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A reprint of the post of Tue, 8 March 2022 = 5th of Adar II, 5782:

Rabbi Avraham, the Son of Rambam: Do Not Imitate the Religious Practices of the Gentiles – Even If They Do Not Serve Idolatry.

Excerpt from Is Rambam For or Against Jews Participating in the Iftar Feast at the Home of Salim Jabbar, Head of the Abu Ghosh Council. A prominent rabbi tried to defend the participation of Jews in the Iftar Religious feast of Gentiles by the stating that Rambam holds, the religion of Salim Jabbar is not idolatry.

My counterclaim is that even Rambam would forbid the participation of ordinary Jews and all the more so Rabbis at Salim Jabbar’s Iftar feast.

A Picture and translated quote from the Srugim web site

With the background of heightening tension lately between Jews and Arabs, the Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, Rabbi David Lau participated … together with the President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin in the Iftar feast (Ramadan conclusion feast) in the house of Salim Jabbar, head of the Abu Ghosh Council

Among the latter Rabbis there is a dispute, did Rambam really believe that the Muslims do not sin on the issue of idol worship or perhaps from the precedent of Ulla, Nedarim 22a, Rambam expressed an opinion on the matter that has a double meaning.

Even according to the interpretation that Rambam really meant to exempt the Muslims from violation of the idolatry laws, this is not sufficient justification to allow the participation in the Iftar Feasts celebrated by Muslims.

In that post I brought Rambam’s Teshuva 449 to show, one must not attend, heretical fake holiday celebrations.

Here is a quote to back up that idea from Rambam’s son Rabbi Avraham.

המספיק לעובדי השם פרק כה על השלמת הדיבור על חובות התפלה עמ’ 47:
ומה שחידשוהו זולתנו ואין לו יסוד באמונתנו ולא במנהגינו הקדומים נימָּנע ממנו משום “חקות הגוים”; ואפילו לא היו אותם גוים עובדי עבודה זרה צריך להימנע ממנו, כדי שההידמות אליהם לא תגרום להאמין בתורתם או להיכשל במה שהתורה הזהירה מפניו: “לא תֹסף עליו”,2 ואמר שלמה: “אל תוסף על דבריו פן יוכיח בך ונכזבת”;3 וכן מה שחידשוהו הקראים ודומיהם, יש להימנע ממנו – “שלא יחקה את המינים”;

An English summary of what he said, is that the prohibition of going in the statutes of the Gentiles, applies to those practices that don’t have a foundation in our belief system and early practices; and even when those Gentiles do not serve idolatry, we still have to abstain from these practices in order to prevent us from believing in their religious doctrines or to avoid stumbling in what the Torah warned us against, “Do not add to it” (Deuteronomy 13:1) and Shlomo (Solomon) said “Do not add to His words, Lest He indict you and you be proved a liar” (Proverbs 30:6). So too, what the Karaites and those similar to them, originated, one should abstain from – not to imitate the heretics.

It is beyond the scope of this article to determine if the above prohibition according to Rabbi Avraham son of Rambam, also applies to Non-religious practices of the Gentiles.

New Addition: In Response #448 In Teshuvot Harambam. Rambam informs R’ Ovadiah the convert, why he disagrees with the viewpoint that Yishmaelites are guilty of Peor, Cemosh, and Markolis worship at Mecca (some pronounce it Makkah). But he adds that although idolatry has been cut off from the mouths of those Yishmaelites, their mistake  and their stupidity is in other things which cannot be put into writing because of the rebels and wicked of Israel. 

Some understand that Rambam is hinting that many of them are guilty of Enosh style, foreign worship of the moon (Hilchot Avoda Zara 1:1 and 2:1), but it was too dangerous to make the point. Others understand that Rambam sincerely believed that they were free of all aspects of Avoda Zara, but it was some other aspect of their religion that Rambam was too afraid to discuss.

As a supplement to this post please also read How Does the Yishmaelite Religion Violate the Restrictions Against Foreign Worship (Idolatry)

The permanent location of this post is at https://vilnagaon.org/rabbi-avraham-the-son-of-rambam-do-not-imitate-the-religious-practices-of-the-gentiles-even-if-they-do-not-serve-idolatry/

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Book 2: Interpretation of the Bible

• Messianic Movements That Failed
• False Prophet
• The Tradition
• The Mitzva To Appoint Judges and Officials to Enforce the Law
• Let Us Make Man… (Genesis 1:26)
• The Man That Blasphemed
• Resurrection of the Dead
• Most of The Prohibitions of The Bible Do Not Apply To Gentiles
• Was It a Mitzvah [Good Deed] Or a Sin Not To Kill King Sha’ul {Saul}? – Part 1
• Was It a Mitzvah [Good Deed] Or a Sin Not To Kill King Sha’ul {Saul}? – Part 2
• The Task of the Spy, Eli Cohen, H”YD. – A Torah Hint About This
• Why the Bible is Immune to Scientific Criticism
• The 430 Year Gap
• Biblical And Historical Precedents For Resisting Army Service

B”H Excerpts from An Anthology of the Gaon by Rabbi Moshe Zuriel {Tzuriel}

A Selection of sayings of the Vilna Gaon regarding beliefs, extracted from most of the writings of his disciples, of those faithful to him, and from some of his own writings.

Swiftness

The fact that a person puts off performing a mitzvah until the morrow leads to his not performing it at all, rather, as soon as he has the opportunity he should immediately perform it – to Proverbs 10/8, 14/23, 27/1

If not now, then when?” (Avot I) – the Sages did not say ”if not today”, for even on the same day, one should already now, perform the mitzvah.- to Proverbs 6:9

This Anthology of the sayings of the Vilna Gaon is Not Appropriate For Non-Jewish
Souls. Instead they should scroll up this page to the section A Light Unto the Nations which is more appropriate for a mixed audience.

Anthology Topics: 1 Cruelty  2 Erev Rav  3 Father  4 The First Man  5 Forefathers  6 Heretics 7 The Holy Temple  8 Limbs 9 Love of G-d  10 Man  11 The Nations of the World 12 Prophecy 13 Reproof  14 Reward and Punishment 15 Suffering  16 Swiftness  17 Torah   18 Torah Study  19 The World to Come

–B”H