Avodah Zarah 40b (מ:) — the Talmud in English

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of a kosher bird,

so there are signs for the embryos

of

fish eggs.

This proves that even a non-kosher fish has eggs?

The Gemara answers:

No, this is not the way to explain it;

what, are you not explaining the beraita? Rather, one should say as follows: Just as there are signs for the eggs,

so there are signs for the innards of fish.

Indeed, a non-kosher fish does not have eggs.

The Gemara asks:

And how do you find

a case

in which the signs of the innards of fish are

these signs,

one

on one side

and one

on the other side?

The Gemara answers: This sign

can be found

in

the fish bladder.

It is possible to determine from it whether it belongs to a non-kosher or kosher fish.

It was explained above that when the eggs have dissolved in the intestine of their mother, an expert is needed to determine whether they are from a kosher fish or from a non-kosher one.

The Gemara asks about this:

If there is no expert there, what is the law,

and on what basis may the eggs be deemed permissible?

Rav Yehuda said: Once he says, “I salted them,”

and I saw that the fish were kosher and extracted these innards from them—

they are permitted.

Rav Naḥman said:

He is not believed

until he says

and shows that

these are the fish

(and the Jew sees that they are kosher])—

and these are their innards.

But if he merely says, “I salted them,” he is not believed, for perhaps he is not familiar with them.

Uri

ruled

for Rav Yehuda to Ada the attendant

his servant:

Once he says—

“I salted them,”

he is believed on this basis, and

they are permitted.

We learned in our Mishna:

And the leaf of asafoetida

that comes from gentiles is permitted to eat.

The Gemara asks:

Isn’t it obvious?

Why would we prohibit it?

It was necessary

to state this permission

only with regard to the bits in it.

Crumbs and small pieces that adhered to it or fell from it.

Lest you say: Perhaps he brought them and mixed them with it,

one should be concerned that he mixed them with other bits that had been cut with a knife used for a forbidden substance, and therefore they should be prohibited—

it teaches us that these have merely been shed from what was shed,

these bits are only those that adhered to the leaves,

and came with it,

and there is no concern that they had already become mixed with forbidden substances.

We learned in our Mishna:

And rolled olives in loaves

that are gathered in a vessel are permitted.

The Gemara asks:

Isn’t it obvious?

It was necessary

to state this permission only to say that

even though they are extremely soft,

the olives are so soft that their pits come out of them easily.

Lest you say

that we should assume that they reached this degree of softness because

wine

was

poured into them

and given to them—

it teaches us: These

olives

were softened by oil;

the oil

is what softened them,

and not because wine was added to them.

We also learned there in this regard:

And Rabbi Yosei says:

Pressed olives are forbidden.

The Gemara asks:

What are the circumstances

of how

pressed

olives are?

Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: Any olives that, when one holds them in his hand,

by a slight grasp already

have their pits fall out.

Since they are so soft, presumably wine was put into them, and they are forbidden.

We learned in our Mishna:

Locusts that come

from the basket [a basket] are forbidden.

The Sages taught:

Locusts, capers, and leeks

(pickled and cooked leeks. They are not forbidden, since it is customary to eat them raw. ])

that come from the storeroom,

a warehouse,

from the shop’s storage area,

a place where merchandise is stored in a shop,

or from the ship—

are permitted.

Those sold in the market

in the marketplace

before a shopkeeper—

are forbidden, because he sprinkles wine over them.

And likewise, gentile apple wine that comes from the storeroom, from the shop’s storage area, or from the basket—

is permitted. That which is sold in the market—

is forbidden, because they mix wine into it

of grapes, and therefore it is forbidden.

The Sages taught: Once, Rabbi felt

pain

in his intestines. He said: Is there anyone who knows

whether

gentile apple wine

(as drinking this wine is beneficial for intestinal pain])

is forbidden or permitted?

Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, said to him: Once my father felt pain in his intestines, and they brought him seventy-year-old gentile apple wine, and he drank it and recovered.

Rabbi said to him: You had such an answer

to this matter

and you are causing me distress

by not revealing it to me until now?!

They investigated and found one gentile who had three hundred jars

of

seventy-year-old apple wine, and he drank it and recovered.

He said

Rabbi:

Blessed is the Omnipresent, Who entrusted His world to guardians.

Such as this gentile, who guarded the wine for seventy years, until Rabbi came and recovered through it!

We learned in our Mishna:

And likewise with regard to teruma.

The Gemara asks:

What

is the meaning of

“and likewise

with regard to teruma”

in our context?

