Avodah Zarah 57: טְרוֹק גַּלֵּי, דְּלָא נֵיתוֹ אִינָשֵׁי דְּנִיטְרֹיד

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Our daf is a detailed exploration of who may drink from wine touched by a Gentile and who may use that wine for libations. For each different category of person, the rabbis consider the possible outcomes.

The people mentioned include Gentiles, Gentile minors (those who do not understand idolatry), Gentile infants (those who have not been exposed to idolatry), Jewish slaves, Jewish maidservants, Gentile slaves, Gentile maidservants, the sons of Gentile slaves and the sons of Gentile maidservants.

§ The Gemara relates: There was a certain incident in Meḥoza in which a gentile came and entered the store of a Jew. The gentile said to the owners: Do you have any wine to sell? They said to him: No. There was wine sitting in a bucket. The gentile put his hand in itand stirred the wine around. The gentile said to them: This, is it not wine? The otherperson, i.e., the storeowner, took the bucket and, in his anger, threw its contents into a barrel of wine.

Rav Huna, son of Rav Naḥman, happened to come to Meḥoza. Rava said to his attendant, Rav Elyakim: Close, close the gates, so that people who might disturb us should not come, and we may focus on clarifying the matter.

We explore the city of mechoza its people economy and how it differed halachically from the main centers of learning like Pumpedita.

Avodah Zarah 56: וְאֵינוֹ עוֹשֶׂה יֵין נֶסֶךְ עַד שֶׁיֵּרֵד לְבוֹר

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Beginning with the Mishna on daf 55a, Massekhet Avoda Zara begins to focus on the laws of yayin nesekh – wine forbidden to Jews because it has been sacrificed as a libation to pagan idols. Due to this concern, the Sages forbid all wine with which non-Jews come in contact. The Mishna teaches that as long as the grapes are still in the process of being squeezed in the wine press – even if there are non-Jews who are touching the grapes and placing them in the press to be tread upon – they will not be considered to have become yayin nesekh. The juice is only considered to have become wine when it flows out of the press and into the collection vats.

We examine the notion of wine (and water) libations in antiquity.

Avodah Zarah 55: וְכִי מִפְּניֵ שֶׁשּׁוֹטֶה זהֶ עשָָׂה שֶׁלּאֹ כַּהוֹגןֶ אנָוּ נאְבַּדֵ אתֶ אמֱוּנתָיֵנוּ

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A man named Zunim asked Rabbi Akiva to explain why it is that we sometimes find that a person who goes to a house of idol worship becomes healed from illnesses and broken limbs.

Rabbi Akiva answered that an illness is a messenger sent by the heavens to afflict a person, and the illness is charged with a detailed mission. The illness is administered an oath as to precisely when it can begin to afflict its victim.

It is also charged with instructions regarding the day and hour it must depart from him, as a result of which doctor, and through which medicine.

Rabbi Akiva explained that the person who is sick will have the illness leave his body under the prescribed conditions, wherever he might be at that time. The truth is that the illness protests and prefers not to leave a body if the sick person happens to be in a house of idolatry at that moment, so that no credit be given to the idol.

We explore the parable of Rabbi Akiva and how it relates to his theology.

Avodah Zarah 54: מִפְּנֵי מָה מִתְקַנֵּא בְּעוֹבְדֶיהָ וְאֵין מִתְקַנֵּא בָּהּ

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Our Gemara relates:

Philosophers asked the Jewish Sages in Rome, “If your God has no desire for idolatry, why does He not abolish it?”

They replied, “If it was something of which the world has no need that was worshipped, He would abolish it; but people worship the sun, moon, stars and planets; should He destroy the universe on account of fools? The world pursues its natural course, and as for the fools who act wrongly, they will have to render an account.

The “philosophers” who engaged the Sages in conversation – both in Rome and in Greece – did not truly believe in pagan gods as divine. Nevertheless, since they lived in cultures that were steeped in avoda zara, they did consider the possibility that there was some measure of truth in it.

The conversation/debates that we find recorded were part of an attempt to ascertain the truth of the matter by means of engagement with the Jewish Sages.

