Mishneh Torah, Foreign Worship and Customs of the Nations 7

Sugya Map: The Eradication of Avodah Zarah

• Core Issue: The scope and geographical application of the positive commandment to eradicate idol worship and its accessories.
• Nafka Minah: Whether the obligation to "hunt" and destroy idols exists ex-territorially (Diaspora) or is tethered to Jewish sovereignty in Eretz Yisrael.
• Primary Sources: Deuteronomy 12:2-3; Avodah Zarah 45b, 51b; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 7:1.

Text Snapshot: Rambam 7:1

"In Eretz Yisrael, the mitzvah requires us to hunt after idol worship until it is eradicated... In the diaspora, however, we are not required to hunt after it. Rather, whenever we conquer a place, we must destroy all the false deities contained within."

Nuance: The Rambam distinguishes between redifah (active pursuit/hunting) and biur (destruction upon acquisition). Note the dikduk of "מִן הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא" (Deut 12:3)—the verse functions as a limiting clause for the chiyuv of hunting.

Readings

• Kinat Eliyahu: Argues the chiyuv of redifah is unique to Eretz Yisrael due to the land’s inherent holiness, which mandates a proactive state of purity.
• Tzafnat Pa’neach: Explores the tension between the Rambam’s stance here and Kiddushin 37a. He suggests that Eretz Yisrael is muchzeket (de facto held) as "ours" even prior to formal conquest, explaining why the obligation triggers differently there than in the Diaspora.

Friction

• Kushya: If the prohibition against benefiting from avodah zarah is biblical (Negative Commandment 194), why does the Rambam permit certain mixtures (e.g., sfeik sfeika in 7:10) that seem to contradict the severity of the prohibition?
• Terutz: As the Nachal Eitan notes, the stringency regarding mixtures fluctuates based on whether the forbidden item is a davar she-yesh lo matirin (an item that will eventually be permitted). The Rambam treats idolatry with unique severity, yet he relies on the logic of sfeik sfeika (doubts upon doubts) to prevent the total paralysis of commerce, provided the chazakah of the forbidden item is sufficiently diluted.

Psak/Practice

The halacha remains that one must destroy an idol in one’s possession immediately. However, the meta-psak regarding "historical" artifacts or art (Halachah 10-12) suggests a shift: if an object is not currently worshiped and lacks the "deferential" markers (staff, orb, etc.), it is often treated as aesthetic rather than sacramental.

Takeaway

The obligation to destroy idolatry is a function of authority. In Eretz Yisrael, authority is absolute, requiring active pursuit; in the Diaspora, our obligation is reactive—governed by the extent of our control over the specific space occupied by the idol.