Is "joining" שיתוף (Joining something to G-d) more serious than idolatry or less?
This is an argument between R Meir of the Mishna and R Shimon Ben Yochai
But the Rambam says one must not join the name of God and something else in an oath because one who does this is uprooted from the world.[Thus going with R Shimon and confining the law of joining to oaths. Two things that need answers.]
The argument is in Sanhedrin 63.
R Meir said, "If not for the letter vav in 'These are your gods,'
(which was said to the Golden Calf) Israel would have been liable to be destroyed."
R. Shimon said, "But anyone who joins the name of God with something else is uprooted from this world as it says 'to God alone.' Rather the vav is to tell us they desired many gods." [In Avoda Zara it is explained that that means they accepted the Golden Calf but were open to accepting other god also. But they did not join God with the Golden Calf. And if they had that would have been worse. ]
The Maharsha says that joining is what the Rambam describes at the beginning of the Laws of Idolatry. And there the Rambam says the main idea of idolatry was they saw that God put the stars in Heaven so it is his will that we should honor them just like he honors them, and by that they will be advocates for us. [The Rambam goes into detail about this also in his commentary on the Mishna. This is known in the as the problem of the אמצעי intermediate. That is people know God is the creator but they feel they can't approach Him directly so they go through a middle step like a person or anything else to serve as a middle step.]
Then the Rambam says the actual idolatry that we know came after that. It seems the Rambam is saying the later step was worse. That is the אמצעי (emtzai) (using an intermediate) is less serious.
But then when you look at the Rambam about actual שיתוף joining --in the only place he actual brings up our Gemara-he says one who swears by God and something else will be uprooted--that is the opinion of R Shimon. Not like R Meir!
So what we have here is what seems like a contradiction in the Rambam.
Joining is not necessarily the same problem as an intermediate. But it might be.
At any rate, I thought by mistake that the Rambam thinks that an oath is a deed. It is the same as when one exchanges one animal for another in which there is a deed accomplished by his words "this is in place of that."
But my learning partner pointed out that this really does not help. The Rambam does not mention anything about lashes in laws of oaths 11 where her brings this law about "Shituf" שיתוף joining. It matters only in laws of idolatry where one who swears by a false god gets lashes.
And a person could bring a sacrifice to God and an idol together. For example take a regular sacrifice a person is bringing to God in the Temple and the person bringing it has intention to serve some false god along with God. Either just intention of he could say something, or have originally sanctified the sacrifice to God and to his false god. Hasidim do this all the time. There is nothing unusual about it. Hasidim do everything as a kind of service to their false god. Not just sacrifice.
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Post Appendix: In any case my idea that the Rambam holds swearing seems to be incorrect. The actual issue is brought up in laws of idolatry.
Rambam: "One who swears by a false god gets lashes."
Raavad: "Only to R Yehuda who holds lashes are given to one who does a prohibition even if there is no act. But we (and the Rambam) hold lashes are given only when there is an act except for swearing, replacing, and cursing."
And our case of swearing by a false god is not in the list of three exceptions.
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At any rate, I just wanted to say that my learning partner decided that we should not spend any more time on this Rambam. And I would not have said anything about it if I did not have this idea of an oath being an act which I think is wrong now. but when I had the idea I thought it might provide a hint to understanding the Rambam. [It is a fact that the Minchat Chinuch does say that that is how the Rambam holds but I don't think it could be right.]
See Rav Elazar Menachem Shach's Avi Ezri on laws of idolatry about teh halacha where teh rambam says one who swears by an idol gets lashes.
This is an argument between R Meir of the Mishna and R Shimon Ben Yochai
But the Rambam says one must not join the name of God and something else in an oath because one who does this is uprooted from the world.[Thus going with R Shimon and confining the law of joining to oaths. Two things that need answers.]
The argument is in Sanhedrin 63.
R Meir said, "If not for the letter vav in 'These are your gods,'
(which was said to the Golden Calf) Israel would have been liable to be destroyed."
R. Shimon said, "But anyone who joins the name of God with something else is uprooted from this world as it says 'to God alone.' Rather the vav is to tell us they desired many gods." [In Avoda Zara it is explained that that means they accepted the Golden Calf but were open to accepting other god also. But they did not join God with the Golden Calf. And if they had that would have been worse. ]
The Maharsha says that joining is what the Rambam describes at the beginning of the Laws of Idolatry. And there the Rambam says the main idea of idolatry was they saw that God put the stars in Heaven so it is his will that we should honor them just like he honors them, and by that they will be advocates for us. [The Rambam goes into detail about this also in his commentary on the Mishna. This is known in the as the problem of the אמצעי intermediate. That is people know God is the creator but they feel they can't approach Him directly so they go through a middle step like a person or anything else to serve as a middle step.]
Then the Rambam says the actual idolatry that we know came after that. It seems the Rambam is saying the later step was worse. That is the אמצעי (emtzai) (using an intermediate) is less serious.
But then when you look at the Rambam about actual שיתוף joining --in the only place he actual brings up our Gemara-he says one who swears by God and something else will be uprooted--that is the opinion of R Shimon. Not like R Meir!
So what we have here is what seems like a contradiction in the Rambam.
Joining is not necessarily the same problem as an intermediate. But it might be.
At any rate, I thought by mistake that the Rambam thinks that an oath is a deed. It is the same as when one exchanges one animal for another in which there is a deed accomplished by his words "this is in place of that."
But my learning partner pointed out that this really does not help. The Rambam does not mention anything about lashes in laws of oaths 11 where her brings this law about "Shituf" שיתוף joining. It matters only in laws of idolatry where one who swears by a false god gets lashes.
And a person could bring a sacrifice to God and an idol together. For example take a regular sacrifice a person is bringing to God in the Temple and the person bringing it has intention to serve some false god along with God. Either just intention of he could say something, or have originally sanctified the sacrifice to God and to his false god. Hasidim do this all the time. There is nothing unusual about it. Hasidim do everything as a kind of service to their false god. Not just sacrifice.
______________________________________________________________________________
Post Appendix: In any case my idea that the Rambam holds swearing seems to be incorrect. The actual issue is brought up in laws of idolatry.
Rambam: "One who swears by a false god gets lashes."
Raavad: "Only to R Yehuda who holds lashes are given to one who does a prohibition even if there is no act. But we (and the Rambam) hold lashes are given only when there is an act except for swearing, replacing, and cursing."
And our case of swearing by a false god is not in the list of three exceptions.
_____________________________________________________________________
At any rate, I just wanted to say that my learning partner decided that we should not spend any more time on this Rambam. And I would not have said anything about it if I did not have this idea of an oath being an act which I think is wrong now. but when I had the idea I thought it might provide a hint to understanding the Rambam. [It is a fact that the Minchat Chinuch does say that that is how the Rambam holds but I don't think it could be right.]
See Rav Elazar Menachem Shach's Avi Ezri on laws of idolatry about teh halacha where teh rambam says one who swears by an idol gets lashes.
