Avodah Zarah, Daf Lamed Daled, Part 1

 

Introduction

This week s daf begins with a discussion of which earthenware vessels may be kashered.

 

דרש מרימר קוניא בין אוכמא בין חיורא בין ירוקא שרי

מאי שנא מחמץ בפסח דבעו מיניה ממרימר הני מאני דקוניא מהו לאשתמושי בהו בפיסחא? ירוקא לא תיבעי לך דמצרפי ובלעי ואסירי כי תיבעי לך חיורי ואוכמי מאי? כי אית בהו קרטופני לא תיבעי לך דודאי בלעי ואסירי כי תיבעי לך דשיעי מאי ? אמר להו אנא חזינא להו דמדייתי וכיון דמדייתי ודאי בלעי ואסירי מ"ט התורה העידה על כלי חרס שאינו יוצא מידי דופנו לעולם מ"ש מיין נסך דדרש להו מרימר כולהו מאני דקוניא שרי

 

Meremar expounded that all glazed vessels, whether black or white or green, are permitted.

But why should this case be different from that of hametz on Pesah? For they asked Meremar [himself]: May one use glazed vessels on Passover? Do not ask about green glazed vessels which contains alum crystals and they absorb and thus [the vessels] are forbidden; rather ask about white or black glazed vessels. If they have cracks, do not ask about this, for these certainly absorb and are forbidden; rather ask about smooth ones. What is the law?

He answered them: I saw that such vessels emit sweat, and since they sweat they certainly absorb and are therefore forbidden. Why? The Torah testified that an earthenware vessel can never be rid of its defect.

Why then should this be different from wine used for idolatry concerning which [we are told] Meremar expounded that all glazed vessels [which had been used for it] are permitted?

 

This whole section is an extended difficulty on Meremar, a late Babylonian sage. Meremar allowed all glazed vessels that had been used with non-Jewish wine. He seemed to think that such vessels do not absorb. But when it came to vessels that had been used with hametz before Pesah, he ruled much more strictly, prohibiting all of them. He saw that they sweat, meaning they emit liquid when heated, and therefore he assumed that they also absorb. And once an earthenware vessel has absorbed taste, there is no way to kasher it.

וכ"ת חמץ דאורייתא יין נסך דרבנן והא כל דתקון רבנן כעין דאורייתא תקון

 

And should you say that hametz [on Pesah] is forbidden by the Torah, whereas idolatrous wine is merely a rabbinic prohibition, whatever the Rabbis enacted they enacted it to be like the Torah!

 

This is a rejected attempt to solve the contradiction. We might have thought that the rules are stricter when it comes to hametz, for hametz is prohibited by the Torah whereas idolatrous wine is prohibited only by rabbinic decree.

The problem with this is that there is a principle that whenever the rabbis make a decree, it is supposed to be of the same level as Torah law. Thus if all glazed vessels used with hametz are prohibited on Pesah, so too are glazed vessels used with idolatrous wine.

 

זה תשמישו בחמין וזה תשמישו בצונן

 

This is used for hot and this is used for cold.

 

The answer is that glazed wine vessels do not absorb taste because they are used only with cold wine. The hametz vessels referred to here are used with hot hametz (such as cooked cereal) and therefore they do absorb taste.