Sanhedrin 60B

מתני׳ העובד עבודה זרה: אחד העובד, ואחד המזבח, ואחד המקטר, ואחד המנסך, ואחד המשתחוה, ואחד המקבלו עליו לאלוה, והאומר לו ״אלי אתה״.

Mishnah: One who worships idols is executed by stoning. This includes one who worships an idol, and one who slaughters an animal as an idolatrous offering, and one who burns incense as an idolatrous offering, and one who pours a libation in idol worship, and one who bows to an idol, and one who declares that he accepts an idol upon himself as a god, and one who says to an idol: You are my god.

אבל המגפף, והמנשק, והמכבד, והמרבץ, והמרחץ, והסך, והמלביש, והמנעיל ⁠– עובר בלא תעשה. הנודר בשמו, והמקיים בשמו ⁠– עובר בלא תעשה.

But with regard to one who hugs an idol, or one who kisses it, or one who cleans it, or one who sprays water before it, or one who washes it, or one who rubs it with oil, or one who dresses it, or one who puts its shoes on it, he transgresses a prohibition but is not liable to receive capital punishment. With regard to one who vows in an idol’s name and one who affirms his statement by an oath in its name, he transgresses a prohibition.

הפוער עצמו לבעל פעור ⁠– זו היא עבודתה. הזורק אבן למרקוליס ⁠– זו היא עבודתה.

One who defecates before the idol known as Ba’al-Peor is liable to receive capital punishment, even though defecating is a degrading act, as that is its form of worship. Likewise, one who throws a stone at Mercury is liable to receive capital punishment, as that is its form of worship.

גמ׳ מאי ״אחד העובד״?

Talmud: What is added in the Mishnah by stating the phrase: One who worships? Since worship is the general description of all the actions detailed in the Mishnah, why is this phrase necessary?

אמר רבי ירמיה: הכי קאמר, אחד העובד כדרכה, ואחד המזבח, ואחד המקטר, ואחד המנסך, ואחד המשתחוה, ואפילו שלא כדרכה.

R' Yirmeya says that this is what the Mishnah is saying: One who worships an idol in its typical manner of worship is liable to be executed; and furthermore, one who slaughters an animal as an idolatrous offering, and one who burns incense, and one who pours a libation, and the one who bows to an idol are all liable to be executed, and this applies even if this manner of worship is not the idol’s typical manner of worship. Even if the idol in question is not typically worshipped in these ways, these specific acts are still considered idol worship because these are the ways in which God is worshipped in the Temple.