You shall walk after Hashem your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cling to him.
This possuk interrupts the Parsha of the false Navi. Between the prohibition against listening to him and the punishment he deserves, the Torah pushes in this command about how to live with Hashem. Why did the Torah not wait until after the next possuk?
The length and breadth of the Mitzvos of this Possuk also requires an explanation. Why did the Torah command all of these Mitzvos in this place?
The Ohr Hachaim explains that the rules of Avodas Hashem are crucial to understanding the prohibition against listening to a false Navi, even if he only attempts to stop a person from fulfilling one aveira. Even if he wants us to do a Mitzvah, but to use it as a service to an idol, we must put him to death and not listen to his words or be fearful of his threats and powers.
The first element of the service of Hashem is אחרי ה' אלוקיכם תלכו – you shall follow Hashem. This means that we must accept the yoke of Shamayim on our shoulders, and not follow any other power or deity.
This teaches us that if the Navi asks the people to accept the sovereignty of any other power, he is guilty of enticing the people to idol worship. The possuk carefully tells us that we should walk after Hashem. This means that even though the prophet was not demanding that we transfer to the worship of a foreign deity, we should not even walk in another path that could lead to idol worship. Even if the Navi only demanded something that slightly veered from the Torah, he is liable for the death penalty just for talking like that.
The Torah continues: ואותו תיראו – and Him you shall fear – to emphasize that the only One a person need and may fear is Hashem. A person must not be afraid of any other so-called power in this universe. The Torah implies that even if the false Navi does not suggest you worship or sacrifice to any other power but only ‘fear’ it, he has thereby become guilty of the death penalty. One must only fear the one Hashem.
The next exhortation is, ואת מצותיו תשמרו – and His commandments you shall observe," i.e. it is only His commandments that you should observe. Those that are made by a false deity should not be observed. This is teaching us a new level in the prohibition against idol worship. If a false Navi were to tell a person that he should work in a certain industry, because he will be successful there, he may not listen at all. He must ignore him totally, and listen only to Hashem. Although the act itself has no connotation of worship you must not do it as you must not take orders from anyone but Hashem.
The Torah goes on to say ובקולו תשמעו – and you shall hearken to His voice, to remind you that you are to listen only to the lessons revealed in the Torah and to teach these holy words. You are not to listen to words spoken by the Avodah Zarah. If the false Navi claims to have been instructed by Hashem to listen to what such a deity has to say, he is guilty of saying false prophecy even though he does not perform a deed or even fears the deity in any way.
The next command is ואותו תעבדו – and Him you shall serve. The correct way to read this is ‘and only Him you shall serve’. It is insufficient to serve Hashem; a person must serve Him exclusively.
The Gemara tells the story of Chanah and her seven sons who were killed al kidush Hashem. When the Emperor of Rome threatened their lives if they did not worship his idols, they all willingly gave up their lives for Hashem’s sake. The Emperor eventually turned to the seventh, and youngest, son. He was a mere child, and the Emperor thought he would trick him into acquiescence. He dropped his ring on the floor and asked the boy to lift it up and give it to him. The boy would claim he was helping the king, and the king could save face and show his courtiers that the child was bowing to the idol. The onlookers would gain the impression that he had performed an act of obeisance though, in his heart, he had not meant to do this at all. The son refused and was killed for that refusal. Even if a person’s heart would be for Hashem, idol worship is forbidden, and if a false Navi were to tell a person to pretend to worship an idol, he must refuse, and the Navi is to be killed.
The Torah then says ובו תדבקון - and you are to cleave to Him. The Gemara asks about this possuk – how is it possible for a person to cleave to Hashem? A human is physical and Hashem has no physical form. The Gemara answers that a person must cleave to Talmidei Chachamim, as they are the bearers of the Shechinah. By cleaving to Torah scholars, one is considered as having attached oneself to Hashem.
With these exhortations, a person will totally cleanse himself from any connection to Avoda Zara, and he will not fall prey to those who would persuade him to follow strange idols.