The remarkable parables allows us to explore hidden theologies embedded in the fictional narratives as a literary tool.

Avodah Zarah 53: רָקַק בְּפָנֶיהָ, וְהִשְׁתִּין בְּפָנֶיהָ

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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.

Avodah Zarah 52: כֵּלִים שֶׁשִּׁימְּשׁוּ בָּהֶן בְּבֵית חוֹנְיוֹ

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Aside from the first and second Temples in Jerusalem, the only other Jewish Temples where sacrifices were brought were built by Jewish priests in Egypt. Rabbi Yosei ben Shaul asked Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi whether the utensils used in Beit Ḥonyo – the Temple of Onias – could be used in the Jewish Temple, as well.

The Gemara in Menaḥot (109b) quotes a baraita that brings two opinions about the Temple of Onias. According to Rabbi Meir, that temple was a place of pagan idol worship; Rabbi Yehuda rules that only Jewish sacrifices to God were brought there. Rashi explains that according to Rabbi Meir’s opinion it is obvious that the utensils used there cannot be used in the Temple in Jerusalem, since they are avoda zara, which is forbidden for ordinary use, and certainly for use in the Temple.

Thus, the question is posed only according to Rabbi Yehuda. Although the priests who performed the sacrificial service in the Temple of Onias were disqualified from serving in the Temple in Jerusalem, perhaps that is only because they should have been aware of their indiscretion and are penalized for it; the utensils, however, have no free will, and therefore may remain permitted.

Avodah Zarah 51: בְּטוֹבָה — בְּטוֹבַת כּוֹמָרִין

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According to the Mishna on our daf, if there is a garden or bathhouse attached to the ground of avoda zara, one is permitted to benefit from them she-lo be-tova – if he does not have to pay for that benefit – be-tova, however, that is, if he has to pay for it, then it would be forbidden. In the Gemara, Abaye explains that that be-tova and she-lo be-tova refer to tovat komarim – whether the money will go to pay the idolatrous priests. If the money simply will go to people who are worshippers, then it is of no concern to us.

We continue the exploration of the accouterments of idolatry.

Avodah Zarah 50: דְּמֵעִיקָּרָא תַּבּוֹרֵי מִיתַּבְּרִי

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Following the destruction of the second Temple, the house belonging to King Yannai was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Ultimately, pagans entered the house and placed an idol dedicated to Mercury in it.

Later on, other non-Jews who did not believe in Mercury as a deity removed the stones from the building and used them to pave the paths and streets of the city.

This led to a disagreement among the Sages. Some of them refused to walk on the newly paved streets, lest they benefit from the stones that had been consecrated to the worship of Mercury. Others had no such compunctions and walked on them without concern. Rabbi Yoḥanan ruled: The “son of holy ones” – referring to Rabbi Menaḥem the son of Rabbi Simai – walks on these streets, how can we do otherwise?

We explore the mythic history of Mercury as a pagan deity and the rabbinic skill in negotiating the Torah law vs expedience down to Jung’s archetypal treatment of mercury in the ensouling process.

Avodah Zarah 49: עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה אֵינָהּ בְּטֵלָה אֶלָּא דֶּרֶךְ גְּדִילָתָהּ

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The Rabanan and Rebbi Yosi argue in the Mishnah about whether one is permitted to plant vegetables beneath an Asheirah tree in the winter. The Rabanan permit it, because the shade of the Asheirah tree does not benefit the vegetables planted beneath it during the winter. Rebbi Yosi prohibits it, because the foliage of the Asheirah fall on the vegetables, serving as fertilizer and helping them to grow. Since the vegetables grow due to the effects of something permitted (the nutrients in the soil) and the effects of something prohibited (the leaves of the Asheirah tree), it is a situation of "Zeh v'Zeh Gorem." Rebbi Yosi maintains that the Halachah in a case of "Zeh v'Zeh Gorem" is that the object is forbidden. This is the way the Gemara originally understands the opinion of Rebbi Yosi.

We explore the tree in ancient traditions and the evolution of the sacred grove.

