Episode Details

Any of the otherwise innocuous actions (hugging, kissing, washing, etc.) are problematic with regard to an idol, and incur flogging/lashes. But taking an oath in the name of the idolatry, for example, does not get lashes, even though it's a violation of a negative commandment, because it doesn't have a physical action that is necessary for the punishment of lashes to be incurred. Which isn't to say that taking an oath in the name of an idol is acceptable -- to the extent that one should not utter the name of these foreign gods, lest one be an instigator to idolatry (which causes others to name the idolatry too). Plus, the implications of the status of a "zav," which is determined by the amount of emission and called with a word associated with an idolatry.