Torah Portion: Yisro
Do not have any other gods before Me (Shemos 20:3).
It is a negative commandment that we not believe in any god other than Hashem alone, as it says, Do not have any other gods before Me (Shemos 20:3) — that is, “do not believe in any divinity other than Me.” This commandment is a fundamental principle of the Torah upon which everything depends. Our Sages thus said: “whoever accepts idol-worship, it is as though he denied the entire Torah.”
The root of this commandment is obvious and well-known.
An example of this precept is that which the Sages said, that one who accepts any creature as a deity — even if he acknowledges that Hashem rules over that created thing and its power — transgresses “Do not have” etc.
This commandment applies to both men and woman, in all places and at all times.