Things sacrificed to idolatry

Things sacrificed to idolatry are forbidden to be used. Rav Huna in the Gemara holds of one does an act on an animal that even someone else owns, the animal is still forbidden to derive benefit from. And that is the way the Raavad decided the law. But Rav Nahman, R.Amram, and Rav Isaac decided the law is that when one does an act on an animal that he does not own, then the animal is permitted. And that is how the Rambam decided the law. But when they say an "act" they mean slaughter, not just bowing down.

So that is what makes it a bit confusing when it comes to a different kind of prohibition that when an animal is worshipped even one that belongs to someone else, that animal forbidden to be brought as a sacrifice in the Temple. And there the Rambam holds that is even any kind of worship. But the Raavad holds there too there needs to be a physical act on the animal to make it forbidden.

Rav Shach has an explanation for the Rambam in this case. He brings that the prohibition of bringing a worshiped animal to the Temple is learned in two different ways. One way is from the beginning of Leviticus. "Bring from the sheep". That verse is extra since we already know you can only bring sheep or goats or cows as a sacrifice. So the Gemara learns that the verse is coming to exclude something. That is a worshipped animal. But there is a different teaching that that same prohibition comes from "their destruction is in the their defect is in them". Rav Shach shows that the Rambam holds from the second teaching and then that implies that any kind of act in which the animal is worshipped makes it forbidden to bring to the altar. 

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 There is a paper by Alsaleh [ER=EPR] that suggests space time in connected by little worm holes. [https://inspirehep.net/literature/1496409] This might lead to a way of combining these little worm holes to create a large one by which space time travel might be possible. 

The paper is coauthored, but I think Alsaleh is the main author because he often has a characteristic way of spelling things which makes it clear to me that he was the one doing the writing.] 

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 What is idolatry? Bowing, burning, bringing close, slaughter and service according to its way.[note 1] And it helps to have a clear idea of what idolatry is so that one is not tempted to use it as a general catch all phrase for whatever one disapproves of.

[So when I say that the religious world is doing idolatry, I am not saying going to Uman to pray in the merit of Rav Nahman is any kind of problem. Rather the issue is attitude. And even if one can not be legally guilty, it is helpful to have an idea of what the actual essence of the issue is. As the Gra said to judge any action one needs both to know the law and also the situation.

[note 1] These are the four services done in the Temple. If done for an idol, the one doing them is guilty of idolatry. Bowing is understood. burning is like in the Temple when one brings  a burnt offering. If that same act is done for an idol, it is idolatry. The rest are understood. The last one means this: sometimes an idol has a certain kind of service that is unique for that idol. So that is also idolatry if one does it. Now what is an idol? Anything. It does not need to be an object. But any object will do. So in the religious world when worship is done towards dead people, that constitutes idolatry.] 

 The idea of the "infinite light" does not get into philosophy much or even religion. The reason is that it is not grasped, but given. And even when it is given, it is only one area of value. This you can see in the diagram of Kelley Ross about the modes of necessity on the z axis and the mode of the transcendent in  the x direction. [https://www.friesian.com/system.htm]

So even if one merits to have some flow of the infinite light, that does not mean he or she has any connection with the other  areas of value. They might not have any particular insight in anything or even in spiritual values.

And the problem with each area of value is there is an equal and opposite area of negative value that mimics the authentic area of value. [The Dark Side. The Sitra Achra.] (That is the reason the religious world is so messed up.)

[This is based on Kant's dinge an sich--the areas where reason does not enter. And Leonard Nelson's particular approach which was adopted from Fries with some modifications.]

[Though the Kelley Ross, Leonard Nelson  approach makes the most sense to me I tend to see a lot of good points in Hegel also.]

[This approach makes sense to me because Hegel sees everything as leading to God as the absolute idea through reason. That would be so if the only emanation of God was logos. But with the Kelley Ross, there is a whole area of transcendental which  can not be grasped by reason. ]

The pervasive idolatry that one finds in the religious world is upsetting.

 I tend to see Reform and Conservative as more in accord with Torah because these groups lack the idolatry aspect that one usually gets in the religious world . But I can not account for why this is. It would seem that the more people would be interested in keeping Torah, the farther away from idolatry they would get. But in practice, the effect seems to be just the opposite.

And to stay away idolatry is not just a minor issue in Torah. It is the major point.

You can see this in for example the case of a עיר הנידחת a city that has been seduced to serve idolatry that is burnt. That is the whole city. And even its ashes are forbidden to be be used for any purpose. And in fact because of this, I tend to stay away from the religious. The pervasive idolatry that one finds in the religious world is upsetting. 

[You would think that since idolatry is the one and most issue in Torah that it would have the most weight.  Yet the religious seem to ignore the issue. So the best idea is to avoid the religious world unless this issue gets fixed.]

[I should add that this problem seems to be a lot less in the Litvak world which goes by the Gra. Still no one in the religious world seems innocent in this regard. Clearly the Gra himself saw this problem and for that reason signed the letter of excommunication. But the Gra in this very important issue is ignored,]

[There is also an odd fact that everyone sees this but no one mentions it--like the king's clothes. And I think that one ought to object. After all even if one's objection is not heeded, still there is an obligation to show that the religious does not represent the Torah at all, since the idolatry makes the whole thing forbidden.]  

[It is no accident that the vast majority of Jews do not want any connection with the religious because the fact that the religious put on this show and dance about how they supposedly keep Torah, but in fact worship dead people.]

Just to give an idea of how serious the issue of idolatry is let me mention that not just עיר הנידחת the city that has most of its peopled doing idolatry needs to be burnt to a crisp but even the ashes are forbidden to be used. Or at least that seems clear from the Tosephta and Gemara.