> the gemara then reports that the highest level of baal peor worship was, sadly, demonstrated by a jew: > "but the jews were not that way... there was an incident involving savta ben elas who rented out his donkey to a gentile woman. when they reached peor she said to him, "wait here until i go in, [worship], and come out." after she came out he said to her, "you, too, wait for me until i go in, [worship], and come out." she asked him, "but aren't you a jew?" he responded, "that's none of your business." he went in, defecated in its face, and wiped himself on its nose, causing the priests to praise him saying, "we've never seen anyone worship like this before!"." > those who learn these facts about baal peor for the first time are likely to react by falling to their knees, gazing heavenward with outspread palms, and exclaiming, "whyyyy????" > as "civilized westerners" with "modern sensibilities" it is difficult enough to relate to the standard modes of avodah zarah, such as bowing down to a statue or offering incense and libations - but at least we can understand the appeal in such rituals. baal peor, on the other hand, runs contrary to all of our common-sense assumptions about religion, both modern and primitive. to my knowledge, human feces is regarded as repulsive across all cultures and time periods. the notion of a religion built around bowel movements strikes us as absurd
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