Avodah Zarah 74a (עד.) — the Talmud in English

Our Mishna adds to the list of things prohibited for benefit and which render their mixtures prohibited in any quantity. However, the Mishna is not dealing with a liquid mixture, in which the prohibited substance is not present as such but is absorbed into the permitted substance. Rather, it is dealing with a mixture of dry substances, in which an item of significance in its own right—an item “sold by number”—became mixed with a permitted substance. And it teaches us that it is not nullified even in a thousandfold mixture.

Mishna:

These

following items

are prohibited

in themselves for benefit

and

if they became mixed with permitted items

render the entire mixture prohibited, regardless of the quantity

[even if one of them became mixed with a thousand others, they are all prohibited]:

a. A barrel of

wine used for idolatrous libation,

which became mixed with a thousand permitted barrels; they are all prohibited.

b.

And

a statue of

idolatry

that became mixed with a thousand permitted statues; they are all prohibited.

c.

And leather skins with a heart-shaped incision,

that is, the hide of an animal that was split open, its heart removed, and the heart offered to idolatry. It is prohibited for benefit because it is an offering to idolatry. If it became mixed even with a thousand permitted hides, they are all prohibited.

d.

And a condemned ox,

an ox that killed a person and whose judgment was finalized for stoning, which became mixed with a thousand permitted oxen; they are all prohibited for benefit.

e.

And a heifer whose neck was broken,

after it had been brought down to the rugged valley as prescribed (see Deuteronomy 24:1).

f.

And the birds of a leper,

that is, the bird that the leper slaughters for his purification, which is prohibited for benefit, as explained in Kiddushin (57a).

g.

And the hair

that the

Nazirite

shaved on the day his period of nazirite sanctity was completed and burned (see Numbers 6:18); this hair is prohibited for benefit. If it became mixed with other hair, everything is prohibited.

h.

And the firstborn donkey

that was not redeemed and is still prohibited for benefit, or that was killed by breaking its neck.

i.

And

a piece of

meat

that was cooked

with milk,

and became mixed with a thousand other pieces.

j.

And the goat sent away

to Azazel on Yom Kippur.

k.

And

non-sacred animals

slaughtered in the Temple courtyard,

which are prohibited for benefit.

Behold,

all

these are prohibited

for benefit,

and

if they became mixed with other items,

they render the mixture prohibited in any quantity.

Gemara:

The Gemara asks:

What criterion does the tanna count?

That is, what causes the items listed in the Mishna not to be nullified by the majority?

If he counts items sold by number,

that is, if the reason they are not nullified by the majority is that they are “items sold by number,” then

let him also teach pieces of an unslaughtered animal,

which are likewise “items sold by number,” even though they are not prohibited for benefit.

And

if he counts items prohibited for benefit,

and they are therefore not nullified by the majority,

let him also teach leaven on Passover,

which is likewise prohibited for benefit.

Rav Hiyya bar Abba said, and some say

[alternatively, this statement may be said in the name of

Rav Yitzhak Nappaḥa: This tanna requires two criteria.

That is, for the prohibited item not to be nullified by the majority, two conditions are necessary: a. that the prohibited item be

an “item sold by number,”

that is, an item of significance that people customarily sell by number,

and

b. that the prohibited item be one of

“items prohibited for benefit.”

The Gemara asks: If so,

let him also teach Perakh nuts and Badan pomegranates

of orla that became mixed with permitted produce,

as they are both an item sold by number and prohibited for benefit?

The Gemara answers:

That was already taught there

(Orla, chapter 3, Mishna 7),

, “That which is fit for orla is treated as orla.

That is, the produce of a tree to which the law of orla applies, which became mixed with other produce, is all prohibited because of orla. Similarly,

that which is fit for produce of a vineyard planted with diverse kinds,

which became mixed with produce of a vineyard planted with diverse kinds, is all prohibited because of

“produce of a vineyard planted with diverse kinds.”

We have another difficulty:

let him also teach “loaves belonging to a householder,”

which are items sold by number,

with regard to leaven on Passover?

The Gemara answers:

Who is it that you heard say that leaven on Passover is prohibited for benefit? Rabbi Akiva!

That was already taught there,

in tractate Orla (at the end of the same Mishna cited above),

“Rabbi Akiva adds: Even loaves belonging to a householder.”

We learned in the latter clause of our Mishna:

“These

are prohibited and render [a mixture] prohibited in any quantity”:

The Gemara explains:

To exclude what?

That is, why did the tanna repeat and write, “These are prohibited and render [a mixture] prohibited in any quantity”?

To exclude an item sold by number that is not prohibited for benefit, or, alternatively, to exclude an item prohibited for benefit that is not sold by number.

Mishna:

If wine used for idolatrous libation fell into a pit

containing permitted wine,

all of it is prohibited for benefit.

Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says: He may sell all of it to a gentile, except for the value of the wine used for idolatrous libation contained therein.

Gemara:

Rav said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel

only if

a barrel

of wine used for idolatrous libation became mixed

among barrels

of permitted wine; in that case, he should take one of them and cast it into the river, and the rest is permitted.

But not

if

wine became mixed with wine.

And Shmuel said: Even

if

wine became mixed with wine,

it is permitted for benefit, except for the value of that wine.

And Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yohanan likewise said: Even wine mixed with wine.

And Rav Shmuel bar Natan said that Rav Ḥanina likewise said: Even wine mixed with wine.

And Rav Naḥman said that Rabba bar Avuha likewise said: Even wine mixed with wine.

Rav Naḥman said: As a practical ruling, wine used for idolatrous libation,

that became mixed

wine with wine, is prohibited; barrel with barrel is permitted. Ordinary wine

of a gentile

, even wine mixed with wine, is permitted

for benefit, except for the value of that wine.