Avodah Zarah 13: גּוֹי שֶׁעָשָׂה מִשְׁתֶּה לִבְנוֹ

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Among the things that the Mishna prohibits selling to a pagan idol worshiper are:

itzterubalin – pinecones

benot shuaḥ – white figs

petotarot­ – stems (of the abovementioned itzterubalin and benot shuaḥ, which were hung by their stems in front of the idol)

levona ­- frankincense

tarnegol lavan­ -a white rooster

All of these are forbidden to be sold since a Jew is not allowed to assist a non-Jew in performing pagan idol worship. As one of the seven Noaḥide laws, such worship is prohibited to the non-Jew, and therefore forbidden to the Jew because of lifnei iver lo titen mikhshol – the prohibition against putting a stumbling block before the blind (see Lev. 19:14).

We explore the mythic history of the white rooster.

Avodah Zarah 12: יְהוּדִי שֶׁנִּמְצָא שָׁם מָה יַעֲשֶׂה

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Aside from actual idol worship, it is also forbidden to engage in activities that will appear as if a person was bowing down before an idol. Based on this concept, the Gemara on today’s daf quotes a baraita that teaches that if someone drops coins in front of an idol he should not bend over to pick them up, if it appears as though he is bowing to the idol. Similarly, if a public drinking fountain is built with a face so that the water flows from its mouth, a person may not place his mouth on the mouth of the figure in order to drink, since it appears as if he is kissing the idol.

This water fountain was in use in Pompeii during the time of the Mishna. In many places in the ancient world – and in some places to this day – it was common for public drinking fountains to be built for general use. Sometime these fountains were simple pipes, but in many places the mouth of the fountain was made into shapes, oftentimes in the figure of a face. While most of these decorative features were made simply to beautify the public area, occasionally the faces were those of idols. This led to a concern lest drinking directly from such fountains may appear to be kissing an idol, which would be forbidden.

Avodah Zarah 11: לֹא חַשּׁוּ לָהֶם חֲכָמִים

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A city in which there is idol worship, outside of it, it is permitted to conduct business. If there was idol worship outside of it, it is permitted within. May one go to a place where an idolatrous festival is taking place? Should the road lead only to that place, it is forbidden; if one could go by this road to another place, it is permitted.

The Gemora asks: What does the Mishna mean when it states, “outside of the city”? Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said in the name of Rabbi Chanina: It is referring to the meat market (which was located in close proximity to the) outside of Azza. Some say that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish asked Rabbi Chanina: What is the law regarding the meat markets outside of Azza? Rabbi Chanina replied: Did you never go to Tzur and see a Jew and idolater cooking two separate pots on a stove? The sages did not worry about this.

We explore the notion of Marit Ayin and further the talmudic ambivalence to greco-roman iconography.

Avodah Zarah 10: אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַנְטוֹנִינוּס לְרַבִּי

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In the context of defining the term Yom Geinuseya shel Melakhim, which is ultimately understood as the day that the rule of the Roman leader was established, the Gemara on today’s daf tells of the close relationship between Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (Rabbi) and the Roman emperor Antoninus. According to the opening story, Antoninus turned to Rabbi for advice on how to establish his son as his successor, something that was unusual in a political reality where the Senate chose the leader and generally refused to have a son follow his father as emperor. In the continuation of the stories of their relationship, the Gemara describes how Antoninus had a secret tunnel erected between their houses so that he could visit and serve Rabbi.

Avodah Zarah 9: שֵׁשֶׁת אֲלָפִים שָׁנָה הָוֵי הָעוֹלָם

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Our daf brings a teaching from Tanna deVei Eliyahu:

The world will last for six thousand years –

Two thousand of tohu (waste)

Two thousand years of Torah

Two thousand years of Messianic times.

The tanna continues that due to our sins we have already lost some of the years of Messianic times, since mashi’aḥ has not yet come.

