"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but they do not speak; they have eyes but they do not see ... Like them shall their makers become, everyone who trusts in them."

Seforno (to Devorim 28) writes that the many passages in Scripture which admonish us against idolatry are relevent even today. For although people no longer bow down to statues, there is also "idolatry" in the broader sense.

Idolatry in its strict sense was practiced thousands of years ago. Throughout the world, each culture had its own statues, to which the people would bow and pay homage. And the Jew who wandered from place to place, from culture to culture, might find his interest excited by these religious systems. His curiosity would be stimulated, and he would want to partake in these rites. He is thus admonished by the Torah that true meaning is found within the Siniatic heritage alone.

Today, too, writes Seforno, although people no longer bow down to statues of silver and gold, nevertheless the essence of that admonishment is still applicable. The Jew still finds himself in exile, in so many different countries throughout the world. And each culture tempts him with its own blandishments. The Jew find himself hard-pressed to remember the age old truths of the Torah amid the din and the cacophony of popular culture.

"Like them shall their makers become, everyone who trusts in them." These words are spoken in Scriptures about idols, statues of silver and gold. But they are relevent even today. For today's cultural icons are no more meaningful than those inanimate idols of times past. And one who wastes his life in pursuing them will find that he loses his chance to produce something enduring, and instead becomes as empty as they.

Copyright (c) 1998 by Rabbi Levi Langer

Courtesy of www.JewishAmerica.com
Have a good Shabbos!