Avodah Zarah, Daf Ayin Heh, Part 6
Introduction
The sugya continues to discuss kashering dishes used by non-Jews.
איבעיא להו משכנתא מאי?
אמר מר בר רב אשי אבא משכן ליה עובד כוכבים כסא דכספא ואטבליה ואישתי ביה ולא ידענא אי משום דקסבר משכנתא כזביני דמיא אי משום דחזי לעובד כוכבים דדעתיה לשקועיה:
The question was asked: What is the rule with [a new vessel which had been given by a non-Jew] as a pledge?
Mar bar R. Ashi said: A non-Jew deposited a silver goblet with my father as a pledge, and he immersed it and drank from it and I do not know whether it was because he considered a pledge to be the same as something bought or because he saw that the non-Jew s intention was to leave it with him.
The Talmud asks whether Jews have to immerse a vessel if the non-Jew gave it to them as a pledge, which would ostensibly be returned to the non-Jew upon termination of the loan. Mar bar R. Ashi, one of the last amoraim, teaches that indeed his father did immerse such a vessel. However, he is not sure if this is because a vessel taken as a pledge is considered to be the property of the creditor (this is a question frequently asked in the Talmud). If this was true, then taking a pledge is just like buying. Or perhaps in this particular case R. Ashi assumed that the non-Jew was not going to take it back but in other cases, where the non-Jew might take it back, it would not be considered as belonging to the creditor and therefore the Jew would not have to immerse it.
ת"ר הלוקח כלי תשמיש מן העובדי כוכבים
דברים שלא נשתמש בהן מטבילן והן טהורין
דברים שנשתמש בהן ע"י צונן כגון כוסות וקתוניות וצלוחיות מדיחן ומטבילן והם טהורין
דברים שנשתמש בהן ע"י חמין כגון היורות הקומקמוסון ומחמי חמין מגעילן ומטבילן והן טהורין
דברים שנשתמש בהן ע"י האור כגון השפודין והאסכלאות מלבנן ומטבילן והן טהורין
Our Rabbis taught: If [a Jew] purchases cooking-utensils from a non-Jew:
Things that have never been used he immerses them and they are pure;
Things that were used for cold things, such as cups, jugs and flasks, he rinses them and immerses them and they are pure;
Things which were used for hot things, such as boilers, kettles and heating vessels, he scalds them and then immerses them and they are pure.
Things used with fire, such as spits and grills, he heats them up until they are white-hot and he immerses them and they are pure.
This baraita provides all the rules for how to make vessels that can be kashered (metal vessels, mostly) usable by a Jew. They all need to be immersed, and depending on how they were used, this is how they need to be kashered. Note that many of these rules will be familiar to anyone who ever kashered anything for Pesah.
וכולן שנשתמש בהן עד שלא יטביל ושלא יגעיל ושלא ילבן תני חדא אסור ותניא אידך מותר ל"ק הא כמאן דאמר נותן טעם לפגם אסור הא כמאן דאמר נותן טעם לפגם מותר
And in all of these cases, if they were used [by a Jew] before he immersed it or scalded it or made it white-hot, one authority teaches that [the contents] are prohibited whereas another teaches that they are permitted.
There is, however, no contradiction; for one decides according to him who said that when [the forbidden element] imparts a worsened flavor it is prohibited and the other according to him who said that when it imparts a worsened flavor it is permitted.
There is a dispute if the Jew uses the vessel before it was kashered. According to one opinion, the contents cooked or prepared in the vessel are prohibited. This accords with the opinion that if a forbidden element imparts a worsened flavor the food is permitted. The non-Jew s vessel will emit the flavor embedded in the vessel but this flavor is old and will not improve the taste of the dish. Nevertheless, this opinion holds, the forbidden element causes a prohibition.
According to the other opinion, the food is permitted because he holds that if the forbidden element imparts a worsened flavor, the dish is permitted.
ולמאן דאמר נותן טעם לפגם מותר גיעולי עובדי כוכבים דאסר רחמנא היכי משכחת לה אמר רב חייא בריה דרב הונא לא אסרה תורה אלא קדירה בת יומא דלאו נותן טעם לפגם הוא
But according to him who maintains that when it imparts a worsened flavor it is permitted, in what case do we find that the Torah prohibits the cooking vessels of non-Jews?
R. Hiyya, the son of R. Huna said: The Torah only forbade a utensil which had been used [by a non-Jew] the same day for this is not the case of imparting a worsened flavor.
The Talmud asks if one opinion holds that when it imparts a worsened flavor the food is permitted, how did the Torah ever prohibit vessels used by non-Jews.
The answer is that this prohibition only applies to vessels used that very day in this case, the taste imparted is not considered to be a worsening flavor.
מכאן ואילך לישתרי!
גזירה קדירה שאינה בת יומא משום קדירה בת יומא
Then let [the utensils which had been used] from then onwards be permitted [without cleansing].
The decree was made against those which had not been used the same day on account of those which had been used the same day.
What of the other authority? [His view is] that a utensil used the same day also imparts a worsened flavor.
The Talmud now asks why not skip the kashering process altogether and just use the vessels after a day in which they were not used.
The answer is that the rabbis decreed against using any vessel used by a non-Jew lest one come to use a vessel used by a non-Jew within the past day (which is prohibited by the Torah).
ואידך קדירה בת יומא נמי מפגם פגמה
Finally, the Talmud asks what the other opinion, the one who thinks that even if the flavor worsens the dish the dish is still prohibited, how does he explain the verse? He would say that even a dish that was used on that day would impart a worsening flavor, and nevertheless the Torah prohibits the dish. This proves that even if the flavor is worsening, the dish is prohibited.