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Avodah Zarah 11b

עבודה זרה י״א ע״ב

Learn Avodah Zarah 11b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Non-Jewish festivals and temples, שמואל's rule for the גולה, and the new משנה about a city with idol worship

Overview

This amud finishes the discussion of non-Jewish festivals and begins a new משנה. First, רב פפא explains that the ברייתא about cutting animals' legs at a king's funeral refers to the kosher calf that pulled the king's wagon. Next, the גמרא asks which shaving day the משנה means, and it answers that ברייתות list both the day the בלורית is left and the day it is removed. שמואל then describes a Roman festival held once every seventy years that mocks יעקב, and רב אשי shows how the Romans' own words turned the insult against them. The גמרא explains that the משנה lists only yearly festivals, and it names the festivals of the Persians and the Babylonians. רב lists five permanent temples of idol worship, and רב דימי adds two more. שמואל rules that outside ארץ ישראל only the festival day itself is forbidden, and the גמרא explains that a festival with no fixed date does not count. Finally, a new משנה limits the ban to the place of the idol worship. The גמרא starts defining 'outside the city,' and רבי חנינא's answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

הַמְנַשֵּׁר פַּרְסוֹתֶיהָ

One who cuts off its hooves

מִן הָאַרְכּוּבָּה וּלְמַטָּה.

from the knee and below.

תַּרְגְּמַהּ רַב פָּפָּא:

Rav Pappa explained it:

בְּעֶגְלָה הַמּוֹשֶׁכֶת בְּקָרוֹן.

as referring to a calf that pulls a wagon.

The steps (29)

  1. ChallengeThe leg-cutting line that sounds like it is about a kosher animal
  2. Resolutionרב פפא explains it is a calf that pulls the king's wagon
  3. QuestionWhich shaving day does the משנה mean?
  4. ResponseBoth versions are taught
  5. Statementשמואל describes a Roman festival held every seventy years
  6. StatementGold, onyx, and the first mocking announcement
  7. StatementThe final announcements: 'Woe to this one when that one rises'
  8. Statementרב אשי: Their Own Words Tripped Them Up
  9. QuestionWhy Doesn't Our משנה List This Festival?
  10. ResponseThe משנה Only Lists Yearly Festivals
  11. QuestionWhat Are the Persian Festivals?
  12. ResponseThe Four Persian Festivals
  13. QuestionWhat Are the Babylonian Festivals?
  14. ResponseThe Four Babylonian Festivals
  15. Statementרב: Five Permanent Temples of Idol Worship
  16. Statementרב דימי Adds Two More Temples
  17. StatementAnother Version: Nitbera in Akko
  18. Statementרב דימי of Nehardea Reverses the Locations
  19. QuestionWhat does 'they are permanent' mean?
  20. ResponseThey are worshipped all year round
  21. StatementOutside ארץ ישראל, only the festival day itself is forbidden
  22. ChallengeBut רב יהודה allowed selling on a festival
  23. ResolutionThe Arab merchants' festival has no fixed date
  24. StatementThe משנה: a city with idol worship inside or outside it
  25. StatementThe משנה: traveling on a road that leads there
  26. QuestionWhat counts as 'outside the city'?
  27. ResponseLike the market of עזה
  28. QuestionAnother version: ריש לקיש asked about the market of עזה
  29. Responseרבי חנינא: Have you never been to צור?