Avodah Zarah, Daf Samekh Zayin, Part 5
Introduction
Today s section discusses the baraita at the end of yesterday s section, where R. Meir and R. Shimon disagreed over whether a substance that imparts a detrimental flavor causes the mixture to be prohibited.
מ"ט דר"מ? גמר מגיעולי עובדי כוכבים גיעולי עובדי כוכבים לאו נותן טעם לפגם הוא ואסר רחמנא ה"נ לא שנא
What is R. Meir’s reason? He derives it from the vessels of Gentiles. The vessels of Gentiles, are they not a case of imparting a detrimental flavor and yet the Torah forbade them; so here also it makes no difference [and it is prohibited].
R. Meir derives his law from the case of vessels acquired from Gentiles. Such vessels cannot be used unless they are koshered. The assumption is that the taste of the forbidden food cooked in them will be emitted when they are used by a Jew and it will impart its flavor to the Jew s food. But this flavor by definition will be detrimental because it has been sitting in the walls of the vessel for a long time. From here R. Meir derives the general conclusion that even though the flavor imparted to the dish makes it taste worse, the dish is forbidden.
ואידך כדרב הונא בריה דרב חייא דאמר רב הונא בריה דרב חייא לא אסרה תורה אלא קדירה בת יומא דלא לפגם הוא
And what would the other (R. Shimon) say? Like R. Huna the son of R. Hiyya who said: The Torah only forbade a utensil which had been used [by a Gentile] the same day, for this is not to its detriment.
R. Shimon would hold that a vessel used by a Gentile cannot be used by a Jew only if the Gentile used it that day. By definition, the taste imparted from the walls of the vessel will be for the betterment of the dish. If the food was cooked more than a day earlier, the dish that the Jew cooks in it is not prohibited.
ואידך קדירה בת יומא נמי אי אפשר דלא פגמה פורתא
And the other (what would he say)? Even in the case of a pot used [by a Gentile] the same day it is impossible that it should not worsen [the flavor] a little.
R. Meir responds that the taste emitted by the wall of the pot will always worsen the flavor a little such that halakhically he considers this a case of imparting a detrimental flavor. Again, this proves that even if the forbidden substance imparts a detrimental flavor, it is prohibited.