ישעיהו, פרק מ״ד, פסוק כ׳

An idol worshipper often sinks into a deep internal blindness, entirely preventing him from seeing the lack of logic in his actions. He places his faith in worthless materials, unable to recognize the absurdity of bowing down to a statue he created himself. This misguided devotion is conceptually linked to interacting with ashes. The primary approach among commentators is that this represents a person engaging in something harmful and useless, much like a shepherd trying to feed his animals ashes instead of grass, or someone attempting to herd the wind [רד״ק, שד״ל, אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Others suggest a tragic irony: the fool takes a statue, half of which has already burned to ash, and crowns it to be his shepherd, leader, and provider [רש״י, מצודת דוד]. This relationship with ashes can also imply a misguided friendship, where a person bonds with an idol that is fundamentally nothing but ash [רש״י]. From a philosophical perspective, ash symbolizes the physical body that will eventually decompose. Thus, the sinner builds his life around temporary physical desires instead of nurturing his divine and intellectual soul [מלבי״ם].

This sad state of affairs stems from a deeply deceived and foolish heart. Internal mockery and deception incite the person, completely twisting his ability to think clearly [רש״י, מצודת ציון, רד״ק, אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This internal deception causes a severe deviation from the straight and proper path [אבן עזרא]. Ultimately, this mocking heart tricks a person into believing that he is actually inferior to a simple block of wood and stone, leading him to completely submit to it [מלבי״ם].

The destructive result of this twisted thinking is that the craftsman becomes so deeply entrenched in his error that he cannot break free to save himself. He never stops to pause and admit that the object he created with his own hands, which he physically holds, is an absolute lie and completely useless [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק, שד״ל]. Even though the falsehood is incredibly obvious, as if the lie itself were clearly carved into his own hand, people remain trapped in their blindness and continue to worship their idols [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].