“Do not make for yourself any molten gods.”
(Exodus 34:17)
It’s not surprising that this week’s Torah portion includes this commandment. After all, it is earlier in this week’s reading that we read about our ancestors committing the gravest sin of all: the construction of the golden calf. Given the magnitude of the transgression, it is no surprise that our Torah reminds us never to make the same mistake again.
Centuries later, the great Hasidic master, Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (1787-1859), interprets the verse in a suggestive way. He creatively understands the word “molten” not to refer simply to an idol. Instead he reads it more broadly to include any type of theology that is overly rigid or hardened: “Do not make for yourself a god,” the Kotzker teaches, “that is fixed in form due to unchanging patterns (of thought).”
What he means is that a failure to grow and change in our own relationship with God over time is a form of idolatry. Just as our understanding of math, physics, or politics evolves and deepens with study and experience, so too should our understanding of and relationship to God.
Theological complacency or laziness, suggests the Kotzker, is idol worship.
Through ongoing study, spiritual practices, worship, and meditation, we can develop a relationship with the Holy One that is vibrant, authentic, and dynamic.
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback