✦ ❖ ✦ D A A T · L E V E L 3 — S Y N T H E S I S / R E V I E W ✦ ❖ ✦
Siman 141 — The statues and figures of idolatry
דין הצלמים והצורות של עבודת כוכבים
Eight seifim, two movements. The figure found: one asks what it was made for — and answers by the place, the attribute, the fragment, the vessel. The figure made: one asks whether a Jew may make it — and answers by the verse לא תעשון אתי; then whether one may keep it — and answers by suspicion. The whole siman lies in this distinction, and in three tables.
Source: Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah קמ״א — 8 seifim
Nosei kelim: ש״ך (36 ס״ק) · ט״ז (15 ס״ק) · פתחי תשובה (15 ס״ק) · באר היטב (26 ס״ק) · נקודות הכסף (2) · בית יוסף · טור
Compiled by: הרב יוסף חיים סממה · DAAT
For students who have mastered level 1
📑 Plan of the synthesis
- The axiom: finding is not making
- The 3 reflex questions
- Master table A — what one finds (seifim 1 to 3)
- Master table B — what one makes and what one keeps (seifim 4 to 8)
- The disputes in one line
- Relief and intaglio: the map
- The 6 golden rules
- Mnemonic — the “צלם” memory aid
- The 5 classic pitfalls
- Recap of the 8 seifim and final flash card
1. The axiom: finding is not making
The starting point:
A statue found is not forbidden because it is a statue — it is forbidden because a non-Jew may have made it in order to worship it. A figure made by a Jew is not forbidden because it is worshipped — it is forbidden because a verse says לא תעשון אתי. And a figure kept is forbidden neither for the one nor for the other, but for fear of suspicion. Three prohibitions, three logics, one siman.
The three sources:
| The source | What it establishes | Consequence in the siman |
|---|
| The mishnah of chapter כל הצלמים (מ׳ ע״ב) | The statue is a doubt of idolatry, lifted or confirmed by clues | Seifim 1-3: place, attribute, fragment, vessel |
| The verse and its double reading (עבודה זרה מ״ג ע״ב) | “My servants” and “Me”: the four faces, the angels, the luminaries, man | Seifim 4, 6, 7, 8: what one does not make |
| Rav Yehuda’s ring (עבודה זרה מ״ג ע״ב) | Keeping what another made is forbidden by suspicion | Seifim 4-5: keeping, sealing, wearing |
| Rabban Gamliel (ראש השנה כ״ד ע״א) | The public, the sectioned, study lift suspicion | Seif 4: להתלמד, ויש מתירין בשל רבים |
| The Rambam, ch. 3 and 7 | The Mehaber’s wording in seifim 1 and 5 | The attribute for every figure; the ring |
💡 The landmark: before any figure, first ask “who made it?”. A non-Jew — seifim 1 to 3, doubt of idolatry. A Jew — seifim 4 to 8, verse and suspicion. Never mix the two: that is the error the Shakh charges the Levush with (ס״ק כ״ה).
2. The 3 reflex questions
1. Who made the figure, and what for? A non-Jew: in a village, presumed idolatrous; in a city, ornamental — unless at the gate with an attribute (seif 1). Fragments: permitted; hand on a base: forbidden (seif 2). Honoured vessel with sun, moon or dragon: forbidden; lowly: permitted (seif 3).
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2. May a Jew make it? No for the four faces, the angels, the complete man in relief, the sun, the moon and the stars even sunken (seif 4). Yes for animals, plants, the dragon, the head alone, and whatever serves study (seifim 3, 6, 7).
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3. May one keep it, if another made it? No, by suspicion — except in public according to some, sunken, for study (seif 4). The ring in relief seals but is not worn (seif 5). The dragon is made but not kept (seif 3). And never a seven-branched Menorah (seif 8).
