Avodah Zarah, Daf Samech, Part 3

 

Introduction

A few more stories about non-Jews coming into contact with wine containers owned by Jews.

 

ההוא חביתא דאיפקעה לאורכה אידרי ההוא עובד כוכבים חבקה שרייה רפרם בר פפא ואי תימא רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע לזבוני לעובדי כוכבים

 

It once happened that a cask split lengthwise, and a non-Jew sprang forward and clasped it in his arms. Rafram b. Papa (another version–R. Huna the son of Rab Joshua) permitted selling it to non-Jews.

 

The non-Jew held this wine inside the jug by holding the broken jug together. The force that he applies to the walls of the jug causes the wine to be prohibited but only for consumption. A Jew may still sell it.

וה"מ דפקעה לאורכה אבל לפותייה אפילו בשתיה שרי מ"ט מעשה לבינה קעביד

 

This rule applies only when it split lengthwise, but if crosswise it is permitted even to be drunk [by Israelites].

What is the reason? He only did what a brick might have done.

 

If the split is lengthwise then when he held it together, the non-Jew did something that could not have been done by a heavy weight. But if it split cross-wise, and he just held the top down, then even a brick could have accomplished that. The wine remains totally permitted.

 

ההוא עובד כוכבים דאשתכח דהוה קאי במעצרתא אמר רב אשי אי איכא טופח להטפיח בעי הדחה ובעי ניגוב ואי לא בהדחה בעלמא סגי ליה:

 

A non-Jew was once found standing in [the empty] wine-press [of an Israelite].

R. Ashi said: If it was sufficiently moist to moisten other objects, it needs to be rinsed with water and rubbed dry, otherwise mere rinsing is sufficient.

 

This story is really about kashering the wine press. If the non-Jew is standing in the press then he can be assumed to have touched the wine in the press. Does this wine go into the walls of the press? If there is enough moisture there that were one to moisten one s hands with it then touch something else the moisture would be transferred then the winepress needs to be rinsed and rubbed dry to make it usable by a Jew. As we shall see on page 74b this process is done with ash. If the winepress is not that moist, then it only needs to be dried off.