Avodah Zarah 48: כֹּל שֶׁכּוֹמָרִים יוֹשְׁבִין תַּחְתֶּיהָ

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The Mishnayot on today’s daf focus on the ashera and attempt to define what such a tree is. According to the Mishna, there are three types of ashera –

A tree planted specifically for avoda zara

A tree that was sculpted or pruned in the name of avoda zara

A tree where an idol was placed underneath it.

In the first case, there is nothing that can be done. Such a tree is an ashera and must be destroyed. In the second case, although the tree that is formed is forbidden, if the tree continues growing, what grows anew is not considered to be avoda zara and is permitted. In the final case, according to the tanna of the Mishna, if the idol was removed, the tree is permitted.

We explore the notion of sacred contamination, how the shade under the tree might be sufficient to convey tumor as well as how COVID epidemic evoked the apocalypse.

Avodah Zarah 47: הוֹאִיל וְלַצּוּרָה הֵן עוֹבְדִין, נַתִּיר לָהֶן אֶת הָאִילָן

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The question is regarding a tree that was planted (for regular purposes) and only later worshipped. The question is not according to Rabbi Yosi bar Yehudah, as he would hold it is certainly forbidden, even to a regular person.

The question is according to the Rabbis. Do we say that this lulav can no longer be used for a mitzvah as it is repulsive for the Highest, for it has been used as an idol, or not? When Rav Dimi came (to Bavel), he said: The question was asked regarding an asheirah tree (which was even forbidden for mundane purposes) that was nullified. Do we say that there is permanent rejection regarding mitzvos aside or not?

We continue our exploration of the Ashera prohibition and derivative laws thereof.

Avodah Zarah 46: אַבְנֵי הַר שֶׁנִּדַּלְדְּלוּ

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Our Gemara discusses a case of avanim she-nidaldelu – rocks that broke off of the mountain (Rabbeinu Ḥananel suggests that they did not break off entirely but are now only partially connected to the mountain). If someone were to pray to these rocks, would they become forbidden, or will we argue that they still have had no human intervention and as such will remain permitted? The Gemara presents two opinions on this matter – Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Ḥiyya’s sons, Ḥizkiyya and Yehuda. According to one of them the fact that there has been no human intervention is most important, and we are not concerned with the fact that the rocks are no longer connected to the mountain, since animals, too, are not connected, yet they cannot become forbidden.

We explore the demythologization of nature in the TORAH and the remythologiation in kabbalah and chassidut.

Avodah Zarah 45: אִילָן שֶׁנְּטָעוֹ וּלְבַסּוֹף עֲבָדוֹ

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The Mishna teaches that hills that are worshipped do not become forbidden to Jews, although what is on those hills may become forbidden. The passage that is the source for this prohibition appears in Sefer Devarim (7:25) where the Torah forbids the gold and silver that are on them, but the ground itself cannot become forbidden.

One exception mentioned by the Mishna is the Ashera tree, which, although it is part-and-parcel of the land, nevertheless has been fashioned, in a sense, by human activity, since it was planted.

The basic halakhic question involves trees that were planted naturally but later used for idolatrous worship. The Talmud establishes three categories: "There are three laws of Asherot forbidden due to idolatry... If a tree was originally planned to be worshiped, it is forbidden; If one cut it, leaving the stump or the branches in order to worship the new growth, if the new growth is removed, the tree is permitted"

R. Akiva's approach, however, transcends these narrow categories. His insistence that certain geographical configurations inherently signal idolatrous activity suggests a worldview in which natural phenomena participate in cosmic patterns of meaning.

We explore the history of Ashera worship and also what might be called "controlled re-enchantment"—acknowledging symbolic power in creation while maintaining monotheistic boundaries. 

Avodah Zarah 44: תְּשׁוּבָה גְּנוּבָה הֱשִׁיבוֹ

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Proclus the son of Plospus met Rabban Gamliel while bathing in the Greek goddess Aphrodite’s bathhouse in Akko and asked him how he could bathe there, given the clear prohibition in the Torah against benefiting from pagan idols. According to the Mishna, he went so far as to quote the passage in Sefer Devarim (13:18) that is the source for the prohibition.

Rabban Gamliel said to him “I cannot respond to you and discuss Torah ideas in the bathhouse.”

