Avodah Zarah, Daf Samekh, Part 4

 

Introduction

This mishnah discusses different types of contact that a non-Jew may have with wine that may or may not make the wine into yen nesekh, which is forbidden to Jews.

 

מתני׳ עובד כוכבים שנמצא עומד בצד הבור של יין אם יש לו מלוה עליו אסור אין לו מלוה עליו מותר

 

If a non-Jew was found standing by the side of a vat of wine, if he had loaned money to the Jew, then [the wine] is prohibited;

but if he did not loan money to the Jew, then it is permitted.

 

If a non-Jew is seen standing next to a vat of wine we need to know if the non-Jew touched the wine. The mishnah teaches that if the non-Jew had loaned money to the Jew then the wine is prohibited. In such a case, the non-Jew has a lien on the Jew s wine and might at some point say to the Jew, give me the wine and I will forgive you the loan. Since he has this financial connection to the Jew, and in some sense he has ownership over the wine, he will feel free to take some of the wine for himself. Therefore we must assume that he has come into contact with the wine. If, however, he has not loaned money to the Jew, then we do not assume that he had come into contact with the wine, and it is permitted.

 

נפל לבור ועלה מדדו בקנה התיז את הצרעה בקנה או שהיה מטפיח ע"פ חבית מרותחת בכל אלו היה מעשה ואמרו ימכר ור"ש מתיר

 

If [a non-Jew] fell into a vat and climbed out, or measured it with a reed, or flicked out a hornet with a reed, or tapped on the top of a frothing cask.

All of these things actually happened, and [the Rabbis] said that the wine may be sold, but Rabbi Shimon permits it [even to be drunk].

 

This section lists all sorts of circumstances in which a non-Jew might come into contact with wine and yet it is highly unlikely that he used it to make a libation. Since in all of these cases we can be almost one hundred per cent sure that he didn t do so, there is room to be lenient. The Sages, in front of whom cases such as these came, said that the wine could be sold to a non-Jew. In other words, it is forbidden to drink the wine but it is not forbidden to derive benefit from it. If it had truly been considered yen nesekh, then it could not even be sold. Rabbi Shimon is even more lenient and allows a person to even drink the wine.

 

נטל את החבית וזרקה בחמתו לבור זה היה מעשה והכשירו:

 

If [a non-Jew] took a cask, and in his anger threw it into the vat this actually happened and [the Rabbis] declared it fit [for drinking].

 

If a non-Jew throws an empty cask into a vat of wine the wine in the vat is not forbidden at all. Since in this case the non-Jew certainly did not make a libation with the wine, it is permitted and a Jew may even drink the wine.

 

 

 

גמ׳ אמר שמואל והוא שיש לו מלוה על אותו יין

 

GEMARA. Shmuel said: [The first clause of the mishnah applies only] when he has a lien on that wine [which is in the vat].

 

If the non-Jew has a lien over other wine owned by the Jew, then he will not be able to take this wine. For this wine to be prohibited he needs to be able to collect it.

אמר רב אשי מתני’ נמי דיקא דתנן המטהר יינו של עובד כוכבים ונותנו ברשותו והלה כותב לו התקבלתי ממך מעות מותר אבל אם ירצה ישראל להוציאו ואין מניחו עד שיתן לו מעותיו זה היה מעשה בבית שאן ואסרו

טעמא דאין מניחו הא מניחו שרי ש"מ מלוה על אותו יין בעינן ש"מ:

 

R. Ashi said: This can also be learned by a deduction in the Mishnah which teaches: If [a Jew] prepares a non-Jew s wine in a state of ritual purity and leaves it in [the non-Jew s] domain, and the [non-Jew] writes for him I have received the money from you, then [the wine] is permitted. If, however, the Jew wished to remove it and [the non-Jew] refuses to let it go until he paid him this actually happened in Beth-Shean and [the Rabbis] prohibited it.

The reason [why they prohibited it] was because he refused to let it go; hence if he had agreed to let it go, it would have been permitted. Learn from this that we require that the lien should be on that wine [for it to be prohibited]! Learn from this.

 

R. Ashi quotes another mishnah that proves that the wine is prohibited only if the non-Jew could take it to collect his loan. The wine in the second clause is essentially being held by the non-Jew as collateral for a loan. If the non-Jew will not let the Jew take the wine, then he has a lien on this wine. But if he lets him take the wine, then we can assume his lien is on other wine (or some other collateral). In this case the wine would be permitted.

We will learn this mishnah in greater depth later in the chapter.