For the source text click/tap here: Avodah Zarah 40
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The third perek of Massekhet Avoda Zara, Perek Kol ha-Tzelamim, which begins on our daf,deals with the questions that evolve from this reality. What is included in the command to destroy pagan idols? Under what circumstances may idols remain intact?
The first Mishna in the perek teaches that according to Rabbi Meir, all publicly displayed statues are forbidden – i.e. one cannot derive benefit from them – since they are worshipped once a year. The Ḥakhamim rule that this is only the case if the statue grasps in his hand a staff, a bird or an orb. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel extends this to idols that are portrayed with anything in their hands.
We explore the change in attitudes towards statues from Torah to Talmud and what social forces operated to cause these changes.