“You shall have no other gods before me.” — Deuteronomy 5:7

The Torah portion for this week is Va’etchanan, which means “I pleaded,” from Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11, and the Haftorah is from Isaiah 40:1–26.

There’s a joke about a boy who fell off a cliff. As he fell he began to cry out, “Lord, please save me!” Before he could even finish the sentence, the boy’s shirt got caught on a branch. The boy looked up and said, “Never mind, God, this branch already took care of it!”

Sometimes, we lose sight of God.

It’s hard to imagine, but the Sages teach that in ancient times the urge to bow down to idols was so great that people had a hard time resisting the temptation. They deeply believed that by worshiping wood and stone, they would reap benefits in their lives. Today, that thought seems ludicrous, and I can’t remember the last time anyone reported a strong urge to kneel down before an idol. So how are we to relate to the second of the Ten Commandments, which is repeated in this week’s reading?

The Sages explain the origins of idolatry. It began in the time of Enosh, the grandson of Adam, the first man. Enosh certainly believed in God. After all, God had created his own grandfather! However, he also understood the influence of the sun, moon, and stars on the world. The people of his generation found it appropriate to give honor to them as one would honor the king’s servants. At this point, however, they still understood who the true King was.

However, over time, the people learned to manipulate the heavenly bodies to serve themselves. God may have caused a drought, but the idol worshipers believed that their idols caused it to rain. Eventually, the idols became the primary focus of worship, and God was taken out of the equation altogether.

Now we can see the link between ancient generations and ours. An item need not be a bona fide idol to become a substitute for God. When we trust in anything, or any person, instead of God, we are making an idol. We transgress the prohibition, “You shall have no other gods before me.”

There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of the gifts that modern society offers us. We have the gift of medicine, of running water on demand, of food in the supermarket. These are all wonderful blessings that benefit us daily. However, don’t take God out of the equation. Never forget from Whom all blessings flow. They are all from God and God alone — and only He is deserving of worship!