Avodah Zarah 31a — the Talmud in English

b.

“Stam yeinam,”

wine that came from a gentile,

is forbidden for benefit

because of the decree concerning yayin nesekh.

And

if a creeping creature touched it, it

renders food and liquid impure with the impurity of liquids in the

measure of

a quarter-log.

As is the law regarding liquids that became impure.

c.

One who deposits his wine with a gentile,

this wine

is forbidden to drink, but permitted for benefit.

And the Gemara asks from the Mishna in tractate Demai [4:3]:

But we learned: One who deposits his produce with a gentile, it is like the produce of the gentile with regard to

the matter of

the Sabbatical year and with regard to

the matter of

tithe.

For they suspect that perhaps the gentile exchanged the produce deposited with him for his own produce.

And it is difficult: If they suspect him of having exchanged it, they should also suspect that he exchanged the wine for his own wine, and the wine should be forbidden for benefit, as is the law concerning wine belonging to a gentile? The Gemara answers: This concerns

a case where he designated for him

the gentile

a corner,

a place in which he would put his wine. And the gentile gave him the keys to that place, or made a seal for him in that place, and no one entered there. And therefore there is no reason to forbid the wine for benefit.

The Gemara asks:

If so,

if indeed this concerns a case where he made for him a corner or a sign, and it is impossible that the gentile exchanged his wine, then

with regard to drinking, too, it should be permitted,

it should likewise be permitted?

For

since

Rabbi Yohanan happened

to arrive

at

a place called

Pardod,

which was the city of Bar Kappara [and this was after Bar Kappara had died],

he said,

Rabbi Yohanan:

“Is there any teaching of Bar Kappara here,”

is there anyone here who teaches the learning of Bar Kappara?

Rabbi Tanhum of Pardod taught him

a teaching

in the name of Rabbi Tanhum of Pardod

in the name of Bar Kappara, his teacher:

“One who deposits his wine with a gentile is permitted to drink it.”

He applied to him,

Rabbi Yohanan applied to him the verse [Ecclesiastes 11:3]:

“In the place where the tree falls, there it shall be.”

That is, in the place where the “tree,” the Torah scholar, namely Bar Kappara, resided, there he shall be.

And seemingly one must wonder: Is

“there it shall be,” conceivable?

How can it be said that it will be there, since he already died?

Rather,

the explanation is: In the place where it fell,

there shall be its fruits

that fell from it. And they are its words of Torah, which are taught there even after his death!

And so is the matter here as well. Whoever needs the words of the Sages that were taught in this place should ask the townspeople. For they heard from the Sages, and now they teach others! And they, who teach others, are like the fruits of the sage.

And it is difficult: Why was it ruled in the beraita that the wine is forbidden to drink?

And the Gemara answers:

Rabbi Zeira said —

It is not difficult.

This

the beraita that Rabbi Yohanan stated in the name of Rabbi Judah ben Bateira is according to the view of

Rabbi Eliezer.

And

this,

the Mishna that says that one who deposits his produce with the gentile, it is like the produce of the gentile, is according to the view of

the Rabbis.

And what are the words of Rabbi Eliezer and the Rabbis?

For it was taught:

Both one who purchases

who buys,

and

likewise

one who rents a house in the courtyard of a gentile,

and fills it

the purchaser or renter fills it with

wine,

and

the

key

or

the

seal

of that place is found

in the possession of an Israelite,

and there is no concern that a gentile will enter there.

Rabbi Eliezer permits

the wine even for drinking.

And the Sages forbid

it.

However, if in any event he left wine there, it is permitted for benefit and forbidden for drinking.

And if so, the beraita that permits wine deposited with a gentile is according to Rabbi Eliezer . Whereas the Mishna, which suspects that the gentile exchanges produce in his possession, is according to the Rabbis.

Rabbi Hiyya, his son

of

of Rabbi Hiyya bar Nahmani, said that Rav Hisda said that Rav said.

And some say

that the matter was transmitted in this way:

Rav Hisda said that Zeiri said.

And some say

that the matter was transmitted in this way:

Rav Hisda said that Abba bar Hama said to me: Thus

so

said Zeiri:

The halakha follows Rabbi Eliezer!

Rabbi Elazar said: Everything

every object that one gave to be guarded in the possession of a gentile

is guarded

even if it is closed only

with one seal

[a closure]

alone.

And there is no concern that perhaps the gentile opened the seal and exchanged the object.

Except for wine. For

the wine

is not guarded with one seal,

but two seals are needed to guard it and to be certain that the gentile indeed did not exchange the wine for his own wine.

And Rabbi Yohanan said: Even wine is guarded with one seal.

And they do not disagree,

they are not in disagreement with one another.

