Burning Incense to his Friend
There’s an interesting variant on Sanhedrin 65a, which I think is quite unlikely, but still worth noting. The gemara reads:
אֲמַר לֵיהּ רָבָא: מְקַטֵּר לַשֵּׁד – עוֹבֵד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הוּא! אֶלָּא, אָמַר רָבָא: בִּמְקַטֵּר לְחַבָּר.
Rava said to Ulla: One who burns incense to a demon is an idol worshipper, which is already mentioned in the mishna in Karetot. Rather, Rava says: The mishna there is referring to one who burns incense to the demons not as a form of worship but as a manner of sorcery, in order to gather the demons, i.e., to bring them to one place.
אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי: הַמְקַטֵּר לְחַבָּר – חוֹבֵר חָבֵר הוּא.
Abaye said to Ulla: One who burns incense to the demons in order to gather them is considered a charmer, whom the Torah relates to with a distinct prohibition (see Deuteronomy 18:11), which is not punishable by karet.
אִין, וְהַתּוֹרָה אָמְרָה: חוֹבֵר זֶה בִּסְקִילָה.
Rava responded: Yes, such a person is also considered a charmer, but the Torah states that this particular charmer, who gathers demons, is included in the category of a necromancer, and therefore he is executed by stoning, and karet applies as well.
(Does Abaye really speak to Ulla here, not Rava?_
The interpretation of הַמְקַטֵּר לְחַבָּר is that, unlike the initial purpose of burning incense to a shed / demon as worship, Abaye speaks of burning incense in order to gather those same demons. The gemara does not say “to the demons”, just the translation. And לְחַבָּר is a verb, not a noun, “in order to accomplish gathering”. Such a person who does this is indeed חוֹבֵר חָבֵר (I would say chover chever with two segols), though this is effectively a magician.
However, Yad HaRav Herzog manuscript (לחברו) and the Klosterneuburg fragment (לחבירו / לחבריה) make it into burning incense to his friend.
That’s interesting, and is word play in the derasha — taking chaver as friend instead of this sort of charmer.
The idea of worshiping a human being is certainly something discussed in Sanhedrin. For instance, on Sanhedrin 61b, we have one who incites people to worship him. With the gemara saying that people agreeing to do so might be merely humoring him, since why is he any better than they are?
רַב יוֹסֵף אָמַר: תַּנָּאֵי שָׁקְלַתְּ מֵעָלְמָא? תַּנָּאֵי הִיא, דְּתַנְיָא: הָאוֹמֵר ״בּוֹאוּ וְעִבְדוּנִי״ – רַבִּי מֵאִיר מְחַיֵּיב, וְרַבִּי יְהוּדָה פּוֹטֵר.
Rav Yosef said: This answer is unnecessary; have you removed the tanna’im from the world? It is a dispute between tanna’im, as it is taught in a baraita: In the case of one who says: I am a god; come and worship me, Rabbi Meir deems him liable for incitement to idol worship, and Rabbi Yehuda deems him exempt.