When Moses left the Israelites for too long, they made a new golden god out of their jewelry and prized possessions, giving burnt offerings to the glistening calf.
This Avodah Zarah (idol worship) made G-d and Moses infuriated, and the Israelites endured consequences. From this story, we learned about the great sin of Avodah Zarah in Judaism and used it as a warning.
Fast forward a couple of thousand years. University of Maryland students provide all sorts of offerings to Testudo, the university’s beloved mascot, every semester during final season in hopes of getting an A on their math final. People have given neon Subway signs, street signs, flat-screen TVs, traffic cones and every alcohol you can think of. In 2013, Testudo was even lit on fire, though I do wonder which god would appreciate that.
Testudo, though big and bronzed, differs from the iconic calf. However, the similarities in treatment towards these false gods can feel eerily all too familiar.
Is this tradition merely a school-spirited quirk, or could it be seen as Avodah Zarah?
Shira Bock, a sophomore bioengineering major, overheard Jewish boys saying a shehecheyanu, a sacred blessing of gratitude, to the 300-pound bronze tortoise statue that stands proudly outside Mckeldin Library.
“I just left the library and I…heard boys making a shehecheyanu to Testudo and then they’re like, ‘wait this is really [messed] up.,’” Bock said.
Odds are, these boys were saying shehecheyanu as a joke. However, if they did believe deep down that this prayer and empty apple juice box would assist their GPA, it is 100%, purebred Avodah Zarah.
The essence of Avodah Zarah, according to the Rambam, is accepting false gods as deities, and admiring them in thought. This notion, however, is mostly inapplicable when it comes to Testudo offerings because of a Tamudic concept called Rov, meaning majority.
Rov accepts the standard of the majority. So, since most people offer sacrifices to Testudo in a light-hearted, “schticky” way, the principle of Rov can be used to assume most items were not given under the pretenses of Avodah Zarah.
Some people bring couches and 75-inch flatscreen TVs to Testudo not because they put their all mighty trust in the tortoise but because it’s a funny, timeless tradition that makes finals day feel less like your final day.
College students would rather put their faith in an all-nighter and Celsius than an innate object.