Rav Sheshet said:

The intention is:

and likewise with regard to a kohen

who receives teruma. Although it belongs to him and he may sell it, nevertheless it may be eaten only by kohanim. Therefore it is sold cheaply, since not many people compete to purchase it.

And a

kohen suspected of selling teruma as non-sacred produce

so that people will buy it at a higher price—the merchandise that

is before him is what is forbidden

to purchase from him, since there is concern that it may be teruma.

But

fruit and the like

that comes from the storeroom, from the shop’s storage area, or from the basket—

is permitted

to purchase from him, because

he is afraid.

He is afraid to place teruma produce in the storeroom together with other produce, since

he reasons: The Sages may hear about it

that I mixed teruma with non-sacred produce,

and they will cause me to lose it,

and they will confiscate my entire storeroom.

But with regard to what is standing before him, he is not so concerned, since it is only a small amount of merchandise. Therefore, what is before him is forbidden to purchase from him.

We have returned to you, “They Do Not Establish.”

Introduction

The Torah states [Deuteronomy 7], concerning the conquest of the Land from the Canaanites, idolaters: “You shall burn the graven images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is upon them and take it for yourself, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. You shall not bring an abomination into your house, lest you become accursed like it; you shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is accursed.”

This teaches us that avoda zara—that is, idols and graven images—is forbidden to derive benefit from. The Sages further expounded [below 51b] that not only the idols themselves are forbidden, but also the accessories of avoda zara, such as the firepan in which one burns incense before it; the ornaments of avoda zara, such as garments spread before it; and the offerings of avoda zara, such as meat, wine, and oil placed before it as offerings—all are forbidden to derive benefit from.

This is the language of Maimonides [Laws of Avoda Zara, chapter 7, halakha 2]: “An idol, its accessories, its offerings, and everything made for its sake are forbidden to derive benefit from, as it is stated: ‘You shall not bring an abomination into your house.’ Anyone who derives benefit from any one of these is flogged twice: once because of ‘You shall not bring,’ and once because of ‘None of the accursed thing shall cling to your hand.’”

Our Mishna discusses a Jew who finds an image [a statue]: how can he identify whether it was made for avoda zara, or whether it was made solely for ornamentation [like a monument in honor of someone] and not for idolatry; and in what circumstances it is forbidden and in what circumstances it is permitted.

Mishna:

All images

that a Jew finds

are forbidden

to derive benefit from,

because they are worshipped once a year; these are the words of Rabbi Meir.

And the Sages say: It is not forbidden “all” the images,

but

only

those upon which it is recognizable that they are images of avoda zara. And they are:

all images that have a staff or

that have

a bird or a sphere

in their hand. The Gemara explains how these objects prove that the images are images of avoda zara, and it also explains the basis of the dispute between the Sages and Rabbi Meir.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Also, every image that has any object in its hand.

Gemara:

The Gemara explains the reasoning of the Sages and the matter over which they disputed with Rabbi Meir.

From the language of the Sages, who did not say, “It is worshipped only if it has a staff in its hand,” it follows that they do not dispute the fact that these images are worshipped once a year, and nevertheless they permit them. Therefore, we ask:

If they are worshipped once a year, what is the reason of the Rabbis?

They certainly should be forbidden! Do they distinguish between once a year and several times a year?!

And we answer:

Rav Yitzhak bar Yosef said that Rabbi

Yohanan said:

In a place where it is known that the gentiles worship these images even once a year, the Sages certainly forbid them—

rather,

in Rabbi Meir’s locality, they worshipped it once a year—

and Rabbi Meir

follows his own position,

for

in all Torah prohibitions

he is concerned about the minority.

That is, he is concerned to be stringent even where the concern is remote. Therefore,

he decreed concerning other places

where it is not known whether the gentiles worship these images,

because of that place

because of the places where they worship it.

And since the Rabbis are not concerned about the minority

but follow the majority,

and in most places they do not worship them—

they did not decree concerning other places because of that place.

The Gemara adds an explanation that Rabbi Meir did not forbid all images, nor in all places.

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: It is referring to statues of kings

made in the form of a deceased king, which are placed at the city gates in memory of the king, and concerning them

we learned

that Rabbi Meir forbids them. For they are not made solely for ornamentation; rather, because of the great affection for the king, they worship it once a year.

Rabba bar bar Hana said that Rabbi Yohanan said: And

those statues

that

are

standing at the entrance to a country

—the city—

we learned

that Rabbi Meir forbids them. But regarding other images and in other places, they do not worship them, and they are made solely for ornamentation and are permitted.