Avodah Zarah, Daf Samekh Heh, Part 5

 

Introduction

Today s sugya contains a story of R. Aha s father who sold wine to gentiles and kept the jugs as payment.

 

אבוה דרב אחא בריה דרב איקא הוה שפיך להו חמרא לעובדי כוכבים ואזיל מעבר להו מעברא ויהבו ליה גולפי באגרא אתו אמרו ליה לאביי א"ל כי קא טרח בהתירא קא טרח

 

The father of R. Aha the son of R. Ika used to pour out wine for non-Jews and carry it across the ford for them, receiving from them the jars as payment.

They came and told the matter to Abaye who told them: When he labored he did so with what was permitted.

 

R. Aha s father used to sell kosher wine to non-Jews in jugs. He would pour the wine into wine-skins that belonged to the non-Jews. He would then carry the wine-skins across the ford. His payment was keeping the jugs that held the wine before he sold it to the non-Jews. The question is does this count as transporting yayin nesekh?

Abaye allowed this because when he was carrying the wine it had not yet become yayin nesekh.

והא רוצה בקיומו דלא נצטרו זיקי

 

But did he not want the preservation of the [the wine] that the wine-skins should not split!

 

The Talmud raises a difficulty doesn t R. Aha s father want the water-skins to be preserved. If they burst, then he will have to give them the jugs. Thus in a sense he is invested in the preservation of the wine.

דמתני בהדייהו

 

This refers to case where had made a prior condition with them.

 

R. Aha s father made a condition with the non-Jews he would keep the jugs even if the wine-skins split and the wine was lost. In other words, he was paid up front.

א"נ דמייתו פריסדקי בהדייהו

 

Alternatively, they brought barrels with them.

 

It might also be a case where the non-Jews brought barrels with him to hold the wine if the wine-skins should break.

והא קא מעבר להו מעברא דקא טרח באיסורא

 

But, [it was objected,] he carried them across the ford for them and consequently he labored with what was prohibited!

 

The Talmud raises another difficulty once the wine is put into the non-Jew s wineskins, the wine is prohibited. Now R. Aha s father is being paid to ferry across yayin nesekh this should be prohibited.

 

דא"ל למברויא מעיקרא א"נ דנקיטי ביה קיטרי:

 

It is case where he instructed the ferryman from the outset [to convey the buyers across].

Or [as an alternative explanation] they carried with them knots (as a signal to the ferryman).

 

R. Aha s father would make a deal at the beginning of the week that he would pay the ferryman a lump sum and that the ferryman would not take a fee for carrying the individual non-Jews. Alternatively, he made some sort of sign with knots to signal the ferryman that the ferryman would not charge the gentiles. So he was not getting paid for the transport. I would note that all of these conditions seem to make it relatively unlikely that one would be allowed to engage in such a business transaction. R. Aha had the ability to get the ferryman to transport these people for free. But not everyone would have such power.