Rashi explains that this exposition is based on the model of the days of a week (as in the passage in Sefer Tehillim 90:4), where each day represents one thousand years. The seventh day – Shabbat – parallels the thousand years of aḥarit ha-yamim – the End of Days – a period of peace and tranquility on earth. The two thousand years of Messianic times is the time period during which mashi’aḥ has the potential to arrive, although he can arrive at any point during that time.

We explore Rabbinic Chronology, Astronomical Knowledge, and Historical Consciousness in Light of Modern Scholarship

Avodah Zarah 8: אָחוֹר וָקֶדֶם צַרְתָּנִי

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When Adam the first man saw the days decreasing in winter, he said, "Woe is to me! This is the death that has been decreed upon me!" He then engaged in fasting and prayer for eight days. When after winter solstice he saw that the days began increasing, he said, "This is the way of the world!" and established eight days of festivities. The following year he established both eight-day periods as festival days. Although he intended for the sake of Heaven, later generations dedicated them for the sake of idolatry.

We explore these Adam stories across various rabbinic genres.

Avodah Zarah 7: נוֹצְרִי, לְדִבְרֵי רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל לְעוֹלָם אָסוּר

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An even stricter prohibition of business before idolatrous festivities belongs to Rabbi Ishmael - three days before and three days after. According to him, doing business with the worshippers of the Sun, who dedicated every Sunday to the God of Sun, is always prohibited.

Our new Mishnah

Rabbi Ishmael states that not only is it forbidden to make transactions with non-Jews during the three days before a pagan holiday but it is also forbidden during the three days following the holiday. In the Palestinian Talmud two potential reasons are given for Rabbi Ishmael’s statement. The first is that non-Jews continue to celebrate for three days after their holidays are over and therefore these three days are also forbidden. The second is that if the non-Jew knows that he will not be able to conduct business with the Jew after his holiday, he will be depressed during his holiday and he will engage in less idol worship.

Avodah Zarah 6: קָלֶנְדָּא, סְטָרוּנְיָיא, וּקְרָטֵסִים

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According to the Mishna (2a) it is forbidden to do business with non-Jewish idol worshippers for three days prior to their holidays.

What are these pagan holidays?

The Gemara on today’s daf quotes a baraita that mentions three holidays: Kalenda, Saturnalia and Kratesis.

Rav Ḥanin bar Rava explains that Kalenda refers to the holiday that is celebrated for eight days following the winter solstice, while Saturnalia is the eight day festival that precedes it.

Kalenda or Calenda usually refers to the first day of the month according to the Roman calendar, but in our case the Sages are talking about the first day of the first month of the year – Kalendae Januirae – that is to say, the first day of the month of January. As the Gemara explains, the celebration of this festival began immediately following the winter solstice on December 22 and lasted for eight days. As part of the celebrations the Roman would bring sacrifices to the pagan gods and arrange for games and related activities at the circus.

Saturnalia became one of the most popular Roman festivals. It was marked by sacrifices to the god Saturn and general revelry that included reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters ostensibly switched places.

Avodah Zarah 5: עד שיכלו נשמות שבגוף

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Rish Lakish says: We must show gratitude towards our forefathers (the ones who sinned during the Golden Calf). If not for them, we would not have come into the world (for they would have been like angels, incapable of fathering children). This is as the verse says: I said you are angelic, sons of the Most High. However, you have corrupted (yourself with) your actions, and therefore you will die like a man.

The Gemora asks: This implies that if they would not have sinned, they would not have fathered children. Doesn’t the verse say: And you should be fruitful and multiply? [This is a Torah command!]

The Gemora answers: This only would have applied until the giving of the Torah. The Gemora asks: After the giving of the Torah the verse said: Go say to them, return to your tents(meaning that they could resume having relations with their wives)!?

We explore the sin of the golden calf it’s literary polemical and midrashic history.

