Parashas Shoftim: Comparative Religion

Note: This dvar Torah is NOT intended to serve as a halachic analysis of the topic, and should not be the basis for any halacha l'maaseh decisions. 

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Artwork: Evermind, by Matt Thompson

Parashas Shoftim: Comparative Religion

During the Shabbos Torah reading, the rav of our shul summarizes the contents of each aliyah before reading it. Last week, prior to the third aliyah, he said, "And from this week's parashah we learn that it is assur to take a class in comparative religion. It says so right in the pesukim!" He was referring to the following passage:

When Hashem, your God, will cut down the nations, to which you come to take possession from them, before you, and you will take possession from them and settle in their land, beware for yourself lest you be attracted after them after they have been destroyed before you, and lest you inquire about their gods, saying, "How did these nations worship their gods, and even I will do the same." You shall not not do so to Hashem, your God, for everything that is an abomination of Hashem, that He hates, have they done to their gods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burned in the fire for their gods (Devarim 12:29-31).

On the surface, it would seem that my shul rav's summary is accurate: these pesukim warn Bnei Yisrael against inquiring about the false gods and modes of worship of the Canaanite nations, lest they be drawn after them. It would be reasonable to infer from here that it is similarly prohibited for us to inquire about the false gods and modes of worship of other religions. 

However, there is a pasuk in this week's parashah which adds an important qualification:

When you come to the Land that Hashem, your God, gives you, you shall not learn to act according to the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you one who causes his son or daughter to pass through the fire, one who practices divinations, an astrologer, one who reads omens, a sorcerer, or an animal charmer, one who inquires of Ov or Yidoni, or one who consults the dead. For anyone who does these is an abomination of Hashem, and because of these abominations Hashem, your God, banishes [the Canaanite nations] from before you. You shall be whole with Hashem, your God. For these nations that you are possessing - they hearken to astrologers and diviners; but as for you - not so has Hashem, your God, given for you (ibid. 18:9-14).

This pasuk doesn't say, "you shall not learn about the abominations of those nations" but "you shall not learn to act according to the abominations of those nations." Rashi, citing the Gemara in Sanhedrin 68a (and the Sifrei), expands upon this distinction:

you shall not learn to act - but you may learn [about their practices] to understand and to teach, i.e. to understand how mekulkalim (degenerate, corrupt, faulty) their practices are, and to teach your children, "Do not do such-and-such, for this is an idolatrous custom!" 

In other words, there is a way of investigating other religions which is permissible, and there is a way which is prohibited. It is permissible to learn about these religions in order to understand their flaws, and in order to teach others to identify idolatrous customs in order to avoid them, and to teach others to avoid them. Investigating idolatrous religions for any other reason - including and especially "mere curiosity" - would seem to be prohibited. 

The Rambam codifies this prohibition in Hilchos Avodah Zarah 2:2:

The idolaters composed many books about its service, explaining its root, its laws, and its actions. The Holy One, Blessed is He, commanded us not to read those books at all, and not to muse about them, or about any of their matters. Even to gaze at the image of an idol is prohibited, as it is stated, “Do not turn towards the gods” (Vayikra 19:4). Regarding this matter it was stated, “Lest you inquire about their gods saying, ‘How do they worship?’” (Devarim 12:30) – that you should not inquire about how they practiced their method of worship, even if you do not worship, for this will cause you to turn towards it and to do similar actions to the actions they do, as it is stated, “and I, too, will do” (ibid.). All of these prohibitions share one theme: that one should not turn towards avodah zarah; anyone who is turned towards it in such a manner that he does an action – he receives whiplashes.  

Not only is it prohibited to turn after avodah zarah in our thoughts, but any thought that causes a person to uproot one of the foundational principles of Torah – we are prohibited not to bring it to mind, not to occupy our mind with it, and not to think about it and to be drawn after the musings of the heart, for man’s mind is deficient, and not all minds are able to grasp the truth clearly; and if each man were to be drawn after the thoughts of his heart, he would destroy the world due to his deficient mind.  

How [does one violate this mitzvah]? Sometimes a person will explore avodah zarah; sometimes he will speculate about the Oneness of the Creator, saying, “Perhaps He is One, perhaps He is not?" “What is above and what is below?” “What is in front and what is behind?” Sometimes he will think about prophecy, saying, “Maybe it is true, and maybe it is not?” “Maybe the Torah is from heaven and many it is not?” And he will not know the methods and standards of evaluation which would enable him to know the truth clearly; consequently, he will fall into heresy. 

