Avodah Zarah, Daf Samekh Heh, Part 3

 

Introduction

Today s section begins to deal with the next section of the mishnah. This section of the mishnah reads:

 

If he hired him to assist him in another kind of work, even if he says to him, remove for me a jug of yayin nesekh from this place to that, his wage is permitted.

 

שכרו לעשות עמו מלאכה אחרת: ואע"ג דלא א"ל לעיתותי ערב

ורמינהי השוכר את הפועל ולעיתותי ערב אמר לו העבר חבית של יין נסך ממקום למקום שכרו מותר טעמא דא"ל לעיתותי ערב אין כולי יומא לא

 

If he hired him to assist him in another kind of work

Even if he did not ask him [to remove the jug of yayin nesekh] towards evening?

Against this they raised the following: One who hires a Jewish workman and towards evening says to him, Remove a jug of yayin nesekh from this place to that, his wage is permitted. The reason [why it is permitted] is because he asked him to do so towards evening consequently [if he was asked to do so] throughout the day it would not [be permitted]!

 

The Talmud cites a baraita which is similar to our mishnah but adds one caveat. In this case, the gentile hires him to work in some other form of work. And then late in the day he tacks on the task of moving a jug of yayin nesekh. In such a case his wage is permitted because he was not hired to carry yayin nesekh. But it would seem that if he had told him at the outset that part of his work was carrying yayin nesekh the wages would be prohibited. Thus the baraita seems to contradict the mishnah.

 

אמר אביי כי תנן נמי מתניתין דאמר לעיתותי ערב תנן

 

Abaye said: Our Mishnah likewise refers to when he asked him to do so towards evening.

 

Abaye solves the problem by just reading the baraita into the mishnah.

 

רבא אמר ל"ק הא דאמר ליה העבר לי מאה חביות במאה פרוטות הא דא"ל העבר לי חבית חבית בפרוטה

 

Rava said: There is no contradiction, because [the second teaching deals with the circumstance] where he says to him, Remove for me a hundred jugs for a hundred perutahs and [the Mishnah] where he says to him, Remove for me some jugs for a perutah each.

 

Rava says that the agreement was different in the two cases. In the mishnah he removes a lump sum of jugs for a lump sum of money. Even if one of them is yayin nesekh, he was not specifically hired to carry that jug. But in the baraita, he was told to remove each jug for a perutah. Therefore, the wages he received for moving the jug of yayin nesekh are prohibited.

 

והתניא השוכר את הפועל ואמר לו העבר לי מאה חביות במאה פרוטות ונמצאת חבית של יין נסך ביניהן שכרו אסור חבית חבית בפרוטה ונמצאת חבית של יין נסך ביניהן שכרו מותר:

 

And thus it has been taught: If [a non-Jew] hires a [Jewish] workman, saying to him, Remove for me a hundred jugs for a hundred perutahs and a jug of yayin nesekh was found among them, his wage is prohibited.

[But if he said, Remove for me] some jugs for a perutah each, and a jug of yayin nesekh was found among them, his wage is permitted.

 

This baraita supports (and is probably the source) of the distinction that Rava made between hiring him to transport a lump sum of jugs and hiring him to transport individual jugs.