דברים, פרק ל״ב, פסוק ט״ז

The betrayal of the Israelites unfolds as a tragic, two-fold rebellion involving both spiritual abandonment and grievous actions. This profound disloyalty naturally provokes a severe response from God, characterized by intense anger and jealousy. In this context, jealousy represents a reaction to a violated right and a direct offense to His honor, much like an individual rising to avenge their desecrated dignity [רש"י, מזרחי, רש"ר הירש, ביאור יש"ר]. The Israelites sparked this reaction by directing their worship toward foreign entities. This choice highlights the deep absurdity of their behavior, as they pledged their loyalty to gods that were completely alien to them and to basic common sense—empty idols that had never provided them any benefit [בכור שור, רש"ר הירש, ביאור יש"ר].

The rebellion deepened through the commission of abominable acts, an element of the betrayal that commentators understand in two distinct ways. One approach maintains that these acts refer strictly to the idolatry itself and its associated repulsive rituals, such as the worship of demons and the burning of children [אבן עזרא, רמב"ן, מלבי"ם, ביאור יש"ר]. [רמב"ן] insists that the surrounding context focuses entirely on the sin of idolatry, leaving no room for alternative interpretations. Conversely, many commentators understand these abominations as severe moral and social violations, specifically pointing to robbery, witchcraft, and forbidden sexual acts [רש"י, דעת זקנים, בכור שור, אדרת אליהו]. Bridging these two perspectives, some suggest that the moral decay was not merely a byproduct of idolatry, but rather its primary motivation. The Israelites intentionally turned to empty idols and cast off their spiritual responsibilities specifically to permit themselves public moral depravity [רש"ר הירש].

The dual nature of this betrayal reflects a broader structural meaning. While some view the descriptions of foreign worship and abominations as poetic parallelism, simply using different concepts to describe the exact same idolatrous practices [נתינה לגר], others see a clear escalation of sin. In this view, the Israelites first abandoned God in favor of foreign beliefs, and then compounded their offense by acting with malicious intent, performing particularly ugly deeds designed specifically to anger Him. This tragic downward spiral ultimately caused the Divine Presence to depart from Israel [ספורנו, העמק דבר, מלבי"ם].