Maimonides-Molech   Moshe Ben-Chaim       In Maimonides' work, the Sefer haMitzvos (the Book of Commands) he classifies the 613 Positive and Negative commands. In the second section on Negative Commands, he commences with formulations of idolatrous prohibitions: "And the The first command of the negative commands is that we are warned not to believe in gods other than God.... And the second command is that we are warned not to make idols to worship....And the third command is that we are warned not to make idols for others....And the forth command is that we are warned not to make forms of animals from wood, stone or metal...".   But when Maimonides comes to the seventh command, regarding Molech, he writes, "And the seventh command is that we are warned not to give a little of our seed to the worshiped (thing) that was famous at the time of the giving of the Torah, that its name was Molech." Why such a lengthy description in contrast to the other commands? Why not simply say "..that we are warned not to give a little of our seed to Molech"? If that was the practice, then that should comprise the entire formulation of the prohibition. What does Molech's fame at Sinai have to do with its inherent prohibition? Let us assume that Molech was not famous at Sinai, does Maimonides' mean to say that it would not be prohibited? Clearly this cannot be. Such a practice of passing one's child through fire - certainly if the child was to be burned - is definitely contrary to Torah, and even without fame, prohibited in nature. (Burning children is prohibited by many verses.) What does Maimonides mean to teach by his precise formulation? What does Sinai have to do with Molech? Additionally, if another practice was famous during Revelation at Sinai - and Molech was not - would Maimonides apply his formulation there, instead of applying it to Molech? It would seem so.   True, many other practices are prohibited, and assume forces outside of God, or they assume that there are sub-deities. However, it appears that Maimonides concludes that Molech is unique: It stands in direct contrast to God's Revelation at Sinai, and carries a unique new quality. Molech was popular during Revelation. Those who worshiped it then, or who worship it today, possess a unique corruption. What is it? Not only does a Molech practitioner subscribe to foolish beliefs, but additionally, he commits the following crime: He demonstrates that the Sinaic, absolute proof of God's existence is not within his "radar". He does not operate with the basic tools reason. This is the unique crime of Molech.   Sinai was orchestrated to act as a solid proof for God's existence. One who follows Molech, which was popular at Sinai's era, has thereby made a selection of "something instead of Sinai." This is not so in connection with other practices, such as classical idolatry. With serving Molech, man clearly shows his inability to comprehend an absolute truth, via the absolute proof of Sinai. Such behavior is a sign of a man who is furthest from reality. Yes, when one serves an idol, he is corrupt, but he is not demonstrating a denial of Sinai. He is not saying, "my mind is useless in the most apparent of truths." Molech worship does say this.   This is what I believe to be Maimonides' concept. He means to teach that Molech worship contains this additional feature: Absence of the most fundamental reasoning. Such a person has reached a qualitatively new level of philosophical corruption, more than one who prostrates himself to a stone god. In the latter case, one may simply be pulled by an emotion, but if confronted with the proof of Sinai, he would not deny it. Molech worshipers display a mind bereft of base functionality.   In the most extreme contrast, how fortunate are we to have the Torah and teachers who continue to open our eyes to delightful marvels. May we be enabled by these teachers, to do the same for others. Shavuos celebrates the initial step in the transmission of Torah ideas. Continue to learn deeply, patiently, earnestly, and with great honesty and humility. Crystallize your ideas, and continue Shavuos' theme by sharing your ideas with others.