one to lead them to the land. And Aharon said to them to take off their golden earrings and bring them to him. And they did so. It is very difficult to imagine the thoughts which floated in Aharon’s mind, but we need to go on. We read,
And he took this from their hand, and he formed it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf. And they said, “This is your Elohim, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (Exo 32:4)
These verses indicate that the people had no intention of worshipping the golden calf as an idol. And Aharon built an altar before the golden calf and said, “Tomorrow is a festival to YHVH”. In Aharon’s heart it that feast was for YHVH. The Golden Calf was presented to the people as “Ele Eloheycha Israel”, “This is your Elohim”. According to the Rabbis their sin was in defining Elohim as a thing, “this”, which concretizes the Supernal One as an object, and which in essence is idolatry. The Torah goes on to say, “They rose up early in the morning and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings”. Now Scripture does not say “and they offered burnt-offerings to it, and brought peace-offerings to it”, i.e., to the calf. This led many commentators to conclude that the people intended the sacrifices to be for the Eternal, as Aaron had said, “Tomorrow is a festival to YHVH”. In his commentary to the verse, the leading Torah scholar of the Middle Ages Rabbi Mosheh ben Nachman (Ramban) offers a compelling interpretation of the situation. He writes: “there is no fool in the world who would think that this gold which was in their ears is that which brought them up out of the land of Egypt”. What the people actually did was the sin of creating an image of the invisible Elohim who took them out of Egypt. They did not believe that the golden calf took them out of the slavery, much less was there intention to create an image of the Egyptian deity of cattle. Yet, about three thousand people died that day on which Mosheh returned from the mountain. Why? What was their sin? They made an image of the Elohim who took them out of Egypt. Did He not tell them to make golden images of heavenly beings, so that He would dwell in the midst of the people?
We will keep on forwarding the time even further, when later in the Book of Numbers, the Eternal said to Mosheh,
Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole. And it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live. (Num 21:8)
And Mosheh made a copper snake and put it on a pole, so that those who were bitten by a snake would live. Mosheh chose this kind of metal even though the Eternal had not so specified. Why? Probably because the word for “snake” in Hebrew is נָחָשׁ nachash, which is analogous to that for “copper”, נְחֹשֶׁת nechoshet. The color of copper, under the shine of the sun, was like the appearance of a fiery serpent, hence, it was natural for Mosheh to choose this kind of metal to make an image of a snake, the Eternal told him to make. However, in the time of King Hezekiah (2Ki 18:4), the people turned the same copper snake, which Mosheh made and erected, into an idol, which forced the king to destroy it to prevent further fall into idolatry. Yet, our question remains: Why did the issuer of the command, “You shall not make any carved image”, also said, “Make a fiery serpent”? How are these verses to be reconciled? The reader’s mind will settle when he/she considers the following.
“Serving the Eternal is not religion but way of life”. Navah
Reading is an experience that takes place in time. Hence, the second, third, and fourth time a reader encounters a given phrase, such as “You shall make” or “You shall not make” within a few chapters, should be assumed to have some intent in the Torah. The question, then, is how this repetition affects the reader, and what message is conveyed with such a repetition. Most certainly, the Torah did not wish to lead the reader to conclude that there is a controversy in the subject of idolatry. After all of the above, it remains for us to explain it.
Considering the unique standing of the Covenant, it follows that the Second Statement of the Covenant, “You shall have no deities of the others upon My face. You shall not make for you a carved image or any likeness …, you shall not bow down to them nor serve them” stands unchanged. The commandment contains in itself the following prohibitions, which are crucial to understand the problem we face, and they are: (1) not to believe in gods of the other nations; (2) not to make images of them, material or mental; and (3) not to bow down to them to serve them. In the article “Idols as Mental Substitutes in the Mind”, we explained what “no deities of the others upon My face” means. Here, we will explain what the rest means.
Now, it needs to be clearly understood what the prohibition really focuses on. The key to understand the controversy is the phrase in Hebrew: lo ta’aseh lecha, which means, “You shall not make for you”, and the second to it only comes to expound it: “you shall not bow down to them nor serve them”. Thus, it will be clear to the reader that the perception of what is really intended here is expressed by the words “for you” and “nor serve them”. The Covenant prohibits making images and serve them. While this command is not difficult to understand, there is something we need to address here. An idol is what man makes for himself as a presentation of the Creator to serve it, whether physical or mental. Hence, the clarification “for you” is necessary. If one has made an object without being told so and bow down to it, this idolatry. Bowing down to an object, even if it is made by the command in the Torah, such as the copper shake, is also a form of idolatry. Nowadays, religions have created many images of the Creator and present them as Him for the laymen to worship. The most obvious among them are the idols of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church such as icons, crosses, relics of canonized saints, etc. But there are also subtle and elusive idols, which are not so obvious to detect and expose. These are the doctrines, dogmas, and principle of men. The Protestant churches adopted these from their mother-church, the Catholic Church, and even created new ones. These are the mental idols; the images created by the human intellect. All that cannot be found in the Hebrew Scripture and the Torah specifically and contradicts it is in fact an idol, whether physical or mental.
However, what the Supernal One wanted man to make for the proper service in the Tabernacle and in the Temple, and more importantly how He wants to be served as legislated in the Torah is not idolatry. King David has said beautifully in Psalm 119, the Torah-psalm, “How sweet to my taste are Your words, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”.
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