Avodah Zarah, Daf Nun Tet, Part 1
Introduction
This week s daf begins with a story of a rabbi arriving in a place called Gavla where Jews seem to be not strictly observing halakhah. It is very interesting to note what their practices actually are. As we shall see, they transgress certain rabbinic prohibitions, not biblical ones, prohibitions that have to do with keeping Jews from assimilating.
ר’ חייא בר אבא איקלע לגבלא חזא בנות ישראל דמיעברן מעובדי כוכבים שמלו ולא טבלו
חזא חמרא דמזגו עובדי כוכבים ושתו ישראל
חזא תורמוסא דשלקי להו עובדי כוכבים ואכלי ישראל ולא אמר להו ולא מידי
R. Hiyya b. Abba once visited Gavla, and there saw Israelite women who had become pregnant by non-Jews who had been circumcised but not immersed.
He also saw wine that was mixed by non-Jews and then drunk by Jews,
He saw lupines that were cooked by non-Jews and eaten by Jews; but he said nothing to them.
The three practices that R. Hiyya sees are what I would call marginal. The women are not becoming pregnant from non-Jews. They are having children with non-Jews who seem to have converted, but not done so according to rabbinic law. They know that conversion entails circumcision, but they do not know about immersion.
They are not drinking wine made by non-Jews. They seem to know that this is prohibited. But they do not know that it is also prohibited to drink wine poured by non-Jews.
They are not eating non-kosher food. They are eating lupines, a type of bean, cooked by non-Jews.
All of these are what I would call infractions of rabbinic law, practices that many Jews may simply not have known about. They are also all intended to keep Jews from fraternizing with non-Jews.
אתא לקמיה דרבי יוחנן א"ל צא והכרז על בניהם שהן ממזרים ועל יינן משום יין נסך ועל תורמוסן משום בישולי עובדי כוכבים משום שאינן בני תורה
He came before R. Yohanan [and reported the matter to him]. R. Yohanan said to him, Go and declare that their children are mamzerim, their wine is nesekh, and their lupines [are prohibited] as something cooked by non-Jews, because they are not students of Torah!
R. Yohanan adopts a far more strict approach, ruling strictly in each case. The Talmud will now analyze each issue separately.
על בניהם שהם ממזרים ר’ יוחנן לטעמיה דא"ר יוחנן לעולם אינו גר עד שימול ויטבול וכיון דלא טביל עובד כוכבים הוא ואמר רבה בר בר חנה א"ר יוחנן עובד כוכבים ועבד הבא על בת ישראל הולד ממזר
[He decreed] that their children were mamzerim. R. Yohanan followed his own opinion; for R. Yohanan said: [A Gentile] is never to be considered a convert until he is both circumcised and immersed, and since he has not undergone immersion he is a non-Jew. And Rabbah b. Bar Hanah has said in the name of R. Yohanan: If a non-Jew or a slave has intercourse with an Israelite woman, the child is a mamzer.
R. Yohanan holds that until a convert circumcises and immerses he is considered a non-Jew. So these women were pregnant from non-Jews. And R. Yohanan also holds that if a non-Jewish man impregnates a Jewish woman, the offspring is a mamzer. So these children are mamzerim. Note that this is not the accepted halakhah.
וגזור על יינם משום יין נסך משום לך לך אמרין נזירא סחור סחור לכרמא לא תקרב
He decreed that their wine was nesekh because of, Go, go, we say to a Nazirite; go round the vineyard and do not come near it.
As we learned earlier, non-Jews should not even mix wine for Jews because it is just better to stay away from this type of situation. Here we see that R. Yohanan goes a step further and deems such wine to be yayin nesekh.