For the source text click/tap here: Avodah Zarah 53
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The Talmudic passage in Avodah Zarah 53b presents a fascinating case study in rabbinic hermeneutics, where the sages invoke the war of Joshua (milḥemet Yehoshua) as a legal paradigm for determining the status of abandoned idolatrous objects. This seemingly straightforward halakhic discussion reveals profound tensions between historical narrative and legal precedent, between memory and law, and between theological meaning and practical jurisprudence.