Bowing down is a form of worship, which the Torah decries (17:3): “And he went and
served alien gods and bowed down to them and to the sun and the moon and the heavenly
host, which I did not command (asher lo tzivisi).” The final phrase in this pasuk, however,
seems problematic. It could be interpreted as “which I did not command to come into
existence”. This would be an egregious misinterpretation suggesting that the heavenly bodies
have an existence independent of Hashem. The Gemora tells us (Megilla 9b) that in order to
avoid such a misinterpretation the Sages who translated the Torah for King Ptolemy rendered
it as “which I did not command to serve them (asher lo tzivisi le’ovdom)”. Nonetheless, the
phrase still remains problematic. Does the Torah have to tell us that Hashem did not command
us to bow down to the moon and the stars?
The phrase can be satisfactorily explained, says Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, as it appears in the
Torah without the addition the Sages inserted for the benefit of the Greek king. We find in the
Torah that a person should bow to a Tzaddik, as Ovadia bowed to Eliyohu (I Melochim 18:7).
Why is it permissible, even expected, to bow to a Tzaddik? It is because the Tzaddik, through
his fulfillment of the mitzvos, is the embodiment of the Torah, and bowing to him is a show of
respect to the Torah and to Hashem Himself.
We are forbidden, however, to bow down to the heavenly bodies “which I did not
command”, in other words, to which I gave no commandments. The heavenly bodies do not
fulfill the mitzvos of the Torah, and therefore, bowing down to them cannot be considered an
expression of respect for the Torah.
[Meoros Hatzadikim]
