Avodah Zarah, Daf Ayin, Part 1

 

Introduction

This week s daf opens with stories in which the rabbis have to determine whether we assume that a non-Jew touched Jewish wine.

 

אמר רבא זונה עובדת כוכבים וישראל מסובין אצלה חמרא שרי נהי דתקיף להו יצרא דעבירה

יצרא דיין נסך לא תקיף להו

 

Rava said: A non-Jewish prostitute and Jews reclining at the table with her, the wine is permitted. While the desire for sin will overcome them, the desire for yayin nesekh will not overcome them.

 

Jews may visit (or host) non-Jewish prostitutes. But, according to Rava, they will not transgress the prohibition of drinking yayin nesekh. Therefore, we can assume they will not let the non-Jewish prostitute touch their wine. As an aside, in light of human behavior, this does not seem at all shocking. It is not uncommon to see people who are cautious about ritual laws be more lax on moral ones.

 

זונה ישראלית ועובדי כוכבים מסובין חמרא אסור מ"ט הואיל וזילה עלייהו בתרייהו גרירא

 

A Jewish prostitute and non-Jews were reclining with her, the wine [which belongs to her] is prohibited. Why? Because she would be held in contempt by them, she is subject to them.

 

If the prostitute is Jewish and she is surrounded by non-Jewish clients, she will not be able to stop them from drinking her wine. Therefore the wine is prohibited.

 

ההוא ביתא דהוה יתיב ביה חמרא דישראל. על עובד כוכבים אחדה לדשא באפיה והוה ביזעא בדשא אישתכח עובד כוכבים דקאי ביני דני. אמר רבא כל דלהדי ביזעא שרי דהאי גיסא והאי גיסא אסור

 

There was a house in which wine belonging to an Israelite was stored. A non-Jew entered and locked the door behind him. There was a crack in the door. It was discovered that the non-Jew was standing among the jars. Rava said: All those which were opposite the crack are permitted, but those on either side are prohibited.

 

Since Jews can see the jars opposite the crack, we can assume that the non-Jew would not drink them. However, he might have opened the jars that could not be seen through the crack and therefore they are prohibited.

ההוא חמרא דישראל דהוה יתיב בביתא דהוה דייר ישראל בעליונה ועובד כוכבים בתחתונה. שמעו קל תיגרא נפקי קדים. אתא עובד כוכבים אחדה לדשא באפיה. אמר רבא חמרא שרי מימר אמר כי היכי דקדים אתאי אנא קדים ואתא ישראל ויתיב בעליונה וקא חזי לי

 

Wine belonging to a Jew was stored in a house where a Jew lived on the top floor and a non-Jew on the bottom floor. Once they heard a sound of quarrelling [in the street] and went out. The non-Jew came back first and locked the door behind him. Rava said: The wine is permitted. For the non-Jew would have said, Just as I came back first, so might the Jew have come back first and be sitting upstairs and he would see me.

 

Since the non-Jew does not know that the Jew is away, we can assume that he would not sneak a drink of the Jew s wine. Note that the assumption in both this story and the previous one is that non-Jews will drink the Jewish wine unless they are sure that they will be caught. This is not necessarily a statement though about the nature of non-Jews. It may very well just be a statement about people when they don t think they will be caught, they will drink other people s alcohol. I m sure that remains true at times today.