Upon exiting, Rabban Gamliel did respond to the question posed by Proclus.

Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of beauty, and she was represented by a beautiful, young female form, which is why statues of her were often used for decoration, rather than as an idol to be worshipped.

We explore The Bathhouse of Aphrodite: as a Case Study in Rabbinic Subterfuge.

Avodah Zarah 43: כְּמִין זַכְרוּת עָשְׂתָה לָהּ

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Our Daf preserves a fascinating rabbinic debate that illuminates both the enduring significance of Maacah bat Absalom's story and the complex halakhic questions it raises. In this passage, Rabbi Yosei cites the destruction of Maacah's Asherah image as a precedent in a discussion about the disposal of idolatrous objects:

Rabbi Yosei said to them: But isn't it already stated concerning Asa: "And he also removed Maacah his mother from being queen, because she had made an abominable image [miflatztah] for an ashera; and Asa cut down her image, and burned it at the Kidron River" (see I Kings 15:13)?

It seems that Asa was unconcerned that the ground-up idol may provide fertilization. They said to him: You seek to bring proof from there? The Kidron River does not grow vegetation,so even if the idol would have fertilized the soil, it would have been of no benefit.

This rabbinic exchange reveals how later Jewish interpretation grappled with the practical and theological implications of Maacah's idolatry.

Avodah Zarah 42: כׇּל הַפַּרְצוּפוֹת מוּתָּרִין חוּץ מִפַּרְצוּף אָדָם

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Certain images were known to represent idols, and when found on different utensils may indicate that they are used for avoda zara. The Mishna on today’s daf teaches that when someone finds utensils that have on them images of the sun, the moon or a derakon, they must be cast into the Dead Sea. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel distinguishes between important utensils, which can be assumed to be used for idol worship, and simple utensils – like pots and pans – that are permitted even if they have such images on them.

In his Commentary to the Mishna, the Rambam explains that the references to the sun and the moon do not relate to simple drawings of these heavenly bodies, but rather they refer to a Zodiac wheel like one prepared by astrologers, that gives a form to each of the signs of the Zodiac, with a figure representing the sun in the middle.

Avodah Zarah 41: צְלָמִים אֲסוּרִין, שִׁבְרֵי צְלָמִים מוּתָּרִין

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Although we have learned that statues that are worshipped are considered avoda zara and it is forbidden to derive benefit from them, the Mishna on our daf teaches that if, when the statue is found, it is broken into pieces, it is permitted. The exception would be when a full limb remains intact. In a case where the form of a hand or a foot is still whole it will be forbidden, since there are those who worship them as representative of the deity.

In general, the reason that a broken statue can be used is because we are not sure whether the statue had been worshiped as avoda zara, and even if it had been treated as an idol, its present state leads us to believe that it had been destroyed by the non-Jew who had rejected it as a deity.

We continue our exploration of the decrease of pagan worship and the increased use of pagan symbols for esthetic value in late antiquity.

Avodah Zarah 40: לְנוֹי עָבְדִי לְהוּ

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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.

Avodah Zarah 39: יוֹשֵׁב יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּצַד עֶדְרוֹ שֶׁל גּוֹי

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Although the Mishna appears to require that the Jewish person watch the milking process, the Gemara quotes a baraita that permits the milk as long as the Jewish person was in the vicinity, even if he was not watching. The Gemara explains that the very presence of the Jew will frighten the non-Jew and keep him from placing anything non-kosher in the milk. As we have already learned, some contemporary rabbis permit the use of milk that has government inspection guaranteeing the purity of the milk.

We explore how cholov yisroel in the US represented the evolving approach to post war communal minhag standards.

Avodah Zarah 38: הָכָא — לְמַתּוֹקֵי טַעְמָא

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The Gemara discusses whether fish that was salted by a Nochri is forbidden because of "Bishul Akum." Chizkiyah maintains that it is not forbidden, while Rebbi Yochanan argues that it is forbidden. Rebbi Yochanan apparently maintains that salting the fish is considered like cooking the fish (see Rashi, DH v'Rebbi Yochanan).

We explore condiments and additives in late antiquity.