Avodah Zarah 4: אֵין גֵּיהִנָּם לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא

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Rav Chinana bar Pappa explained contrasting verses: During a time of judgment (on the Jewish people), Hashem moderates His strength (for otherwise, they would be destroyed); but during a time of war (when He is defending the Jews), He uses the full extent of His power (to crush the enemy).

Rabbi Chama bar Chanina explained contrasting verses: When Hashem is dealing with the Jewish people, He does not show His wrath; however, with idolaters, he displays His wrath (to punish them). Rav Chinana bar Pappa explained differently: They are both dealing with the Jewish people. Hashem is saying, “Although I am full of wrath, I will deal with them as if I have no wrath.

And this (that He judges the other nations precisely) is like that which Rava said in his explanation of a Scriptural verse: The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to Israel: I do not judge you like I judge the idolaters, for you I punish like the pecking of a hen (a little bit at a time).

These discussions represents one of the most theologically dense treatments of divine anger and eschatological judgment in rabbinic literature. This passage, which serves as a primary interpretive lens for Malachi 3:19-20, deserves detailed analysis for its sophisticated integration of aggadic narrative, halakhic principles, and eschatological vision.

The relevant passage begins with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi's interpretation of Malachi 3:20: "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings." The Talmud presents this as referring to the same sun that will punish the wicked in the World to Come.

We explore divine anger fury and rabbinic vs kabbalistic solutions.

Avodah Zarah 3: ארץ יראה ושקטה

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“You caused sentence to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was silent”(Psalms 76:9)? If the earth feared, why was it silent, and if it was silent, why did it fear?One who is afraid does not stay silent, and one who remains silent thereby demonstrates that he is not afraid.

Rather, this is the meaning of the verse: At first, when God came to give the Torah to the Jewish people, the earth feared that they might not accept it, and it would be destroyed. This is alluded to by the phrase “You caused sentence to be heard.”

But ultimately, when the Jews accepted the Torah, the earth was silent. Consequently, heaven and earth are interested parties and cannot testify about the Jewish people’s commitment to the Torah.

The Talmudic interpretation of Psalms 76:9 in Tractate Avodah Zarah presents a remarkable theological paradox: the earth both fears and remains silent, creating what appears to be a logical contradiction.

The rabbis resolve this through a temporal narrative—the earth first feared Israel might reject the Torah, then fell silent upon their acceptance. This exegesis reveals profound philosophical implications about the nature of reality, divine-cosmic relationships, and the ontological status of the natural world within Jewish thought.

The anthropomorphic portrayal of earth as an interested party disqualified from testimony against Israel opens pathways into understanding how Talmudic theology conceives of nature not as inert matter, but as a conscious participant in the cosmic drama of revelation.

Avodah Zarah 2: כפה הקדוש ברוך הוא הר כגיגית על ישראל

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The prohibition against idol worship is the most stringent prohibition in the Torah. It encompasses all foreign worship of anything other than God, including all deities and idols, forces of nature, spiritual entities, and living creatures. The prohibition applies whether these are worshipped in place of God or in conjunction with Him.

It encompasses the worship of all deities, whether in the abstract or through the worship of images and representations. The Torah repeatedly adjures the Jewish people not to engage in idol worship. This prohibition appears in the Ten Commandments, where the Jews are cautioned: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3), and: “You shall not bow down to them nor serve them” (Exodus 20:5).

Shavuot 49: אַרְבָּעָה שׁוֹמְרִין הֵן

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The first mishnah in the last chapter was taught in its entirety in Bava Metziah 7:8. It is repeated here as an opening to the rest of the chapter which discusses when a guardian is liable to bring a sacrifice for having sworn a false oath. There are certain types of guardians who under circumstances if not able to return the object under their guard may take an oath and thereby exempt themselves from having to pay back the owner. Our chapter will teach that they are liable to bring a sacrifice only if they take an oath that exempted them from paying back the owner. The type of oath described here is an “oath of deposit”, discussed above in chapter five. The punishment for intentionally swearing a false oath of deposit is a guilt offering.

