Avodah Zarah, Daf Ayin Gimmel, Part 2

 

Introduction

Today s sugya discusses yayin nesekh that falls into a vat of permitted wine.

 

גמ׳ כי אתא רב דימי א"ר יוחנן המערה יין נסך מחבית לבור אפילו כל היום כולו ראשון ראשון בטל

 

GEMARA. When R. Dimi came [from Eretz Yisrael] he reported that R. Yohanan said: If one pours yayin nesekh from a cask into a vat, even the whole day long, each drop is annulled.

 

According to R. Dimi, when each drop falls into the vat it is annulled because it is such a small amount. Once it is annulled, it becomes part of the undifferentiated wine in the vat and then the next drop is annulled. At a certain point the majority of wine was originally yayin nesekh and has, in a sense, been made kosher.

 

תנן יין נסך אסור ואוסר בכל שהוא

מאי לאו דקא נפיל איסורא לגו התירא

לא דקא נפיל התירא לגו איסורא

 

We learned: Yayin nesekh is prohibited and renders [other wine] prohibited by the smallest quantity! Is this not when the forbidden element fell into the permitted?

No, when the permitted fell into the prohibited.

 

The mishnah seems to say that even the smallest amount of yayin nesekh renders the wine it falls into prohibited. This is a clear contradiction to R. Dimi.

The Talmud answers that the mishnah refers only to when permitted wine falls into prohibited wine. But if prohibited wine falls into permitted wine, it is nullified. [This is clearly not the simple reading of the mishnah].

 

ת"ש יין במים בנותן טעם מאי לאו דקא נפיל חמרא דאיסורא למיא דהתירא לא דקא נפיל חמרא דהתירא למיא דאיסורא

 

Come and hear: Wine [that falls] into water [disqualifies when the prohibited element] imparts a flavor. Does this not mean when prohibited wine fell into permitted water?

No, when permitted wine fell into prohibited water.

 

The Talmud now proceeds with the next line of the mishnah when wine falls into water. It seems that this too is a difficulty on R. Dimi. If prohibited wine falls into water it prohibits as soon as it imparts a taste. We don t say that each drop is nullified.

The Talmud again adjusts the mishnah the wine is permitted and it falls into prohibited water. Prohibited water is water that was worshipped. [Again, you can sense that we are straying from the simple meaning of the mishnah].

ומדרישא במיא דאיסורא סיפא נמי במיא דאיסורא וקתני סיפא מים ביין בנותן טעם

 

And since the first clause [deals with] prohibited water, the second clause must also [deal with] prohibited water, but in the second clause it teaches: Water that falls into wine [disqualifies when the prohibited element] imparts a flavor!

 

Now we move onto the last clause. If the mishnah is dealing with prohibited water, then in the last clause, to maintain consistency, the water should again be prohibited. This is certainly a difficulty on R. Dimi. We do not say that each drop of prohibited substance is annulled.

 

אמר לך רב דימי כולה מתני’ התירא לגו איסורא ורישא דקא נפיל חמרא דהתירא למיא דאיסורא סיפא דקא נפיל מיא דהתירא לחמרא דאיסורא

 

R. Dimi could reply to you: The whole Mishnah deals with the permitted falling into the prohibited, the first clause when permitted wine fell into prohibited water and the second when permitted water fell into prohibited wine.

 

R. Dimi says that the whole mishnah deals with permitted substances falling into prohibited substances. That is the consistency in the mishnah. But whether the water is permitted or prohibited changes from one clause to the next. What is crucial is that to R. Dimi, when a prohibited wine falls into permitted wine, the permitted wine nullifies the prohibited wine. This is a giant leniency in the laws of forbidden mixtures.