Avodah Zarah, Daf Lammed Tet, Part 4

 

ומלח סלקונדרית: מאי מלח סלקונדרית? אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל מלח שכל סלקונדרי רומי אוכלין אותה

 

And salkondorit salt. What is salkondorit salt?

Rav Judah said in the name of Shmuel: Salt of which all Roman guests partake.

 

The rabbis likely are making a pun here on a Greek word, connecting it with salt eaten at Roman parties. We should note that the meaning of both the original word and the word for Roman guests is not entirely clear.

 

תנו רבנן מלח סלקונדרית שחורה אסורה לבנה מותרת דברי רבי מאיר

רבי יהודה אומר לבנה אסורה שחורה מותרת

רבי יהודה בן גמליאל משום רבי חנינא בן גמליאל אומר זו וזו אסורה

אמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר רבי יוחנן לדברי האומר לבנה אסורה קירבי דגים לבנים טמאים מעורבין בה לדברי האומר שחורה אסורה קירבי דגים שחורים טמאים מעורבין בה לדברי האומר זו וזו אסורה זה וזה מעורבין בה

אמר רבי אבהו משום רבי חנינא בן גמליאל זקן אחד היה בשכונתנו שהיה מחליק פניה בשומן חזיר:

 

Our rabbis have taught: Black salkondorit salt is prohibited and the white is permitted, the words of R. Meir. R. Judah says: The white is prohibited and the black permitted. R. Judah b. Gamaliel says in the name of R. Hanina b. Gamaliel: Both kinds are prohibited.

Rabbah b. Bar Hanah said in the name of R. Yohanan: To the one who declared the white to be prohibited, the intestines of unclean white fish are mixed with it; to the one who declared the black to be prohibited, the intestines of unclean black fish are mixed with it; and to the one who declared both kinds to be prohibited, [the intestines of] both species of fish are mixed with them.

R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Hanina b. Gamaliel: There was an old man in our neighborhood who used to polish this salt with pig fat.

 

This baraita discusses the various reasons for why this type of salt was prohibited the question is whether forbidden fish was mixed in with it. The other reason may be that it was smeared with pig fat.

 

הרי אלו אסורים: למעוטי מאי? לחזקיה למעוטי בידוע

לרבי יוחנן למעוטי מורייס וגבינת בית אונייקי וסתמא כר"מ:

 

Behold these are prohibited. What does this intend to exclude?

According to Hezekiah it excludes [those preserved foods] in which it is known [that wine is included].

According to R. Yohanan it excludes murias and Bithynian cheese, and the anonymous statement [in the Mishnah] is that of R. Meir.

 

The mishnah says that these foods are prohibited from eating but one may derive benefit from them. The rabbis often read these types of statements as excluding something as if to say these items belong on this list, but others do not. The question is what is being excluded from the list. Earlier on daf 38b, Hezekiah held that if we know there was wine used to preserve certain foods then the food is prohibited in benefit and not just for consumption. Thus the words behold these are prohibited exclude such foods. But R. Yohanan said that if the wine was only used as a preservative, a Jew may derive benefit from the food. To him the words exclude murias and Bithynian cheese, both of which R. Meir prohibits in benefit.