Avodah Zarah, Daf Nun, Part 4

 

Introduction

Today s section contains two stories in which a rabbi comes to a town and he teaches a tradition that no one understands. Then, in the blink of an eye, a rabbi saves the day and offers to interpret the tradition.

 

אמר רב יוסף בר אבא איקלע רבה בר ירמיה לאתרין ואתא ואייתי מתניתא בידיה עובד כוכבים שהביא אבנים מן המרקוליס וחיפה בהן דרכים וטרטיאות מותרות

ישראל שהביא אבנים מן המרקוליס וחיפה בהן דרכים וסרטיאות אסורות ולית נגר ולא בר נגר דיפרקינה

 

R. Joseph b. Abba said: Rabbah b. Yirmiyah once visited our town. When he came he brought with him this teaching: If an idolater took stones from a Mercurius and paved roads and streets with them, they are permitted. If an Israelite took stones from a Mercurius and paved roads and streets with them, they are prohibited;

And there was no carpenter or son of a carpenter who could explain this teaching .

 

The baraita distinguishes between an idolater who uses stones from a Mercurius to pave the roads, in which case a Jew can walk on the roads, and a Jew who uses these stones, in which case it is prohibited for the Jew to walk on the roads. But Rabbah b. Yirmiyah cannot explain this distinction. Carpenter here seems to be a nickname for a scholar, probably due to the high level of skill a carpenter needs to shape his material.

 

אמר רב ששת אנא לא נגר אנא ולא בר נגר אנא ופריקנא ליה מאי קושיא ליה דרב גידל בעינא כעין פנים וליכא

 

R. Sheshet said: I am neither a carpenter nor a son of a carpenter, yet I can explain it. What was the difficulty? The statement of R. Gidel. [And the solution is] that we require [such an offering] to resemble what was offered within the Temple, and this is not the case here.

 

R. Sheshet explains both the difficulty and the solution. The difficulty was how can we annul a sacrificial offering. If these stones are considered offerings they, unlike idols, can never be annulled. The answer is that for an offering to be prohibited it must be like something offered on the altar, and the stones are not like the offerings we put on the altar. The stones are more like an idol and therefore when the idolater treats them with a lack of sanctity, they become permitted.

 

אמר רב יוסף בר אבא איקלע רבה בר ירמיה לאתרין ואתא ואייתי מתניתא בידיה מתליעין ומזהמין בשביעית ואין מתליעין ומזהמין במועד כאן וכאן אין מגזמין וסכין שמן לגזום בין במועד בין בשביעית ולית נגר ולא בר נגר דיפרקינה

 

R. Joseph b. Abba said: Rabbah b. Yirmiyah once visited our town. When he came he brought with him this teaching: We may remove worms [from a tree] and place manure [on a cut branch] during the Sabbatical year, but we may not remove worms [from a tree] and place manure [on a cut branch] during the [intermediate days of] a festival. On both these occasions we may not prune, but we may smear oil on the place of pruning both during the festival and during the Sabbatical year. And there was no carpenter or son of a carpenter who could explain this teaching .

 

This case is unrelated to our larger topic and is brought here because it has the same format and same rabbis as the previous story. Two time periods are being compared the Sabbatical year when one cannot plant or work the field and hol hamoed, the intermediate days of the festivals of Sukkot and Pesah when certain types of work should not be performed. But again, no one can solve the statement.

 

אמר רבינא אנא לא נגר אנא ולא בר נגר אנא ומפרקינא לה מאי קא קשיא ליה אילימא מועד אשביעית קא קשיא ליה מאי שנא שביעית דשרי ומ"ש מועד דאסור מי דמי שביעית מלאכה אסר רחמנא טירחא שרי מועד אפי’ טירחא נמי אסור

.

Ravina said: I am neither a carpenter nor a son of a carpenter yet I can explain it. What is the difficulty he has with it? If I say that the difficulty is the festival vis a vis the Sabbatical year, why is it that the Sabbatical year is permitted and the festival forbidden? Are the two the same? On the Sabbatical year the Torah prohibited work but exertion is permitted, but on the festival even exertion is forbidden.

 

Ravina first needs to figure out what the difficulty is. If we think the difficulty is in figuring out why one can treat the tree on the Sabbatical year but not on the festival, this is not a difficulty. The Torah prohibits certain types of agricultural work but there is no prohibition of exertion. Taking care of the tree is not one of those forbidden labors. But on the festival it is prohibited to do all sorts of activities that require exertion. This would include taking care of the tree. So this should not be a difficulty at all.

We will continue with this sugya tomorrow.