Rather,

this,

Rabbi Yohanan stated his words

according to

the view of

Rabbi Eliezer

[cited above, who permits wine that was closed in a house in the courtyard of a gentile].

And

this,

Rabbi Elazar stated his words

according to

the view of

the Rabbis.

There are those who say,

there are those who say that Rabbi Elazar

said as follows: Everything,

every object given into the possession of a gentile,

is guarded with a seal within a seal,

and there is no concern that perhaps the gentile broke through both seals and exchanged the object.

Except for wine, which is not guarded even with a seal within a seal!

And Rabbi Yohanan said: Even wine is guarded with a seal within a seal.

And both of them,

both Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Yohanan, hold

according to

the view of

the Rabbis,

that one seal is insufficient [as in the view of Rabbi Eliezer].

And concerning what do they disagree?

One master,

Rabbi Yohanan,

held: When they disagree,

when they disagreed,

the Rabbis with Rabbi Eliezer,

they disagreed with his words that if the wine is sealed

with one seal,

it is permitted even for drinking. And they hold that with one seal it is forbidden.

But

if the wine is closed

with a seal within a seal —

they permitted it.

The Sages permitted it.

And one master,

Rabbi Elazar,

held

that they disagree with Rabbi Eliezer’s words in every circumstance,

even

when the wine is closed with

a seal within a seal —

they forbid it,

they prohibit it.

And the Gemara clarifies:

What are the circumstances,

how is the matter considered

a seal within a seal?

Rava said: The vessel of the mouth of the barrel,

if one inverted a vessel over the mouth of the barrel,

sealed and signed,

and smeared and closed it with clay around that vessel —

it is a seal within a seal.

And if not,

if he did not do this,

no.

This is not a seal within a seal!

A basket, and it is tightened,

if one inverted a basket and tightened it firmly against the sides of the barrel, while the barrel was already closed and sealed with clay —

it is a seal within a seal,

since the gentile will not trouble himself to repeat exactly all these actions in order to counterfeit the seal and exchange the wine.

But if

not

was the basket

tightened

firmly, and it could easily be removed from there,

it is not a seal within a seal.

And so,

wineskin

a leather vessel in which they store the wine, placed

in

side

a diskaya [a large basket, which they place upon an animal in order to put vessels and objects inside it],

that is placed on an animal to hold containers and other objects inside it],

if

the sealing

the closing

of its mouth

of the wineskin is toward

the bottom, it is a seal within a seal.

Since, in order to take the wine out of it, the gentile must untie the fastening of the diskaya, turn the wineskin over, untie its fastenings, take out the wine, tie it again, turn it back over, and tie the diskaya—and all these actions constitute great trouble for him, we do not fear that the gentile will do them.

And if

its mouth

of the wineskin is toward

the top, it is not a seal within a seal.

Since the gentile does not have the trouble of turning the wineskin over and returning it to its place, he will not refrain from doing so and replacing the wine.

And when he bends its mouth inward,

when he bends the fastening into the wineskin,

and imprints and seals,

and he further bundles and ties it a second time,

it is a seal within a seal [even if he did not insert it into a diskaya].

even if he did not place it inside a basket].

The Sages taught: At first

in the beginning

they would say—

the wine of Ein Kushi,

which is a place of Kutim, is forbidden,

because

it is adjacent to

Birat Sarika,

which is a city of gentiles.

And

the wine of

Barkata,

which too is a city of Kutim,

is forbidden because

it is adjacent to

Kfar Parshai,

which is a village of gentiles.

And

the wine

of Zagdur,

a place of Kutim,

is forbidden because of Kfar Shalim,

which is a place of gentiles. [Everything was so at first].

Afterward

they returned to say,

that

barrels

coming from the Kutim and being

open—

are forbidden. And sealed—

are permitted.

The Gemara asks:

At first,

in the beginning, when they prohibited all barrels coming from them,

what did they hold,

what did they maintain?

And in the end,

when they prohibited only open barrels and permitted the sealed ones,

what did they hold,

what was the reasoning for this?

At first,

in the beginning, they

held

that

a Kuti does not care about the contact of a star worshipper

who makes his wine subject to the law of yayin nesekh. And if so,

it makes no difference

the law of open barrels,

and it makes no difference

the law of

sealed

barrels, and in both of them there is concern lest the star worshipper who lives in the place adjacent to the Kutim touched them.

And in the end they held that

indeed

he does not care about open ones,

the Kuti does not care about the open barrels. And therefore they are forbidden, for perhaps the gentile touched them.

However,

with regard to the sealed ones,

the sealed barrels—

he cares greatly

the Kuti takes care that the gentile not touch them, since he wishes to sell them to a Jew. And for this reason they are permitted.

The Gemara asks:

And

are barrels

sealed permitted?