Avodah Zarah, Daf Kaf Tet, Part 3
Introduction
This mishnah lists things that belong to non-Jews that may not be used by Jews, for fear that the Jew will be using something that has previously been used in idol worship.
מתני׳ אלו דברים של עובדי כוכבים אסורין ואיסורן איסור הנאה היין והחומץ של עובדי כוכבים שהיה מתחלתו יין וחרס הדרייני ועורות לבובין רשב"ג אומר בזמן שהקרע שלו עגול אסור משוך מותר
The following things belonging to non-Jews are forbidden [for Jews to use] and the prohibition extends to any benefit that may be derived from them:
wine,
or a non-Jew s vinegar that was formerly wine,
Hadrianic earthenware,
skins pierced at the animal s heart.
Rabban Shimon Gamaliel says: when its tear is round, [the skin] is forbidden, but if oblong it is permitted.
A Jew may not benefit from the wine of non-Jews since it may have been used in making a libation to an idol. [This prohibition is still observed by many religious Jews today, even though we can be quite sure that the wine was not used for idol worship. We will learn a lot more material about non-Jewish wine at the end of this tractate.] Similarly, vinegar that was once intended to be wine and then went sour may not be used by a Jew, since it may have been used in idol worship when it was wine. However, if the non-Jew bought the vinegar from a Jew and then gave it back to a Jew the Jew may use it since vinegar itself is not used in idol worship.
According to the Talmud Hadrianic earthenware absorbs wine and when subsequently wetted, will release the wine. If a Jew were to use such earthenware he would be using non-Jewish wine, which is prohibited.
According to the mishnah, idolaters would make incisions in animals to remove animal hearts and use them in idol worship. If one sees a cut in an animal skin at the place of the heart, it is a sign that the animal was used for idol worship and it is forbidden. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel claims that only if the cut is circular is the skin forbidden. Since non-Jews do not make oblong cuts as part of their idol worship, the skin is permitted.
בשר הנכנס לעבודת כוכבים מותר והיוצא אסור מפני שהוא כזבחי מתים דברי ר"ע
Meat which is being brought into a place of idol worship is permitted, but that which is brought out is forbidden, because it is like a sacrifice to the dead, this is the opinion of Rabbi Akiba.
Meat that is being brought into a place of idol worship is permitted to a Jew, since it has not yet been used for idol worship. It is of course not permitted to be eaten, since it probably is not kosher. However, one could use it to feed animals. Meat that is coming out of a place of idol worship is forbidden, since it was probably used for idolatry.
ההולכין לתרפות אסור לשאת ולתת עמהן והבאין מותרין:
With non-Jews going on a pilgrimage [to worship idols] it is forbidden to have any business transactions, but with those returning it is permitted.
It is forbidden to conduct business with non-Jews who are on their way to worship idols, since they will thank their gods for their business with the Jews. In this way the Jew will indirectly be abetting idol worship. However, it is permitted to engage them in business on their return, since they have already completed their idol worship. [Note this last section is of a different subject than the other sections. It should have been included in chapter one. It probably was included here due to its similarity to the previous clause.]
נודות העובדי כוכבים וקנקניהן ויין של ישראל כנוס בהן אסורין ואיסורן איסור הנאה דברי רבי מאיר וחכמים אומרים אין איסורן איסור הנאה:
Skin-bottles or flasks belonging to non-Jews in which wine of a Jew is kept are forbidden and the prohibition extends to any benefit that may be derived from them, this is the opinion of Rabbi Meir.
But the Sages say that the prohibition does not extend to deriving benefit.
If a Jew stores his wine in skin-bottles or ceramic flasks in which non-Jews previously stored their wine the Jewish wine becomes forbidden. Since the skin-bottles and flasks contained absorbed wine in their walls, that non-Jewish wine would mix with the Jewish wine. According to Rabbi Meir, it is forbidden to even derive any benefit from this wine. According to the Sages it is only forbidden for the Jew to drink the wine. If he wants he could sell the wine to a non-Jew and thereby derive benefit. The Sages rule that the only type of non-Jewish wine from which it is actually prohibited to derive benefit is wine that one can see. Wine that has been absorbed in a vessel is only forbidden to be drunk.
החרצנים והזגין של עובדי כוכבים אסורין ואיסורן איסור הנאה דברי ר"מ וחכ"א לחין אסורין יבישין מותרין
Grape seeds and grape-skins of non-Jews are forbidden, the prohibition extending to any benefit that may be derived from them, this is the opinion of Rabbi Meir.
But the Sages say, when fresh they are forbidden but when dry they are permitted.
According to Rabbi Meir, both dry and moist grape skins and seeds that belonged to non-Jews are forbidden to Jews and the prohibition extends even to deriving any benefit from them. The Sages rule that dry seeds and skins are permitted even to eat and only moist ones are prohibited.
המורייס וגבינת בית אונייקי של עובדי כוכבים אסורין ואיסורן איסור הנאה דברי ר’ מאיר וחכ"א אין איסורן איסור הנאה
Fish brine and Bithynian cheese of the non-Jews are forbidden, the prohibition extending to any benefit that may be derived from them, this is the opinion of Rabbi Meir.
But the Sages say that the prohibition does not extend to deriving benefit.
The concern with regards to fish brine is that there may be small amounts of wine in it. Bithynian cheese is cheese that comes from a place called Bithynia, which is in Asia Minor. According to the Talmud most of the calves raised there were used for idol worship. Since cheese uses rennet, a substance which comes from the stomach lining of a cow and solidifies the milk into cheese, we are concerned that the rennet came from a cow used in idol worship. Due to our concern with both of these foods, Rabbi Meir says it is forbidden for a Jew to derive benefit from either. According the Sages it is only forbidden to eat them; it is permitted to derive benefit from them. The fish brine is permitted since the wine was only used as an antidote for any polluting agent in the brine and not for its own taste. The cheese is permitted since most of the animals in Bithynia were not used for idol worship, only most of the calves which were a minority of the total number of animals.