Or HaChaim on Exodus 20:4/אור החיים על שמות כ׳:ד׳

1לא תעשה לך פסל, "Do not make a graven image for yourself, etc." Seeing that G'd had already outlawed even entertaining idolatrous thoughts on pain of death, why would He have to prohibit the making of an idol? If the Torah referred to making an idol for someone else, why did it add the word לך "for yourself?" Besides, if only the construction of an idol as a piece of art is meant, the Torah did not need to add the words: "do not bow down to them" in verse 5! Why does the Torah employ the expression פטל instead of אלוהים אחרים? Why did the Torah have to repeat the words ה׳ אלוקיך in verse 5? G'd had already described Himself as a "jealous G'd," etc.! Why did G'd have to give a reason for the prohibition by saying: "because I am a jealous G'd," etc.? Does He have to justify His objection to the Israelites serving idols?

2Apparently, the Torah speaks about a prohibition of idol worship over and above that which was mentioned in verse 3. It may well refer to the person who believes in the One and only G'd but, who, due to G'd's invisibility, desires to remind himself of His existence and all-pervasiveness by means of a symbol such as a picture or a sculpture. When such a person offers up a prayer he feels more comfortable if he can concentrate on a visual image of sorts; hence he constructs for himself such an image in order to pray more intensely to our One and only G'd. Or, such a worshiper may feel embarassed to bother G'd Himself with all his little problems, but he feels at ease speaking of these problems to someone whom he considers merely a subordinate of G'd. Most of the idol worshipers have fallen victim to this error. Originally, they knew very well that they did not bow down in front of a deity but only in front of one of G'd's servants whom they had decided to adopt as a symbol. The reason that the Torah refers to such a sculpture as פסל and not as אלוה is precisely because that is all the sculpture meant to the person who fashioned it. The word is closely connected to פסולת, refuse, something to be discarded; as such it reminds a person that it has no intrinsic value or power. Another reason the Torah may call it פסל is that it is liable to become worthless as soon as G'd decides to rob it of its value because someone had idolised it. We find something along these lines in Eycha Rabbati chapter 2 where the people of the generation which perished during the deluge [in my edition this seems to apply to the generation of the time of Jeremiah, Ed.] are described as making use of G'd's celestial forces to overcome their enemies. G'd outmanoeuvered them by changing the names of these various forces so that people could not make improper use of their knowledge of the powers invested in these celestial forces. At any rate, G'd said: "Do not make a פסל for yourself (of anything representing celestial forces) even if you are fully aware that it has no intrinsic value." G'd then continued to describe what purpose such a פסל was meant to serve, i.e. to bow down to it.

3The reason one is not to bow down to it is the jealous nature of G'd, i.e. He objects to this even if it is not only not meant to offend Him, but to enhance the worshiper's relationship with his G'd. In order to better understand this element of "jealousy" it is worthwhile to look at Numbers 5,14 where the Torah discusses the "jealousy" of a husband who has reason to suspect his wife of marital infidelity. The Torah writes: "and a spirit of jealousy over- comes him (the husband)." There are times when a father has reason to be jealous of his son, or a master of his servant, or a husband of his wife. You know that Israel's status vis-a-vis G'd is like that of a bride to a husband. This theme has been developed at length by Solomon in his Song of Songs. If Israel were to make some other deities for themselves even while they do not deny G'd or rebel against His commandments seeing that He is the Supreme G'd, the "husband" would still be entitled to become jealous. Imagine the wife of a king who falls in love with one of his servants and who would display this affection by paying extra attention to the requirements of this servant. Would the king not become jealous when he observed this and would ultimately stab his wife to death? Our relationship with G'd has to be viewed in a similar light. If one examines the many areas in which the relationship between Israel and G'd is special, one will not have any difficulty in accepting that G'd is "jealous" of preserving this special relationship. This is why He stresses : "I am the Lord YOUR G'd," i.e. our relationship is special. Moses underlines this once more in Deut. 4,19 when he refers to the intermediaries G'd has assigned to looking after the interests of the nations of the world as opposed to Israel who do not need such intermediaries.

4G'd therefore warns Israel "do not make a פסל for yourself," i.e. do not destroy yourself by disqualifying your special relationship with G'd. The sin of idolatry brings in its wake a loss of the צלם אלוקים, the image of G'd in which man has been created. We know this from Psalms 39,7: אך בצלם יתהלך־איש, "man can walk upright only as long as he possesses the mark of having been created in the image of the Lord;" The Psalmist means that celestial beings will not take any notice of man once he forfeits his צלם אלוקים. We find a similar thought expressed in Kings II 3,14, when the prophet Elisha tells king Yehoram (the idolator) that "if I had not beheld (respected) the face of King Yehoshaphat king of Yehudah, I would not have even looked at you" the two kings were allied against Moav, Ed.]