| Brief description: |
Not to pave a floor with decorated stones for bowing upon during religious services, nor to bow all the way down to the ground on any stone-paved floor, even to worship the true G-d. Such head-to-the-ground bowing is done by Jews during the prayer services of Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), and is imitated by Muslims during their five daily prayers; however, Jews are careful only to do so on a carpet or towel, not directly on the stone floor itself (Muslims have imitated this practice, too, with their prayer rugs). Because idol worshipers made a custom of paving their temple floors with ornate stones upon which to bow to their false gods, Torah Law forbids making such a religious, stone-paved floor for bowing even in the absence of idol, so as not to resemble the pagan customs in any way. |
Sources explaining relevance to gentiles:
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- Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:2
All idolatry-related offenses forbidden for Jews, even without death penalty, are also prohibited to gentiles; non-idolatrous pillars, asheirah trees, and sculptures are explicitly mentioned.
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