In this week’s parsha we find the issur of molech, which the penalty for doing is missah. Some meforshim say that molech is not just waving your child over a fire, but also actually putting your child into the fire as a sacrifice.
The three aveiros that one must give up his life for are giloy arayos, shfichas damim, and avodah zarah. If one comes up to you and says do one of these three aveiros or I will kill you one must give up his life.
My father suggested why molech is a terrible act. He explained that “the big three”, giloy arayos, shfichas damim, and avodah zarah all are included in this one aveira.
Molech is a form of avodah zarah, because the parent is bringing their child as a sacrifice. It also encompasses the aviera of shfichas damim, because according to some the parent would actually drop the child into the fire. Molech is also the aveira of giloy arayos, because it is a form of wasting seed. Because when you kill your child, you are in affect killing seed that you used to create him.
What is the common theme between these three aveiros? perhaps one similar thread between all of them is that all the aveiros have to do with the instincts of man. Giloy arayos is ones sexual drive, shifichas damim is a person’s instinct of aggression, and avodah zarah is man’s instinct of being dependent on someone. One of the reasons that people practice avodah zarah is that they want to feel like they have dependency. This dependency is psychologically comforting, because if something goes right you can praise your god, if something goes wrong you can be mad at it, and you can pray for the god to help you, as opposed to everything being completely random.
