For the source text click/tap here: Avodah Zarah 2
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The prohibition against idol worship is the most stringent prohibition in the Torah. It encompasses all foreign worship of anything other than God, including all deities and idols, forces of nature, spiritual entities, and living creatures. The prohibition applies whether these are worshipped in place of God or in conjunction with Him.
It encompasses the worship of all deities, whether in the abstract or through the worship of images and representations. The Torah repeatedly adjures the Jewish people not to engage in idol worship. This prohibition appears in the Ten Commandments, where the Jews are cautioned: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3), and: “You shall not bow down to them nor serve them” (Exodus 20:5).