Avodah Zarah, Daf Lamed Gimmel, Part 2
והבאין מותרין: ארשב"ל לא שנו אלא שאין קשורין זה בזה אבל קשורין זה בזה אסורין אימא דעתו לחזור:
But with those coming from there it is permitted.
R. Shimon b. Lakish said: This teaching applies only if they are not connected to one another, but if they are connected to one another it is forbidden, for we should say that each one has a mind to return again.
According to the mishnah, it is permitted to engage in business with those returning from places of idolatry. Resh Lakish limits this to cases where individuals are returning. But if there are groups returning together, the assumption is that they will return to the place of idolatry and business with them is prohibited.
נודות העובדי כוכבים וקנקניהם: ת"ר נודות העובדי כוכבים גרודים חדשים מותרין ישנים ומזופפין אסורין עובד כוכבים ריבבן ועיבדן ונתן לתוכן יין וישראל עומד על גביו אינו חושש
Skin bottles and [earthenware] flagons belonging to pagans.
Our Rabbis taught: Skin bottles of pagans, without pitch: If they are new, they are permitted. But if old or lined with pitch they are forbidden.
If a pagan lined them with pitch and put the wine into them while an Israelite was standing by him, there is no reason for concern.
The baraita here discusses whether a Jew can use a skin bottle made by a non-Jew. Skins were lined with pitch to seal them, and as part of this process, some wine was poured in with the pitch to improve the taste. If the skin had no pitch, and was used for only a very short time, then the wine would not have been absorbed and the skin could be used. But if it was old or lined with pitch it would have absorbed the pagan s wine and could not be used.
But according to the baraita, if the pagan lined the skin with pitch and poured some wine in while the Jew watched, the skin can be used.
וכי מאחר דעובד כוכבים נותן לתוכן יין כי ישראל עומד [על] גביו מאי הוי אמר רב פפא ה"ק עובד כוכבים ריבבן ועיבדן וישראל נותן לתוכן יין וישראל אחר עומד על גביו ואינו חושש.
But since the pagan puts the wine into the bottles, how does it help that an Israelite stands by him?
R. Papa said: What is meant is that if a pagan pitched and lined them and an Israelite poured wine into them while another Israelite was standing by there is no cause for suspicion.
The problem with the baraita is that if the pagan poured the wine in to complete the sealing of the pitch, the skin should be prohibited by the very act of the pagan pouring in the wine. Therefore R. Papa says that the pagan put in only the pitch, he did not pour the wine.
ומאחר דישראל נותן לתוכן יין ישראל אחר עומד על גביו למה לי דלמא אגב טירדיה מנסך ולאו אדעתיה
But if it is an Israelite that is pouring the wine into them, what need is there for another Israelite to stand by? Lest while the Israelite is busy, the heathen pour some of it out for idolatry and he wouldn t notice.
If the Jew is pouring the wine why do we need another Jew watching? The answer is that the Jew pouring may not notice the pagan make a quickie libation by pouring some wine out.
רב זביד אמר לעולם כדקאמרת מעיקרא והכא בעידנא דקא שדי ליה נעשה כזורק מים לטיט
R. Zevid said: The original wording can indeed stand, but here the reason is that when wine is poured into the fresh pitch it is as water that is poured in mortar.
R. Zevid returns to the original wording of the baraita. The skin does not become prohibited when the pagan pours the first wine into it because this is like pouring water into mortar. He is making a vessel and will not at the same time libate.
אמר רב פפי ש"מ מדרב זביד האי עובד כוכבים דשדא חמרא לבי מילחי דישראל שרי מתקיף לה רב אשי מי דמי התם קאזיל לאיבוד הכא לא קאזיל לאיבוד
R. Papi said: From what was said by R. Zevid it may be deduced that if a pagan poured wine into the salt cellar of an Israelite [the salt] is permitted.
R. Ashi raised a difficulty: How can these be compared? In that case the wine has disappeared, while here it has not disappeared!
There was a practice to pour a little bit of wine into salt containers to improve the flavor. R. Papi says that from R. Zevid s statement we can learn that if the pagan poured some wine into the salt, the salt is not prohibited. But R. Ashi disagrees. When one puts wine in with pitch, the wine is lost and therefore the skin is not prohibited. But when it comes to the salt, the wine remains and therefore the salt is prohibited.