“The Torah warns us not to turn G!D’s commandments into idols.”

–Menahem Mendel of Kotsk

Torah means teaching. This quote from Menahem Mendel warns us not to mistake the teaching for the Divinity it points toward. If we make a religious or spiritual maxim into a rigid unyielding principle; if we worship the teaching itself over our fellow humans; if we sacrifice ourselves or others on the altar of doctrine we are committing a form of idolatry.

Extreme fundamentalists of every faith give us tragic examples of this. A Jewish gunman who murders 29 Muslims at prayer based on a twisted reading of a piece of text, or a prime minister based on a tortured rabbinic interpretation. A Muslim who translates jihad from an inner struggle to one that allow the slaughter of innocents, or a Christian member of the Army of God gunning down a pro-choice women’s health provider and his bodyguard, Hindu extremist groups murdering Gandhi, or even Buddhist terrorist groups in Myanmar. Anytime a religious teaching is used to justify violating basic human principles, it is an act of idolatry- putting a principle ahead of a person.

But we all, at some time, put a principle ahead of a person, whether it’s turning a blind eye to someone with a cardboard sign on the street corner because we don’t want to reward sloth, or misguided notions of “spare the rod, spoil the child” based on a misreading of a single line of text, or holding one group as holier or more deserving than another because they share our beliefs (can you say Democrat and Republican?); all examples of idolatry.

If we are made in the Divine Image, as most of our theological stories teach, then aren’t we better served seeing the Divine in one another rather than in religious words or artifacts?As Rumi says while cradling a dog who reminds him of the Divine Love, “Just look at this face!”

What teaching do you need to put in service to others today, rather than the other way around?

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Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, better known as the Kotzker Rebbe (1787–1859) was a Hasidic rabbi and leader.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. Send him your favorite teaching quote for commentary. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.