Q. 2. Are we allowed to have sculptures of humans, animals displayed in our homes?
A. Oz Nidberu (59) permits using mannequins for the display of clothes in stores. He quotes the Chochmas Odom (25: 6) that maintains that in our days when it is not common to worship statues, sculptures or figures, there is no suspicion that one may be engaged in avoda zara, and it is permitted to keep them.
However, he mentions that because the severity of the original prohibitions involved and also the Cabalistic issues concerned, many accustom to make an indentation, notch or cut on the statue or mannequin. (Pischei Teshuva Y.D. 141: 6, Ya’aros Devash 1: 2- Afarkast Deanya Y.D. 151 et. al., See also Yalkut Yosef 140,in regards to Suka decorations, where he quotes opinions that maintain even photographs are not proper)
Hoarv Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is similar to the Chochmas Odom.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit’a
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