Idol worship and the trouble with 'normal'

(JNS) — Are you into the TV show “American Idols?” Do you enjoy watching all that talent on television? What about other “idols?”

In last week’s Torah reading, Re’eh, Moses warns the Jewish people not to follow the pagan ways of the Canaanite nations when they inherit the Land of Israel. There is to be zero tolerance for idolatry and paganism. Those nations practiced the most outrageous forms of idolatry, including child sacrifice and other depravities. The great Torah scholar Rashi quotes Rabbi Akiva as saying he’d witnessed a pagan man tie up his own father and then unleash a pack of wild dogs who killed the father. Such was the norm in that ancient pagan society. The Israelites were taught repeatedly not to learn from them in any way. 

The Torah offers three examples of how people may be swayed and seduced into idolatry.

The first is by listening to a false prophet. Such a charismatic individual may lure people away from Jewish values, charming them and tempting them to embrace an idolatrous path.

The second is when a family member or friend incites, instigates or persuades others to practice idolatry.

The third example is when an entire city is overcome by temptation and swept up into practicing idolatry. This is called a “wayward city,” when a whole town has gone astray and engages in paganism.

The whole thing sounds rather ancient and archaic. People today are not into idolatry. I don’t know of anyone who is tempted to go out and buy a statue and get on his or her knees to bow down to it. But there are still lots of “idols” out there that we may be tempted to worship.

For instance, even today we have false prophets—powerful and charismatic spiritual leaders who command the obedience of many followers. We’ve even read or heard about the tragic outcomes of some of these strange cults where a magnetic personality led his people to disaster or mass suicide.

We’ve seen family members and the wrong kind of friends mislead individuals and drag them down to the depths of despair and desperation.

And today we’ve even seen entire communities, cities, and sometimes even whole countries, being swept up in a strange ideology that is different and dangerous.

So, I was wondering, of these three examples, which do you think is the hardest to resist?

For people who lack self-esteem and are easily influenced by others, perhaps the first two situations may be the most difficult to resist. Yet I imagine that for most of us, it is the third scenario, where an entire city is caught up in paganism, that may be the most difficult of all to resist.

Why?

Because it’s one thing to resist a powerful, charismatic individual or a few friends who want to tempt you into doing something you know is wrong, but to reject what your whole town is doing takes unusual strength of character.

When everyone else is doing something, most people just follow the herd. If everyone else says “Yes,” who am I to say “No?” I don’t want to be different. People don’t enjoy standing out in a crowd and being looked at as funny or peculiar. Who wants to stick out like a sore thumb? No one!

A person may think, “Well, if everyone else is bowing down to those idols it must be OK. So, why shouldn’t I?”

What about worshipping idols of stage and screen? Are you a “Swifty?” Who do you “follow?” Today, we are blessed with a host of self-appointed celebrities who have absolutely nothing of significance to offer other than an attractive face. And yet they have millions of followers!

To me, the biggest “idolatry” of all is to follow the norm.

What is the “norm?”

Is getting divorced “normal?” If so many others are doing it, then why shouldn’t I? Why should I work at my marriage? It’s too hard. I’ll just get divorced. After all, it’s “normal.”

If the standard business practice in my industry is to bribe your way to get that big order, then why shouldn’t I do it as well?

And if the norm in my school is to cheat on exams, then why shouldn’t I? Everyone else is.

And if the norm in my community is that Shabbat ends on Friday night and Saturday is for golf or the hairdresser, then why must I be a religious fanatic?

Or if the norm in my community is to keep a kosher home but to eat out at non-kosher restaurants, then who am I to be “holier than thou?”

So, the story of the wayward city gone astray reminds us that the “norm” is not necessarily “normal.” In fact, normal may just be another word for average or mediocre. Why be normal? Swim upstream, go against the current and be a mensch. Celebrate your individuality! Why be average? Be exceptional! Be special!

When ungodly, immoral or any other unwise behavior is “normalized,” then we mustn’t be normal. We must stand out with pride and principle. Who knows? Others may follow our lead.