This is the matter which the Torah prohibited. It was stated concerning this, “You shall not stray after your hearts and after your eyes, after which you lust” (Bamidbar 15:39). This means: each individual should not be drawn after his deficient mind and imagine that his speculation has apprehended the truth. Thus said the Sages: “after your hearts” – this refers to heresy; “and after your eyes” – this refers to sexual depravity. This prohibition, even though it causes a person to be driven out of the World to Come, does not carry a penalty of whiplashes. 

According to the Rambam, this prohibition aims to prevent people from engaging in a certain type of unbridled conjecture which leads to avodah zarah or heresy. In order to better understand the Rambam, it might help to compare and contrast the prohibited and permitted types of investigation. For the sake of clarity, I will attempt to paint an elaborate, archetypal picture of each.

There are two ways in which a person can approach a topic. The first way is to engage in a methodical, disciplined, intellectually honest investigation as a responsible thinker. A person who engages in such thinking will be cautious, thorough, and rigorous in his analysis, striving to avoid fallacy and error. He will guard against cognitive and emotional biases and not rely on first impressions. He will consult experts when he has questions and will discuss his thoughts with other people before drawing any conclusions. Most importantly, he will recognize the limitations of his own mind, and will only venture into areas which are within his intellectual capacity. And if he knows that he needs more training before he is ready, he will keep working at it and wait until the time is right. Let us call this approach: "analytical investigation." 

The second way to approach a topic is with untrained, undisciplined, intuitive musing. A person who uses this method will think casually, lazily, and uncritically. He will stick with his first impressions, not bothering to check his reasoning for bias and error. He will not consult experts, nor will he bother to discuss his questions, problems, and conclusions with others. He will feel confident and comfortable thinking about any area, without stopping to ask whether he is qualified, and he will not feel the need to train his mind. Let us call this approach: "affective speculation" (not to be confused with "effective speculation").

In light of all this, let us reexamine my shul rav's unequivocal statement that it is prohibited to attend a comparative religion class. If a person were to enroll in such a class out of curiosity, out of a desire to appreciate other cultures, or even in order to satisfy a college requirement, it would seem that this would indeed be prohibited. However, if his motive is to understand the falsehood and degeneracy of other religions, or to learn how to guard himself and others from idolatrous practices, then he must first assess whether he is qualified to engage in such study. If he is insufficiently trained in "the methods and standards of evaluation which would enable him to know the truth clearly," or if he is susceptible to being "drawn after the thoughts of his heart," then it would be prohibited for him to proceed, lest he "and destroy the world due to his deficient mind" or "fall into heresy."

Whenever I bring up this distinction to my students, there is always someone who feels that the Torah is engaging in religious censorship and trying to restrict our thoughts, like the Catholic Church did throughout its sordid history. My answer to them is that the Torah is trying to do the exact opposite! Hashem wants us to seek truth and to know reality to the extent possible. However, if we engage in affective speculation, we will be prone to err and to fall prey to falsehood. For this reason, we are prohibited from investigating certain topics until we become qualified to do so, and are driven by the correct motives. If the Torah were trying to restrict our thoughts, these topics would be inherently off-limits, no matter what. 

I find it helpful to use the following analogy. Let's say a person wants to become a chemist. She enrolls in a chemistry class which has a lab component. On the first day of lab, she ignores her assignment and begins conducting her own experiments, mixing random chemicals to see what will happen. Her professor sees what she is doing and says, "Stop that! Don't play with the chemicals! It's dangerous!" The fledgling chemist responds, "Oh, so you're saying that mixing chemicals is BAD? I get it! You're trying to prevent me from becoming a chemist!"

Obviously, this would reflect a severe misunderstanding of her professor's intent. In truth, the professor was trying to help the aspiring chemist to achieve her goal. One day, if she studies hard and follows the program, she will have the freedom to conduct her own experiments and mix whatever chemicals she sees fit - but if she does this now, out of ignorance, she endangers herself and others. In order to obtain freedom as a chemist, she must first exercise restraint and discipline by heeding the precautionary restrictions laid down by those who are knowledgeable in chemistry.

The same is true here. Hashem wants us to become independent thinkers and to follow our minds without restriction in order to apprehend truth as best as we can. However, there are certain types of investigation which might endanger the whole truth-seeking enterprise. In order to protect us from these dangers, we are prohibited from engaging in these types of speculation. These restrictions allow us to develop our minds and psyches to the level where these dangers are minimized, at which point, we may expand the freedom of our learning beyond those initial boundaries.