Avodah Zarah, Daf Lamed Heh, Part 6

 

Introduction

Today s sugya discusses the prohibition of bread made by Gentiles.

 

והפת: א"ר כהנא א"ר יוחנן פת לא הותרה בב"ד

מכלל דאיכא מאן דשרי

אין דכי אתא רב דימי אמר פעם אחת יצא רבי לשדה והביא עובד כוכבים לפניו פת פורני מאפה סאה אמר רבי כמה נאה פת זו! מה ראו חכמים לאוסרה! מה ראו חכמים? משום חתנות! אלא מה ראו חכמים לאוסרה בשדה? כסבורין העם התיר רבי הפת ולא היא רבי לא התיר את הפת

 

Bread. R. Kahana said in the name of R. Yohanan: Their bread was not permitted by the court.

One could deduce from this statement that there are some that allow it?

Yes, because when R. Dimi came [from Eretz Yisrael] he said: On one occasion Rabbi went out into the field, and a gentile brought before him a loaf baked in a large oven from a se’ah of flour. Rabbi exclaimed: How beautiful is this loaf! Why should the Sages have prohibited it!

Why should the Sages have thought fit to prohibit it? Because of fraternization.

Rather, what he meant was: Why should the Sages have thought fit to prohibit it in a field!

[As the result of this remark] people thought that Rabbi permitted bread but it was not so; Rabbi did not permit it.

 

The sugya begins with R. Yohanan noting that bread was not permitted by the court, which seems to be some sort of official court composed of the sages. The implication is that there were others who did permit bread made by Gentiles. And indeed, the Talmud shows that some people mistakenly thought that Rabbi [Judah Hanasi] permitted bread made by Gentiles.

In reality, Rabbi only wanted to permit bread in the field, meaning in a non-social situation. Eating Gentile bread was prohibited because it leads to fraternization (breaking bread with someone is a sign of socializing), and in the field there is no such concern. But Rabbi did not mean to permit such bread under all circumstances.

 

רב יוסף ואיתימא רב שמואל בר יהודה אמר לא כך היה מעשה אלא אמרו פעם אחת הלך רבי למקום אחד וראה פת דחוק לתלמידים. אמר רבי אין כאן פלטר. כסבורין העם לומר פלטר עובד כוכבים והוא לא אמר אלא פלטר ישראל

 

R. Joseph, and if you want you can say, R. Shmuel b. Judah said: This was not how it happened. Rather they said, Rabbi once went to a certain place and observed that his disciples experienced difficulty in obtaining bread; so he asked, Is there no baker here? People thought that he was asking for a Gentile baker, but he really was referring to a Jewish baker.

 

This is a different version of how people came to mistakenly believe that Rabbi allowed non-Jewish bread.

 

א"ר חלבו אפילו למ"ד פלטר עובד כוכבים לא אמרן אלא דליכא פלטר ישראל אבל במקום דאיכא פלטר ישראל לא

ורבי יוחנן אמר אפי’ למ"ד פלטר עובד כוכבים ה"מ בשדה אבל בעיר לא משום חתנות

 

R. Helbo said: Even according to those who say [that he was looking for] a Gentile baker, this would apply only where there was no Jewish baker. But if there was a Jewish baker, it would not apply.

R. Yohanan said: Even according to those who say [that he was looking for] a Gentile baker, this would apply only in a field, and not in a city as a safeguard against fraternization.

 

Two amoraim note that even if Rabbi was looking for a Gentile baker, this does not mean that a Gentile baker could always be used. First of all, he would only allow a Gentile baker if no Jewish baker could be found. In other words, ideally one should eat Jewish bread. Only if there is no choice would one be allowed to eat Gentile bread.

Two, this would only apply in non-social situations (in the field). In the city, this would always be prohibited, to prevent fraternization.

 

איבו הוה מנכית ואכיל פת אבי מצרי אמר להו רבא ואיתימא רב נחמן בר יצחק לא תשתעו בהדיה דאיבו דקאכיל לחמא דארמאי:

 

Aibu used to bite and eat [Gentiles ] bread at the boundaries [of the fields]. Rava, and if you want you can say, R. Nahman b. Yitzchak, said to the people, Do not talk to Aibu because he eats the bread of Gentiles.

 

We can see here in this story how contentious of an issue the bread of Gentiles was. Aibu was sort of hiding his eating of the bread, and still Rava severely criticized him.

My impression is that this issue was delicate because the only possible reason for the prohibition is the fear of fraternization. Not eating Gentile bread was simply a means of keeping Jews away from non-Jews. It is not like wine, which is sometimes used in idolatrous ceremonies, nor is it like cheese, that might have nonkosher ingredients. It would be more like beer (yum!) which is also prohibited only because of fraternization.

From the early medieval period, Ashkenazi Jews were not strict about this prohibition. In times when bread was usually made communally, and large communal ovens were needed, they did not have any choice but to eat Gentile bread. In modern times, as long as the bread is kosher, non-Haredi Jews generally eat bread baked by Gentiles, especially professionally baked bread.