According to the Torah (Ex 22:6-12), the level of responsibility for which a shomer – someone who accepts responsibility to guard his friend’s object – is liable, depends on the personal gain that the shomer receives. The Mishna on our daf enumerates four types of shomrim and their level of responsibility. They include:

A shomer ḥinam (unpaid bailee) – who does not derive any personal gain or benefit from watching the object. In the event that the shomer ḥinam performs his duty responsibly and the object is lost or stolen, he can take an oath that he guarded it properly and he will be free of any further responsibility (see Shemot 22:6-7).

A sho’el (borrower) – who borrows the object for his own use, without payment. He is responsible for anything that happens to the animal and will have to pay full restitution to the owner (see Shemot 22:13). Only if the animal died in the course of normal work will he be free of responsibility to pay, if he takes an oath that that is what happened.

A shomer sakhar (paid bailee) – who gets paid for watching the object, and

A sokher (renter) – who pays rent to use the object.

Shavuot 48: יָפֶה כֹּחַ הַבֵּן מִכֹּחַ הָאָב

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Rav Shemaya said: The mishna is in accordance with Rav and Shmuel’s ruling because it teaches the administration of an oath disjunctively. The heirs can administer an oath to her when she is receiving payment of her marriage contract as a widow, or they can administer an oath to her heirs when she is a divorcée who died after the divorce and before her husband died. Since she died first, her heirs were not bequeathed an oath to her husband’s heirs.

Rav Natan bar Hoshaya raises an objection from a baraita: Sometimes the power of the son is greater than the power of the father,

יָפֶה כֹּחַ הַבֵּן מִכֹּחַ הָאָב

How can a legal system maintain fidelity to its foundational sources while adapting to new circumstances and evolving moral sensibilities? This question haunts both secular legal theory and religious jurisprudence, manifesting in debates about constitutional interpretation, the role of precedent, and the nature of legal authority itself (3,4).

The Talmudic principle "יָפֶה כֹּחַ הַבֵּן מִכֹּחַ הָאָב" (the strength of the son is greater than that of the father) offers a unique lens through which to examine this paradox. Far from being merely a technical rule of halakhic interpretation, this principle embodies a sophisticated understanding of how legal systems evolve through what we might call "generative fidelity"—a process by which later developments not only remain faithful to their sources but actually enhance and fulfill them.

Shavuot 47: שְׁבֻעַת ה׳ תִּהְיֶה בֵּין שְׁנֵיהֶם

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Shimon ben Tarfon says: With regard to the prohibition of following after an adulterer,i.e., providing him with assistance in carrying out adultery, from where is it derived? The verse states:

“You shall not commit adultery [lo tinaf ]” (Exodus 20:13). If the verse is vocalized slightly differently, it may be read: You shall not cause adultery [lo tanif ].

Commenting on the verse describing the response of the Jewish people to the spies’ slander of Eretz Yisrael: “And you murmured [vatteragenu] in your tents and said: Because the Lord hated us, He has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us” (Deuteronomy 1:27), Shimon ben Tarfon says:“Teragenu” is interpreted as though it is composed of two Hebrew expressions: You explored [tartem] the land, and: You disparaged [ginnitem] it, in the tent of the Omnipresent.

A King’s Servant Is Like the King

“If you touch someone anointed with oil, you will also be anointed.” With this statement Shimon ben Tarfon explains why the Torah defines the Euphrates as “the big river” (Deut. 1:7) despite its relative smallness (Rashi, Gen 15:18), because it borders on Eretz Yisroel. On the other hand, according to Rabbi Yishmael, the Euphrates is called “big” because “a king’s servant is like the king.” In other words, the servant – the Euphrates – is regarded like the king – Eretz Yisroel.

We explore the issue of Critical Analysis of Hermeneutics of Subtlety and Wordplay and Rabbi Shimon ben Tarfon's Interpretive Method in Comparative Perspective.

