We continue with Mishnah 6 in chapter 7 of Tractate Sanhedrin, which expands the discussion on the transgressions mentioned above, for which a person may incur the penalty of stoning. The subject of this Mishnah is "ha'oved avodah zarah" - one who worships a foreign god other than the Holy One, Blessed is He.
Two forms of worship that incur stoning:
The Mishnah begins: "Echad ha'oved" - it makes no difference if he worshipped the idol in the manner in which that idol is worshipped. If its manner of worship is, for example, to rub its belly, then one who rubs its belly has worshipped an idol, and for this, one can incur stoning.
In addition to the specific manner of worship of that idol, if a person worshipped it through one of the four services with which Hashem is worshipped - even if this is not the regular manner of worship for that idol - this constitutes idol worship. And these are the four services:
"Ve'echad hazove'ach" - one who offers a sacrifice before it, such as slaughtering an animal.
"Ve'echad hamkater" - one who burns an offering before it, and this usually involves incense. And even one who burns an animal before the idol or towards it is considered one who burns an offering, and may incur stoning.
"Ve'echad hamenasech" - one who pours libations. Toward Heaven, libation is performed with wine, and the same law applies to one who pours blood before an idol, which also incurs liability for stoning.
"Ve'echad hamishtachaveh" - one who bows down toward the idol.
The definition of bowing down:
The bowing down that the Mishnah describes, as was done in the Holy Temple in various scenarios, involves spreading out the hands and feet: the toes, knees, hips, chest, and face are all placed on the ground, and the palms of the hands are spread flat on the ground above the head, until the person is completely prostrated. However, regarding the liability, less than this is sufficient: even one who kneels until his forehead touches the ground is liable for the prohibition of idol worship and is subject to the penalty of stoning, and full prostration is not required. But bowing from the waist alone, as is customary nowadays, where only the head is directed toward the ground - is not sufficient.
Accepting as a god:
"Ve'echad hamekabalo alav le'eloah" - even when not in the presence of the idol. It is sufficient for him to say that he has decided to convert to that religion and accept the god of that religion as his god.
"Veha'omer lo Eli atah" - one who stands before the idol and says to it directly, "You are my god", has also accepted it upon himself as a god, and is liable to stoning.
Acts of affection that are not worship:
In contrast, one who shows affection to an idol and cares for it, but does not actually worship it - transgresses a negative prohibition from the Torah and receives lashes, but is not stoned. And these are the acts:
One who hugs the idol and one who kisses it.
One who sweeps the area before it, and one who sprinkles - who sprinkles water on the dirt ground so that dust will not rise.
One who washes it, and one who anoints it with oil.
One who dresses it, and one who puts shoes on it.
All of these are not in the category of worship, but rather acts of affection. Therefore, they carry the penalty of lashes, but they do not incur stoning.
Vowing and swearing in its name:
The verse forbids even mentioning the name of an idol, so that the name of other gods will not be mentioned. Therefore, a person violates the prohibition simply by mentioning the name of an idol, and all the more so when he vows or swears by mentioning its name.
Our Mishnah focuses on vows and oaths that mention the name of the idol: one who says that a certain thing is forbidden to him as a vow, as if it were a sacrifice to that idol, or one who says, "I swear in the name of idol so-and-so that I will do such-and-such." These are the more severe cases, compared to the simple case of merely mentioning the name, such as one who says, "I will meet you at the corner of idol so-and-so" - which is also forbidden, and regarding the transgression itself, it is all the same.
Why did the Mishnah specifically use the examples of vowing and swearing? Because there was reason to think that one who vows in the name of an idol is like one who accepts it upon himself as a god, and should thereby incur stoning. The Mishnah comes and teaches that this is not so: one who vows or swears in the name of an idol does not accept it upon himself as a god, and it is merely a figure of speech, such as one who says, "By the life of idol so-and-so, I will do this."
Therefore, we learned in the Mishnah: "Hanoder bishmo vehamekayeim bishmo - oveir belo ta'aseh" - one who vows in its name or swears in its name transgresses a negative commandment. One who vows and mentions the name of the idol, as well as one who swears to do something in its name, transgresses a negative prohibition from the Torah. In principle, this carries lashes - but nothing more, and it contains no liability for stoning. (This is not the place to delve into a discussion regarding a negative commandment that does not involve a physical action.)
Intending to degrade but worshiping in its normal manner:
Another point: A person who performs an action with the intention to degrade the idol and demonstrate contempt for it, while in practice that very action is its normal manner of worship. The Mishnah brings two famous examples of this: Ba'al Pe'or and Markolis.
Ba'al Pe'or - its manner of worship is that a person exposes his backside toward the idol, and even relieves himself in front of it. This idol seemingly adopts the lowliest actions of a human being and his most natural state. Therefore, one whose intentions are good and who exposes his backside toward it in order to demonstrate contempt for it, has actually honored it by doing so. There is no stoning here, since liability for stoning requires an intention to worship, and this person did not intend to worship; however, he is liable for a chatat offering, since he unwittingly worshiped the idol in its normal manner of worship.
The same applies to Markolis - a Canaanite idol that was designated for wayfarers. Its symbol was constructed from three stones: two stones serving as legs, and one stone placed horizontally across them, like the shape of the Hebrew letter chet. Its manner of worship involved throwing stones at this structure. Therefore, one who thinks he is degrading the idol by throwing stones at it, while this is exactly its manner of worship - has transgressed the prohibition, and since it was done unwittingly, he is liable only for a chatat.
As the Mishnah states: "Hapo'er atzmo leVa'al Pe'or - zu hi avodato" - one who exposes himself to the idol Ba'al Pe'or, which is its manner of worship, even though he intended to degrade it, has violated a Torah prohibition. And similarly, "Hazoreik even leMarkolis - zu hi avodato" - one who throws a stone at Markolis, which is its manner of worship, is liable for at least a chatat, even if he intended to degrade the idol.
In summary: In this Mishnah we learned that the liability of stoning for idol worship applies both to one who worships in that idol's normal manner of worship, and to one who worships it through one of the four Temple services - slaughtering, offering incense, pouring libations, and bowing down - as well as to one who accepts it upon himself as a god or who says to it, "You are my god." In contrast, mere acts of affection - hugging, kissing, sweeping, sprinkling, washing, anointing, clothing, and putting on shoes - carry a negative prohibition and lashes, but they do not carry stoning. We also learned the prohibition of mentioning the name of an idol, that one who vows or swears in its name transgresses a negative commandment and is not stoned, and the law of one who intends to degrade an idol but practically worships it in its normal manner, such as with Ba'al Pe'or and Markolis, who is liable for a chatat.