Idolatry: Avodah Zarah
Question
Looking at different explanations regards Avodah Zarah, different/various forms of idolatry, I tried to sum things up, I tried to get to get a definition out of it based on their common denominator.
Avodah Zarah (strange service/worship);
The adjective in ‘strange service’ has two senses. One is the strangeness of the object toward which the service/worship is directed, not the ‘proper G-d’ but other ‘gods’. The other refers to the method of service/worship, strange in the sense one serves in a matter that is strange to the Torah, strange to the ‘proper’ way of service.
[which in essence could imply the belief in certain idea, image or object].
So we got a strange method of worship one the one hand and strange object of worship on the other. Is this what Avodah Zarah is? Or is there more to it? And secondly I would like to know what drives or causes a person to do Avodah Zarah in the first place; i.e. what lies at the core of it? Is there a reason why it’s so hard to serve the ‘proper’ G-d in a ‘proper’ way?