Avodah Zarah 30b (ל:) — the Talmud in English

From here

from the third day

and onward, it is subject neither to the prohibition of uncovered liquids nor to that of yayin nesekh,

since it is completely spoiled.

And the sages of Nehardea,

the sages of Nehardea,

say

:

even after three days

after three days,

we are concerned

there is cause for concern

about uncovered liquids.

What is the reason? —

Sometimes it happens that it drinks,

sometimes the snake nevertheless drinks from it.

The Sages taught in a beraita: Fermenting wine

very new wine that has just been pressed from the grapes and has not yet reached the status of wine is called “fermenting wine”; and

it is not subject to

the prohibition of

uncovered liquids.

And how long

does its fermentation last, until it becomes wine? —

Three days!

Likewise,

shĕḥalim

a type of plant that is crushed and ground and mixed with water or wine,

are not subject to

the prohibition of

uncovered liquids. And

indeed,

the people of the Diaspora —

adopted the practice of prohibiting them.

And we said this

that they adopted the practice of prohibiting them,

only when they contain no vinegar,

as in these shĕḥalim, where there is only water or wine and no vinegar.

But if they contain vinegar,

if there is vinegar in them,

it irritates them.

The vinegar “irritates” and repels the palate of snakes and keeps them away from the beverage.

And for this reason, it is not subject to the prohibition of uncovered liquids.

Likewise,

Babylonian kutah

a pungent food resembling vinegar,

is not subject to

the prohibition of

uncovered liquids. And the people of the Diaspora —

adopted the practice of prohibiting it.

Rav Manshi said: If there are snake marks in it,

if there are marks in the Babylonian kutah in the form of snake bites,

we are concerned.

There is concern that a snake ate from it.

Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi said that Shmuel said: Drip-drip water,

drops that dripped into a vessel beneath the barrel —

is not subject to

the prohibition of

uncovered liquids

and the reason is explained below.

Rav Ashi said: And this

permission to drink this dripping applies when

it produces a drip opposite every drip

the drops fall frequently, and the snake hears the continuous dripping and flees!

Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi said that Shmuel said: The opening of a fig

when a fig is plucked from the tree, a sort of small mouth forms in it where the stem was attached,

is not subject to

the prohibition of

uncovered liquids.

There is no concern that a snake may have bitten it.

In accordance with whose opinion

is this permission stated?

It is in accordance with this tanna,

as this tanna cited in a beraita:

as it was taught: Rabbi Eliezer says: A person may eat grapes and figs at night without concern

that there may be snake bites in them, which he cannot notice in the darkness.

And the reason is

because it is stated

Psalms 116:6:

“The Lord protects the simple!”

Rav Safra said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua of the South

from the south:

There are three types of venom

that are commonly

found

in snakes:

a.

That of a young snake

a young snake, whose venom is strong and heavy, and

sinks

to the bottom of the beverage inside the vessel.

b.

That of a

snake

of intermediate age,

which is neither young nor old, and this venom

permeates

it neither sinks nor floats, but remains in the middle of the vessel.

c.

And that of an

old

snake,

whose venom

floats

to the top.

The Gemara asks:

Does this mean

that

the older

the snake becomes,

the weaker is its strength,

its power becomes feeble and weak, and it is difficult —

But it was taught in a beraita: There are three creatures in which, as they age, —

their strength increases.

And these are: A fish, a snake, and a pig.

And if so, we see that its strength increases?!

The Gemara answers:

It is its strength that it continues to increase,

indeed, as it ages, its strength increases. However,

its venom

its venom

becomes thin.

It becomes weak and diluted, and therefore it floats to the top.

We learned in the beraita above: The venom

of a young

snake

sinks.

The Gemara discusses this:

For what halakhic purpose

was this stated?

As it was taught in a beraita: If a barrel was found uncovered

its opening,

even though nine people drank from it

people

and did not die, a tenth person may not drink from it.

Because the venom sinks to the bottom, and if the tenth person drinks the water containing the venom, he will die!

This statement that the venom of a young snake sinks was said with regard to this halakha, teaching us that it is prohibited to drink from the bottom of a barrel that was left uncovered.

And indeed,

it once happened that they drank from it

from the barrel,

nine

people

and did not die, and a tenth drank —

and died!

