Avodah Zarah, Daf Ayin Vav, Part 6
Introduction
The final sugya in Avodah Zarah discusses kashering a knife.
הסכין שפה והיא טהורה: אמר רב עוקבא בר חמא ונועצה עשרה פעמים בקרקע
אמר רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע ובקרקע שאינה עבודה
א"ר כהנא ובסכין יפה שאין בה גומות
תניא נמי הכי סכין יפה שאין בה גומות נועצה עשרה פעמים בקרקע
But a knife may be polished and is then pure.
R. Ukba b. Hama said: And he must plunge it ten times in the earth.
R. Huna the son of R. Joshua said: In untilled soil.
R. Kahana said: The knife must be in sound condition and have no notches.
It has been also taught in a baraita: With a knife in sound condition and without notches one plunges it ten times in soil.
This passage teaches how one kashers a knife. It seems that by plunging it in untilled soil, one will remove the outer layer that has been in contact with the forbidden substance.
אמר רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע לאכול בה צונן
R. Huna the son of R. Joshua said: Only to eat cold food with it.
The knife that has been kashered can only be used with cold food. Using it with hot food would cause it to emit the taste that it absorbed from the prohibited food.
כי הא דמר יהודה ובאטי בר טובי הוו יתבי קמיה דשבור מלכא. אייתו לקמייהו אתרוגא. פסק אכל פסק והב ליה לבאטי בר טובי. הדר דצה עשרה זימני בארעא פסק הב ליה למר יהודה. א"ל באטי בר טובי וההוא גברא לאו בר ישראל הוא. א"ל מר קים לי בגויה ומר לא קים לי בגויה איכא דאמרי א"ל אידכר מאי עבדת באורתא:
Like Mar Judah and Bati b. Tobi who were sitting with King Shapur and an etrog was set before them. [The king] cut a slice and ate it, and then cut a slice and handed it to Bati b. Tobi. He then stuck [the knife] ten times in the ground, cut a slice [of the etrog] and handed it to Mar Judah. Bati b. Tobi said to [the king], Am I not a Jew! He replied, Concerning him I am certain [that he is observant of Jewish law] but of you, I am not certain. There are those who say he said to him, Remember what you did last night!
In this fascinating story, the Persian King Shappur cuts some etrog slices and gives it Bati b. Tobi without kashering his knife, but kashers the knife before he gives it to Mar Yehudah. Bati is not too happy that he is not being treated like a non-Jew. The king responds that he does not know if Bati b. Tobi really is observant. And in a highly humorous end to the masekhet, the king says to him, I remember what you did last night. Too bad we ll never know what naught Bati did last night. And come on, can you think of a better way to end Masechet Avodah Zarah then with a non-Jewish king kashering a knife and telling another Jew he is not observant enough?
הדרן עלך השוכר את הפועל וסליקא לה מסכת עבודה זרה
May we return to you chapter One who rents a worker and this is the end of Tractate Avodah Zarah
That is it folks. We finished another masekhet, another wild ride through the complicated, topsy-turvy, free-thinking, beautiful minds of Hazal, our rabbis of blessed memory. I’m hoping you found this Tractate as fascinating as I did. Discussions about how Jews can preserve their identity in a world full of people whose identity they do not share. When can Jews trust non-Jews, and when can they not? When can they use their things, and when can they not? What foods of theirs can they eat and what can they drink (not wine, that s for sure)? It was a relevant tractate then and much of it is still relevant now. I hope you have time to review some of your learning and most importantly, I hope you continue with us onto our fifth masekhet Kiddushin!