Masturbation, Going Back on One’s Word, and Avodah Zarah

Matt Schneeweiss

What do these three sins of masturbation, machalif b'diburo (going back on one's word), and avodah zarah (idolatry) have in common? Apparently, something essential - at least, according to the Sages in Maseches Kallah Rabasi 2:5: 

The Sages say: Anyone who masturbates or is machalif b'diburo - it is as if he is oveid avodah zarah (worships idolatry), as it is stated: "Perhaps my father will feel me and I shall be as a deceiver (meta'te'a) in his eyes" (Bereishis 27:12) - and there is no te'a'te'a but avodah zarah, as it is stated: "They are vanity, the work of deception (ta'tu'im)" (Yirmiyahu 10:16, 51:18).

Of the three, avodah zarah is more obscure and unfamiliar than masturbation or machalif b'diburo. Let's start with what we know and proceed from there.

What is the difference between sexual intercourse and masturbation? Physiologically they are almost identical; the body responds to them in the same way. Psychologically, however, they are very different. Masturbation is an act of total narcissism - an expression of and an indulgence in self-love. The masturbator is emotionally stimulated by his own imagination and fantasies; he is physically stimulated by his own actions; all of his sexual energy is directed towards himself. True, fantasy plays a role in sexual intercourse as well, but there is a fundamental difference: one who participates in sexual intercourse is relating to external reality. The sexual act, though selfish, at least requires a minimal redirection of psychic energy away from the self to someone else in reality.

What is the difference between someone who keeps his word and someone who is machalif b'diburo? To go back on one's word is to disregard social reality. A purely internal resolution has no objective reality. For example, if I resolve to floss every day and then retract my decision, I have done nothing more than alter my internal whims. But if I promise to lend money to a friend or to volunteer my services for a project, that promise becomes reality in the social world. People will act on the assumption that I meant what I said and will govern their own actions in accordance with my word. To retract from such a promise is to maintain that my desires override the expectations of others - that my internal whims are more real than the social reality of my commitments. (Note that the Sages are referring to the transgression of machalif b’diburo not referring to someone who is machalif b’diburo for practical reasons; obviously, a person who doesn’t fulfill his promise because he becomes sick or because of a death in the family is not guilty of the transgression of machalif b’diburo).

Now we are in a position to understand the common denominator of these three transgressions: Each is an act of turning away from the external world and embracing one's inner world as the true reality. Just as the masturbator turns to his inner fantasies for sexual stimulation, and the machalif b'diburo turns to his inner whims in order to shun social responsibility, so too, the oveid avodah zarah turns to his own desires, insecurities, and imagination as the source of his beliefs.

Indeed, the analogy carries over quite well. Avodah zarah may be described as masturbation of the soul - making recourse to one's inner world to derive certain pleasures and remove certain conflicts. Likewise, an oveid avodah zarah is machalif diburo shel ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu - favoring his own whims over the word of God.

This statement of the Sages supports a definition of avodah zarah that my Rebbi once gave: Avodah Zarah is relating to the products of the psyche as reality. In other words, avodah zarah has no basis in the real world. All ideas of avodah zarah can be traced back to the human psyche - never to the rational truths of science and philosophy.

According to this interpretation of the statement in Kallah Rabasi, the underlying evil of all three transgressions is the same. Each of these transgressions reinforces the false notion that the self is the ultimate reality: masturbation in the realm of pleasure, machalif b'diburo in the realm of justice and society, and avodah zarah in one's relationship with God.

Moreover, each of these sins will remove a person from perfection in their respective realms. Masturbation prevents a person from the highest level of pleasure: ahavas Hashem (love of God), which requires a total redirection of psychic energy away from the self to the wisdom of God. Machalif b'diburo prevents a person from reaching the level of justice, for justice requires us to abandon feelings egotistical superiority and to recognize the common nature of all humans. Lastly, avodah zarah prevents a person from relating to God, as is evident upon reflection.