By Rabbi Dovid Markel
The Parsha of Yisro holds the pinnacle of G-dly revelation to the Jewish People. The Israelites merit the giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments.
In the Ten Commandments the Jewish People are instructed (Shemos, 20:4): “You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness which is in the heavens above, which is on the earth below, or which is in the water beneath the earth.”
While the literal meaning of the verse is the prohibition of creating idols, Rabbi Mordechai Leiner of Ishbitz explains that the verse has a deeper meaning as well.
Not only is one prohibited from forming idols of physical form, but one is prohibited from creating abstract idols as well.
The essential idea of an idol, is creating something of form and referring to it as G-d. On a conceptual level, this means that any concrete definition that the human mind comes up with, is, in essence, an idol.
The human mind oftentimes sculpts beautiful philosophical ideas that it calls truth. One should realize that essentially all these ideas are inherently flawed.
G-d and truth are infinite and beyond description. Any classification that our minds may conjure up limit an infinite G-d into a finite construct which is the very essence of idolatry.
We must realize the boundaries of the human mind and cease to attempt to grasp the infinite with the finite. Only through our souls, which are a part of the Divine, can we truly be in touch with G-d.
Let us truly connect to the essence of G-d, with the essence of our souls and the fulfillment of the mitzvos!
