The Rambam's Fifth Principle - Part 2

In part one of this series, I set out to demonstrate the differing opinions of the Rambam and Rav Sherira Gaon with respect to the permissibility of praying to מלאכים, or even just using them as intermediaries between ourselves and God. Rav Sherira Gaon maintains that מלאכים have free will, and as such, one may make certain requests of them. The Rambam vehemently disagrees, and considers one of the fundamental principles of Judaism that it is forbidden to address prayers to any being besides God. (The Rambam does ascribe some sort of free will to מלאכים, see מורה נבוכים חלק ב' פרק ד. Perhaps I will post about this in the future. Nevertheless, he maintains that it is forbidden to pray to them, the reasons of which will follow.)

As to why the Rambam considers this principle to be so important, I have already cited the view of R' Yitzchak Abarbanel (ראש אמנה פרק יב), that directing prayers to God alone, and not through the medium of מלאכים or other intermediaries, underscores three fundamental ideas:

• There is no comparison between God's existence and the existence of the celestial beings - the latter follow their inherent nature and do not have any personal free will (with regard to what exactly that means, see מורה נבוכים שם), whereas God is the Ultimate פועל המציאות, creating and destroying at will. 
• God is the בעל היכולת, of which there is no other like Him in the universe. The ability to answer prayers rests solely in the "hands of God", and it therefore only makes sense to pray directly to Him, and not via any intermediaries. (Lest you interject - but maybe we, as mere mortals, are not worthy of addressing God directly, and therefore we need to make use of מלאכים. I already explained this when I spoke at the Young Israel of Riverdale. If you were not there, you will need to wait until I get around to writing about נבואה.) 
• The divine providence granted to the Jewish nation differs greatly from that of the nations of the world. Each nation has been delegated a "שר הממונה עליהם" - a מלאך that is in charge of their affairs. The Jewish nation, on the other hand, is placed directly under the providence of God. 

According to Abarbanel, because of these fundamental ideas that are essentially encapsulated in the Rambam's fifth principle, it is fitting to be included in the 13 principles of faith. However, I believe that a reading of the Rambam's words in הלכות עבודה זרה will add to our understanding of the importance of the fifth principle.

רמב"ם פ"א מהל' עבודה זרה ה"א וז"ל בימי אנוש טעו בני האדם טעות גדולה, ונבערה עצת חכמי אותו הדור, ואנוש עצמו מן הטועים. וזו היתה טעותם. אמרו הואיל והאל ברא כוכבים אלו וגלגלים להנהיג את העולם ונתנם במרום וחלק להם כבוד, והם שמשים המשמשים לפניו, ראויים הם לשבחם ולפארם ולחלוק להם כבוד. וזהו רצון האל ברוך הוא לגדל ולכבד מי שגדלו וכבדו, כמו שהמלך רוצה לכבד עבדיו והעומדים לפניו וזה הוא כבודו של מלך. כיון שעלה דבר זה על לבם התחילו לבנות לכוכבים היכלות ולהקריב להם קרבנות ולשבחם ולפארם בדברים ולהשתחוות למולן כדי להשיג רצון הבורא בדעתם הרעה. וזה היה עיקר עבודה זרה כו' עכ"ל.

"In the days of Enosh the people had made a grave error... They said, 'because God created the stars and spheres in order to control the the universe, and he put them in the lofty [heavens] and accorded them honour, and they are like servants before Him, it is proper to praise and give honour to them... similar to a king who wishes to honour his servants... for this is the honour of the king.' Once these thoughts had entered their hearts, the people began to build sanctuaries for the stars, and to bring sacrifices before them... And this is the foundation of Avoda Zara"

The Rambam, in these words, has set down for us his impetus for counting the prohibition of directing prayers to מלאכים and the like as one of the fundamental principles of Judaism. Regardless of the good intentions of those who pray to מלאכים, ultimately, it bears credence to עבודה זרה. Or, to be more accurate, it is the essential foundation for all עבודה זרה. 

R' Yosef Albo, in the beginning of ספר העיקרים, is mystified - why did the Rambam count praying to מלאכים as an עיקר? Granted, he says, it is certainly included in לא יהיה לך אלהים אחרים, but why should it be considered one of the fundamental principles of faith? In light of these words of the Rambam, it is quite the opposite - we are not dealing with a מצות לא תעשה that was "mistakenly" counted as an עיקר - rather, the very לאו of לא יהיה לך is defined by the יסוד החמישי. Addressing prayers to מלאכים does not merely lead to עבודה זרה - it is עבודה זרה.

It was pointed out to me that the Rambam takes this one step further, when discussing the confrontation between אברהם אבינו and his opponents:

רמב"ם פ"א מהל' עבודה זרה ה"ג וז"ל שאין ראוי לעבוד אלא לאלוה העולם ולו ראוי להשתחוות ולהקריב ולנסך כדי שיכירוהו כל הברואים הבאים, וראוי לאבד ולשבר כל הצורות כדי שלא יטעו בהן כל העם כמו אלו שהם מדמים שאין שם אלוה אלא אלו עכ"ל.

"For it is only proper to serve the God of the universe. To Him it is proper to bow and sacrifice and pour [wine libations] in order for all the creations to recognize Him. And it is proper to destroy all of the forms [idols] in order that people should not err, like those who think there is no god but these [idols]"

Here we find two dimensions to the argument of אברהם אבינו. First, it is necessary to destroy all remnants of foreign gods, in order that people should not stray from the true path. However, besides for this, we are taught one more thing worth thinking about - the reason we serve Hashem, is to recognize Him. We don't offer sacrifices because God likes the way they smell and taste, and He doesn't care for our wine either. We serve God because the only way for man to connect to God is through serving Him. And that's why we are commanded to refrain from setting up intermediaries - because otherwise our connection to God would no longer be direct.