Avodah Zarah, Daf Yod Daled, Part 5
Introduction
Today s section goes on to explaining the continuation of the mishnah concerning items which one may not sell to an idolater.
ר"מ אומר אף דקל וכו’: א"ל רב חסדא לאבימי גמירי דעבודת כוכבים דאברהם אבינו ד’ מאה פירקי הויין ואנן חמשה תנן ולא ידעינן מאי קאמרינן?
R. Meir says: Also a good palm etc. R. Hisda to Abimi: There is a tradition that the [tractate] Avodah Zarah of our Abraham our father consisted of four hundred chapters; we have only learnt five, yet we do not know what we are saying.
R. Hisda quotes an interesting tradition according to which Abraham, who did grow up in an idolatrous environment, had four hundred chapters of mishnah concerning the laws of idolatry. Today, and by R. Hisda s time, they only had five. And nevertheless, they still had trouble understanding them.
ומאי קשיא? דקתני ר"מ אומר אף דקל טב חצב ונקלס אסור למכור לעובדי כוכבים דקל טב הוא דלא מזבנינן הא דקל ביש מזבנינן
והתנן אין מוכרין להם במחובר לקרקע
And what difficulty is there? It is taught: R. Meir says: also a good palm, hatzav and niklas are forbidden to be sold to idolaters– a good palm may not be sold to them, but we may sell them a bad palm.
But have we not taught: One may not sell them anything that is attached to the ground!
The problem they have with the mishnah is that it contradicts another mishnah. R. Meir forbids selling certain types of trees to them. By implication a bad palm tree can be sold to them, whereas another mishnah prohibits selling anything that is attached to the ground.
א"ל מאי דקל טב פירות דקל טב.
וכן אמר רב הונא פירות דקל טב.
He replied: What is meant by good-palm ? Fruit of a good-palm. And so too said R. Huna: The fruit of a good-palm.
The resolution is that R. Meir prohibited the fruit of the good palm tree. The fruit of a bad palm tree may be sold to idolaters, but not the palm tree itself.
חצב קשבא נקלס כי אתא רב דימי א"ר חמא בר יוסף קורייטי
א"ל אביי לרב דימי תנן נקלס ולא ידעינן מהו ואת אמרת קורייטי ולא ידעינן מאי אהנית לן?
א"ל אהנאי לכו דכי אזלת התם אמרת להו נקלס ולא ידעי אמרת להו קורייטי וידעי וקא מחוו לך:
Hatzav is the species of dates called kashba.
Niklas: When R. Dimi came he said in the name of R. Hama b. Joseph that it is kuryati. Abaye said to R. Dimi: We taught niklas, and do not know what it is, so you tell us it is kuryati which we do not know either, where then have you benefited us?
He said: I have provided you with benefit for were you to go to there (to Eretz Yisrael) and say niklas they would know what it is; but if you say kuryati they will know and will show it to you.
This section is about the identity of the species of palms mentioned by R. Meir. We can see that the amoraim themselves didn t necessarily understand the translations better than they understood the original words stated by R. Meir. R. Dimi promises Abaye that at least when he goes to Eretz Yisrael they will be able to show him what a niklas/kuryati is.