3. Master table A — what one finds (seifim 1 to 3)
| What one finds | Verdict | Source | Nuance of the nosei kelim |
|---|
| Statue in a village | Forbidden | שו״ע קמ״א:א | A real doubt remains forbidden (ש״ך ס״ק א) |
| Statue in a city, no attribute | Permitted | שו״ע קמ״א:א | Nowadays: everything depends on the case (ש״ך ס״ק ד) |
| Statue at the city gate, attribute in hand | Forbidden | שו״ע קמ״א:א | Every figure, not only man (ש״ך ס״ק ג · ט״ז ס״ק א) |
| Figure before which people bow | Forbidden without nullification | רמ״א קמ״א:א | Pendant permitted if known nobody bowed (ש״ך ס״ק ו) |
| Fragments of statues, even of idols | Permitted | שו״ע קמ״א:ב | The Shakh prefers the Rambam: fragment of a certain idol forbidden (ש״ך ס״ק ז) |
| Hand or foot on its base | Forbidden | שו״ע קמ״א:ב | Base = wide seat, made that way from the start (ט״ז ס״ק ד) |
| Jewel with sun, moon, dragon | Forbidden | שו״ע קמ״א:ג | Talisman figures, not the disc (רמ״א · ש״ך ס״ק ח); middling vessel forbidden (ש״ך ס״ק י) |
| Cauldron, cup, coin with these figures | Permitted | שו״ע קמ״א:ג | Silver coin honoured according to some (פתחי תשובה ס״ק ד) |
| Vessel known not to have been worshipped | Permitted, even honoured | שו״ע קמ״א:ג | First view; custom follows it (רמ״א) |
| Nowadays, these figures on a vessel | Benefit permitted, keeping forbidden | רמ״א קמ״א:ג | The “even nowadays” stringency has no source (ש״ך ס״ק י״ז) |
| Any other figure, even human, found | Permitted for benefit | רמ״א קמ״א:ד | Not for keeping (ש״ך ס״ק כ״ד) |
4. Master table B — what one makes and what one keeps (seifim 4 to 8)
| What one makes or keeps | Making | Keeping (made by another) | Source |
|---|
| Four faces together; angels | Forbidden — Torah | Forbidden — suspicion | שו״ע קמ״א:ד |
| Complete man, in relief | Forbidden — Torah | Forbidden — suspicion | שו״ע קמ״א:ד |
| Man sunken, painted, woven | Permitted (Ramban and Taz: forbidden) | Permitted | שו״ע קמ״א:ד · ט״ז ס״ק י״ב |
| Sun, moon, stars — even sunken, even a disc | Forbidden | Forbidden | שו״ע קמ״א:ד · ש״ך ס״ק ח |
| Dragon | Permitted | Forbidden — suspicion, even nowadays | רמ״א קמ״א:ג · ש״ך ס״ק י״ט |
| Animals, birds, fish, trees — even the lion | Permitted, even in relief | Permitted | שו״ע קמ״א:ו · ש״ך ס״ק ל |
| Any figure, to understand and to teach | Permitted | Permitted | שו״ע קמ״א:ד |
| Any figure, in a public place | Forbidden | Permitted according to some — but “unseemly” (Rabbenu Yerucham) | רמ״א קמ״א:ד · ש״ך ס״ק כ״ז |
| Telling a non-Jew to make it | Forbidden — shevut | — | ש״ך ס״ק כ״ג |
| Ring with human seal in relief | Sealing: permitted | Wearing: forbidden | שו״ע קמ״א:ה |
| Ring with human seal sunken | Sealing: forbidden (on an honoured object) | Wearing: permitted | שו״ע קמ״א:ה · פתחי תשובה ס״ק ט |
| Head alone, body without head, half-profile | Permitted — that is the custom | Permitted | שו״ע קמ״א:ז · ש״ך ס״ק כ״ה |
| Seven-branched metal Menorah; house in the dimensions of the Heikhal | Forbidden | — | שו״ע קמ״א:ח |
| Seven-branched Menorah of wood or earthenware; 5, 6 or 8 branches | Permitted | — | שו״ע קמ״א:ח · ש״ך ס״ק ל״ה |
5. The disputes in one line
| Subject | First view | Second view | What prevails |
|---|
| Fragment of a certain idol | Rif, Rosh, Mehaber: permitted | Rambam: forbidden | The Shakh sides with the Rambam and notes the contradiction with 146:11 |
| Attribute in hand: which figure? | Bach: man alone | Rambam, Mehaber, Shakh, Taz: every figure | Every figure known to be worshipped |
| Lowly vessel, figure certainly worshipped | Beit Yosef: permitted | Ran, Rashba: forbidden | Rama: custom follows the first view |
| These figures nowadays | Rabbenu Yerucham, Rama: benefit permitted | “Stringent ones”: forbidden | Shakh: the stringency has no source |
| Man sunken | Rambam, Mehaber, Shakh: permitted | Ramban, Tur, Ran, Taz: forbidden to make | The Taz: one does not relax against the Ramban |
| The public | Rif: only study permits | Rosh, Rama: the public permits keeping | Shakh: keeping only, and it is unseemly |
| The lion, the zodiac signs | Bach: forbidden | Rashba, Shakh: permitted — only the twelve together forbidden | Shakh; the machzorim permitted according to the Nekudot HaKesef |
| The complete dragon | Shakh: permitted to make | Tosafot, Mordekhai: always forbidden | ש״ך : והמחמיר תבוא עליו ברכה |
| Menorah without cups, low | Shakh: forbidden (nothing invalidates) | Bekhor Shor: in gold, the cups invalidate | Pitchei Teshuva: stringency, it is a Torah prohibition |
6. Relief and intaglio: the map
The rule of intaglio, and its reason: « ואור״י ור״ת וריב״א כי בחמה ולבנה ומזלות אין חילוק בין בולטין לשוקעין וכן ברקיע שוקעין הם ולא מפליג בהכי אלא גבי פרצופין וכיוצא בהן » (תוספות עבודה זרה מ״ג ע״ב ד״ה והא ר״ג יחיד הוה). Painting counts as sunken: « ומה״ט מה שמציירים על הכותל ולוח אע״פ שהוא שוה מיקרי שוקעת כיון דלא הוי בולטת כמו שהן עצמם והלכך צורת חמה ולבנה וכיוצא בהן דהן נמי שוקעים ברקיע אסור אפילו בשוקעת » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״א ס״ק כ״ה).
