Avodah Zarah, Daf Nun, Part 3
Introduction
Today s sugya begins with the story of the destruction of King Yannai s palace.
בי ינאי מלכא חרוב. אתו עובדי כוכבים אוקימו ביה מרקוליס. אתו עובדי כוכבים אחריני דלא פלחי למרקוליס שקלינהו וחיפו בהן דרכים וסטרטאות. איכא רבנן דפרשי ואיכא רבנן דלא פרשי
The palace of King Yannai was destroyed. Idolaters came and set up a Mercurius there. Subsequently other idolaters who did not worship Mercurius came and removed the stones and paved with them roads and streets. Some Rabbis abstained [from walking in them] while others did not.
Yannai (Alexander Yannai) was a Hasmonean king who ruled between 103-76 B.C.E. According to this source, when his palace was destroyed, the Romans turned it into a palace for Mercurius. Then other idolaters came, conquered the place and did not worship Mercurius, so they used the stones to pave the ground. Thus we have stones that were once part of idols now being used to pave roads. Can a Jew walk there? Have they been annulled? Some rabbis did, and others did not.
As far as the historicity of this story goes, there may be some echo here of the fact that Israel was placed between the two great powers, the Seleucids in the north and the Ptolemies in the South. The rulers of Israel often found themselves caught between these two powers. I do not know if one of these powers worshipped Mercury while the other did not.
א"ר יוחנן בנן של קדושים מהלך עליהן ואנן נפרוש מהן
מאן ניהו בנן של קדושים רבי מנחם ברבי סימאי ואמאי קרו ליה בנן של קדושים דאפי’ בצורתא דזוזא לא מיסתכל
R. Yohanan said, The son of the holy ones walks on them, and we should abstain!
Who was the son of the holy ones ? R. Menahem son of R. Simai. And why did they call him the son of the holy ones ? Because he would not look even at the image on a zuz.
R. Yohanan refers to a very righteous person who would walk on those stones. This R. Menahem son of R. Simai was so holy that he would never look even at the image on a coin.
מ"ט דמאן דפריש סבר לה כי הא דאמר רב גידל א"ר חייא בר יוסף א"ר מנין לתקרובת עבודת כוכבים שאין לה בטילה עולמית שנאמר (תהלים קו, כח) ויצמדו לבעל פעור ויאכלו זבחי מתים מה מת אין לו בטילה לעולם אף תקרובת עבודת כוכבים אין לה בטילה לעולם
What was the reason for the one who did not [walk on these stones]?
He agreed with what R. Giddal said in the name of R. Hiyya b. Joseph: From where do we know that an idolatrous offering can never be annulled? As it is stated, They joined themselves also to Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead (Psalms 106:28) just as a dead body can never be annulled, similarly an idolatrous offering can never be annulled.
The rabbis who did not walk on these roads held that they were like idolatrous offerings that can never be annulled. Thus although they were taken down from the Temple, they still retain their idolatrous nature.
ומאן דלא פריש אמר בעינא כעין פנים וליכא
As for the one who did not abstain, he would say: We require [such an offering] to resemble what was offered within the Temple and this is not the case.
The one who did walk on these stones held that they are not to be considered idolatrous offerings because stones were not offered on the altar. Only things like actual idolatrous offerings cannot be annulled. Stones can be annulled.