Kabbalistic reasons and the issue of idolatry.
Peace be upon Rabbi Michi Shlita.
Generally, according to Kabbalah, there are hidden reasons for the laws of the mitzvot according to the Pesht, not only in things that were specific even in the Pesht, such as the laws of tefillin and tzitzit, but also the laws of damages or the dimensions of the Sukkah. So, do you think that someone who holds the teachings of Kabbalah will be able to change the Halacha? After all, the reason is not logical but hidden, and in the upper worlds there is no change?
2. What is the point of God’s wrath over idolatry? True, the purpose of the world is to create a connection with God, and idolaters miss it. But like them, so do ordinary people who do not think about the reason for life. God’s wrath seems exaggerated, as if He fears for His honor (in fact, this seems to be the exact reason), just as idolaters are a woman who cheats on her husband.
1. It depends on what you think about Kabbalah. If it comes from above, then there is room to say so, but if not – then it is less likely. Although people’s spiritual intuitions also have a place.
As is known, the Maga in the Book of Tefillin writes that Kabbalah cannot change the Halacha, and in a dispute between the Kabbalists and the Poskim, one must follow the Poskim. But the Kabbalists, of course, do not accept this.
2. I don’t know (I wondered about this too). There is room to hang this on the dispute between the Maimonides and his group and other Rishonim, whether there is a real Ba’az but it is forbidden to rely on it, or whether it is a prohibition on stupidity. There is a long answer in the Responsorial Psalm and Yeshivah Hayam by Rabbi Yaakov Hillel that reviews the opinions on this. According to the Maimonides, the severity of the prohibition is error and stupidity, which are not common among ordinary people. And for the other Rishonim, the severity of the prohibition is relying on other powers (metaphysical harms).
Another possibility is what I explained in my article about the opinion of the Meiri who changed the halakhah in relation to the moral Gentiles (those bound by the manners of the nations). I explained there that the Meiri believed that they were idolaters but were enlightened. And according to him, all the halakhic discrimination between Jews and Gentiles (I am not talking about the prohibitions on marriage and objects of worship, but about sanctions between one person and another) was based on the immorality of the ancient rabbis. And in their day, when they were at an adequate moral and human level, all of this was null and void.
From this we can perhaps learn that the severity of the prohibition is not in the prohibition itself, but in the package deal that accompanies it (the immorality and bestiality). And this does not always and does not necessarily happen.
But all this is a matter of opinion.
It seems to me that from reading the Bible and Chazal, one can understand that idolatry is evil in itself, and the package deal is at most only an accessory and not a primary reason.
And to tell the truth, I don't really understand what's so difficult for you. The evil of idolatry, and the betrayal of these acts are intuitively clear, and there is no need to find an accompanying reason for them.
(It is no coincidence that Abraham, according to Chazal, understood this on his own before he was even granted revelation).
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