Shavuot 46: ״אוֹכַל״ וְ״לֹא אוֹכַל״; ״אָכַלְתִּי״ וְ״לֹא אָכַלְתִּי״

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If witnesses testified about the injured person that he entered into the domain of the defendant whole, but left injured, the injured party may take an oath and receive compensation. Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: The Sages taught that he needs to take an oath in order to receive compensation only if he was injured in a place where he is able to injure himself, but if he was injured in a place where he is unable to injure himself, he receivescompensation without taking an oath.

The Gemara challenges: And let us be concerned that perhaps he scraped against a walland caused the injury himself. The Gemara explains: Rabbi Ḥiyya teaches that the mishna is referring to a case where, for example, he has a bite on his back or on his elbows, which must have been caused by someone else.

We explore the notion of personal injury and fraudulent claims.

Shavuot 45: לְהָפִיס דַּעְתּוֹ שֶׁל בַּעַל הַבַּיִת

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On yesterday’s daf, the beginning of a very long mishnah that continues most of the way down the first side of today’s daf stated that oaths required by Torah can exempt people from payment. By contrast, oaths instituted by the rabbis can compel a party to hand over property. The mishnah goes on to list a number of scenarios in which this can happen, including: a hired worker who sues his employer for unpaid wages (and then takes an oath and receives them), a victim of theft who sues the robber (and then takes an oath and recovers their stolen goods), someone who seeks compensation from another who injured them (who takes an oath and receives damages) and: “a storekeeper relying on his ledger.”

We explore the Talmudic principle of lehafis da’ato shel baal habayit (appeasing the homeowner) in its legal, ethical, and theological dimensions. Beginning with its appearances in Shavuot 45a, Pesachim 86b, and Berakhot 46a, we examine how this phrase operates within Halachic discourse to mediate between rigid legalism and social harmony.

Shavuot 44: כׇּל הַנִּשְׁבָּעִין שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה

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Although the only oaths that we find in the Torah are those that allow a defendant to swear and free himself from a monetary obligation (see Shemot 22:10), nevertheless the Sages of the Mishna established oaths that would allow a plaintiff to swear and by doing so, to receive payment. These oaths are described in Perek Kol HaNishba’im, the seventh chapter of Massekhet Shevuot, which begins on our daf.

There are a number of categories of people who are nishba ve-notel – who take an oath and collect their claim. One such situation is when there are raglayim la-davar – when there are strong reasons to think that the claim of the plaintiff has merit. Such cases include situations like an employee who claims his wages or a storekeeper whose records show that money is owed to him.

Shavuot 43: קַתָּא דְּמַגָּלָא

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We have already established that a modeh be-miktzat – a defendant who admits to part of a monetary claim made by the plaintiff – will have to pay what he admits that he owes, and in addition will have to take a Biblical oath that he does not owe the part that he denies.

According to the Mishna (42b) there are certain limitations to this rule. Specifically, it only applies to claims that are measurable by size, weight or amount. On our daf Rava adds that not only the claim made by plaintiff, but also the admission of the defendant must meet this requirement.

We explore Collateral Responsibility from Talmudic Law to Modern Secured Transactions.

Shavuot 42: חֲזָקָה אֵין אָדָם מֵעִיז פָּנָיו בִּפְנֵי בַּעַל חוֹבוֹ

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The Gemara answers:Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov and the Rabbis disagree with regard to the statement of Rabba, as Rabba says: For what reason did the Torah say that one who admits to a part of the claim must take an oath? It is because there is a presumptionthat a person does not exhibit insolence by lying in the presence of his creditor, who did him a favor by lending money to him. And this person who denies part of the claim actually wants to deny all of the debt, so as to be exempt, and this fact, i.e., that he does not denyall of it, is because a person does not exhibit insolence in the presence of his creditor.

We explore the notion of self interest and the frailty of virtue.