And concerning this incident,

Rabbi Yirmeya said:

the thing that caused his death

was

the venom that

sinks

to the bottom of the barrel. Therefore, the last person who drank from the bottom of the barrel died.

Likewise,

the same law applies to

a watermelon that was found uncovered: Even though nine people ate from it and did not die, a tenth person may not eat from it.

Because when a watermelon is opened, the entire place where it was opened remains exposed. And since its interior is soft, the venom sinks into it.

Likewise,

it once happened

with regard to this matter,

that nine ate from it and did not die. And a tenth ate —

and died!

Rabbi said:

the thing that caused his death

was

the venom that

sinks

into the flesh of the fruit.

The Sages taught in a beraita: Water that was found uncovered may not be poured into the public domain.

Because there is concern that a person may pass there barefoot and the venom may remain between his toes; if even a little venom enters and punctures his flesh, there is no remedy for it!

And one may not use it to settle the dust in the house.

He may not pour it onto the floor of the house to settle the earth and dust so that it will not rise into the air, because there is concern that one of the members of the household may walk on the earth settled by this water, and the venom will enter him!

And one may not knead clay with it,

for the kneading is done with his hands, and the venom may enter them.

And one may not give it to drink, neither

his

animal,

as he may kill it with the venom that might be present in the water,

nor

his

fellow’s animal.

For if he kills it, he will cause his fellow a loss.

And one may not wash his face, hands, or feet with it,

lest the venom penetrate them.

Others say:

if he washes a

place

on his body

that has a fissure,

a crack in his flesh,

it is prohibited

to wash with this water, since the venom will enter and penetrate through the crack into the flesh.

But if

there is no fissure

in the place where he is washing,

it is permitted.

Since presumably the venom will fall away and will not penetrate the flesh.

The Gemara asks: The opinion of

Others —

that is,

is it the same as the words of

the first tanna,

since the first tanna prohibited washing one’s face, hands, and feet with it?

But the face, hands, and feet are places where there are fissures [such as the cracks in the palm of the hand, and the ears and lips, which are open places], and it apparently follows from the words of the first tanna that it is permitted to wash the other parts of the body with this water. If so, what is the difference between the words of the first tanna and those of Others?

The Gemara answers:

There is a difference between them

in their respective rulings concerning

the back of the hand, the instep, and the cheeks

the cheeks.

For none of these places has fissures. According to the first tanna, they too are prohibited for washing with this water, since ultimately they are included among the hands, feet, and face; whereas according to Others, it is permitted, since they have no fissures.

The Master said [

above]:

He may not give it to drink

this water that was found uncovered,

not

to

his animal, nor

to

his fellow’s animal.

The Gemara asks:

But it was taught in a beraita: However, he may give it to drink

this water

to his own animal?!

The Gemara answers:

When

that beraita

was taught,

it was referring

to a cat,

as a cat is not harmed by drinking snake venom. Therefore, one may give this water to his own cat.

The Gemara asks:

If so,

if that is the case,

his fellow’s as well,

he should also give his fellow’s cat this water to drink. Why, then, was it stated that he may give it only to his own animal?

The Gemara answers: It is prohibited to give it to

his fellow’s

cat, because

it becomes emaciated.

Drinking the venom causes its flesh to become thin.

The Gemara raises a difficulty: If so,

his own also becomes emaciated.

His cat too becomes emaciated through drinking the venom?

The Gemara answers: After it drinks the venom and becomes emaciated,

it recovers,

it returns to health. If so, there is no reason to prohibit giving uncovered water to a cat.

But if so,

his fellow’s also,

he should give his fellow’s cat the water as well, since it too

recovers,

returns to health?

The Gemara answers:

Sometimes he wants to sell it,

as his fellow may sometimes wish to sell his cat while it has not yet recovered,

and he thereby causes him a loss.

He must sell it for a lower price because of its emaciated state.

Rav Asi said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira: There are three types of wine

that are prohibited;

they are:

a.

Wine used for idolatry,

that was actually offered to an idol,

is prohibited for benefit, and it renders

this wine

impure

with severe impurity,

in a tent and through carrying, like a corpse; and this impurity is

with

the measure of

an olive-bulk.