| Figure | In relief | Sunken / painted |
|---|
| Sun, moon, stars | Forbidden | Forbidden — they appear sunk in the firmament |
| Four faces, angels | Forbidden | Forbidden according to the Ramban and the Taz |
| Complete man | Forbidden | Permitted according to the Mehaber and the Shakh; forbidden to make according to the Ramban and the Taz; colour painting: Maharam permits, Divrei Yosef forbids |
| Dragon | To make: permitted; to keep: forbidden | To keep: forbidden also according to the Taz (perhaps worshipped) |
| Animals, plants | Permitted | Permitted |
| Vessel found, forbidden figure | Forbidden | Forbidden — the doubt of idolatry ignores relief (Tur) |
⚖ What to retain
The Mehaber: בד״א בבולטת, except the luminaries. The Taz: אין להקל כלל נגד דברי הרמב״ן. The Shakh: painting is sunken, and only the complete figure counts.
7. The 6 golden rules
- Who made it, and what for? — that is the only question of seifim 1 to 3, and the presumption answers it: place, attribute, fragment, vessel.
- Making is forbidden by the Torah, keeping by suspicion, finding is not forbidden — three regimes, and a figure passes from one to another according to the hand that holds it.
- Two lists of the Torah: “My servants” — four faces, angels, luminaries — and “Me” — man. Nothing else: animals, plants, dragon, head alone are permitted.
- Relief decides, except for the luminaries — they are forbidden even sunken, because they appear sunk; and the Taz extends the stringency to everything the Torah forbids.
- Suspicion has three exits — the public (keeping only), the sectioned, study; and one closed door: telling a non-Jew to make.
- The Temple is not copied — neither its dimensions nor its seven branches in metal; wood and earthenware, invalid there, are permitted here.
8. Mnemonic — the “צלם” memory aid
צ צוּרָה — Who made it? A non-Jew: presumption (village, city, attribute, fragment, vessel). A Jew: verse.
ל לֹא תַעֲשׂוּן אִתִּי — What does one not make? The servants on high and man; in relief, except the luminaries.
ם מִשּׁוּם חֲשָׁדָא — What does one not keep? What another made — except in public, sectioned, for study.
9. The 5 classic pitfalls
- Treating the figure found like the figure made. The Levush tied intaglio to “finding”; the Shakh (ס״ק כ״ה) shows they are two unrelated logics.
- Taking “sun” for a disc. The Rama and the Shakh (ס״ק ח) speak of the talisman figures; the disc found is permitted — but the disc is not made.
- Believing that man is permitted sunken without reservation. That is the Mehaber and the Shakh; the Taz (ס״ק י״ב) follows the Ramban and refuses to relax — for making.
- Turning the public into a permission to make. The public permits only keeping (ש״ך ס״ק כ״ז), and Rabbenu Yerucham finds the thing unseemly.
- Believing that a low Menorah or one without cups escapes seif 8. What does not invalidate the Temple Menorah does not exempt the replica (ש״ך ס״ק ל״ו).
10. Recap of the 8 seifim and final flash card
| Seif | In one line |
|---|
| 1 | Village forbidden, city permitted — unless at the gate with an attribute; the worshipped figure is a צלם, the pendant is not. |
| 2 | Fragments permitted, even of idols; hand or foot on its base forbidden. |
| 3 | Sun, moon, dragon: jewel forbidden, cauldron permitted; two views when the figure is certainly worshipped; custom follows the first; nowadays benefit permitted, keeping forbidden; dragon to make, not to keep. |
| 4 | Forbidden to make the four faces, the angels, man, even for ornament; forbidden to keep; found, permitted except sun and moon; relief only, except the luminaries; study and the public permit. |
| 5 | Ring with a human seal: relief — seal yes, wear no; sunken — wear yes, seal no; sealed by a non-Jew, not kept. |
| 6 | Animals, birds, fish, trees: permitted, even in relief. |
| 7 | Only the complete figure is forbidden; the head alone is permitted, and that is the custom. |
| 8 | No replica of the Heikhal, the Ulam, the Azarah, the Table, the Menorah; seven branches forbidden, even in iron, even without cups, even low. |
Flash card. Who made it? → non-Jew: כפרים אסורים · כרכים מותרים · attribute · fragments permitted · hand on base forbidden · מכובדים אסורים · מבוזים מותרים → Jew: לא תעשון אתי = four faces, angels, luminaries (even sunken) · אותי = man (relief, complete) → keeping: חשדא — except public, sectioned, study → ring: relief seals, sunken is worn → dragon: made, not kept → Menorah: seven in metal, never.
🎓 Recap of the study path