Avodah Zarah, Daf Kaf Gimmel, Part 5
Introduction
This section returns to discussing an issue referred to above can the red heifer be bought from non-Jews?
גופא תני שילא מ"ט דרבי אליעזר דכתיב (במדבר יט, ב) דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו בני ישראל יקחו ואין העובדי כוכבים יקחו
אלא מעתה (שמות כה, ב) דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו לי תרומה ה"נ דבני ישראל יקחו ואין העובדי כוכבים יקחו
The above text stated: Shila taught: What is the reason for R. Eliezer’s ruling? It is as it is written, Speak to the children of Israel and they shall bring (Numbers 19:2), [which imply that] Israelites shall bring, but non-Jews should not bring.
According to this, Speak to the children of Israel that they bring for me an offering (Exodus 25:2) Israelites should bring and non-Jews should not bring.
According to Shila, R. Eliezer disqualifies a red heifer bought from a non-Jew because of the verse, Speak to the children of Israel. But the same language is used in connection with offerings for the Temple and non-Jews do seem to be allowed to make donations to the Temple.
וכי תימא ה"נ והאמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל שאלו את ר"א עד היכן כיבוד אב ואם אמר להם צאו וראו מה עשה עובד כוכבים אחד לאביו באשקלון ודמא בן נתינה שמו פעם אחת בקשו ממנו אבנים לאפוד בששים רבוא שכר רב כהנא מתני בשמונים רבוא והיו מפתחות מונחות תחת מראשותיו של אביו ולא צערו
And were you to say that this is indeed so, surely Rav Judah said in the name of Shmuel: They asked R. Eliezer: To what extent must one go to honor one’s father and mother? He answered: Go forth and see how a certain gentile in Ashkelon, Dama the son of Natina was his name, acted. Once they asked him about selling precious stones for the ephod at a profit of six hundred thousand [denarii]. (R. Kahana says eight hundred thousand); but the keys were lying under his father’s head-pillow, so he would not disturb him!
This famous story is brought here as proof that one can buy offerings for the Temple from non-Jews. After all, the sages approached Dama b. Natina asking him to sell them stones for the ephod, the high priest s breastplate.
אבני שהם הפסיק הענין
והא ואבני מלואים כתיב דהדר ערביה
The words onyx stones are detached from the preceding words.
But are they not followed by and stones to be set which again connects them?
At first the Talmud tries to solve this by stating that the words onyx stones which do not have a connective vav in front of them are separated and therefore not governed by the words, And you shall take. However, this fails because the words which follow do use the vav which reconnects them to the phrase And you shall take. So we are left with our difficulty why is the interpretation of the verse not applied consistently.
ועוד קתני סיפא לשנה אחרת נולדה לו פרה אדומה בעדרו נכנסו חכמי ישראל אצלו אמר להם יודע אני בכם שאם אני מבקש מכם כל ממון שבעולם אתם נותנין לי עכשיו איני מבקש מכם אלא אותו ממון שהפסדתי בשביל אבא
התם על ידי תגרי ישראל זבון
Moreover, it teaches at the end of that tradition: In a subsequent year a red heifer was born in his herd. The sages of Israel called on him. He said to them: I know that if I were to demand from you all the money in the world, you would give it to me, but all I ask of you now is that money that I had lost because of my father!
In that case it was purchased through [the agency of] Israelite merchants.
An even greater difficulty is that the following year Dama ben Natina sold them a red heifer. This proves that not only is Shila wrong, but even R. Eliezer himself.
The Talmud answers that the red heifer was not bought directly from Dama. Dama sold it to some Jewish merchants and they sold it to the sages. Jewish middlemen they always find a way don t they!