Avodah Zarah 35b

עבודה זרה ל״ה ע״ב

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Topic

Non-Jewish cheese, milk, bread and oil: reasons for the bans and how far they reach

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier question about רבי יהושע: one source reflects his view before he changed his mind, the other after, and a משנה is not rewritten once taught. Three אמוראים then give reasons why the Sages banned non-Jewish cheese: pig fat on the surface, vinegar used to curdle it, or sap of עורלה used to curdle it. The עורלה reason fits רבי אליעזר, and even רבי יהושע if the sap comes from the fruit. Then the גמרא asks why the vinegar and עורלה reasons do not make the cheese forbidden for benefit too, and it leaves this as a difficulty. After a short aggadah comparing a תלמיד חכם to a perfume flask, a new משנה lists non-Jewish foods that are forbidden to eat but not forbidden for benefit, such as milk, bread and oil. The גמרא explains why milk a גוי milked is a problem even though non-kosher milk can usually be detected. It then shows that bread was banned because of חתנות and was never permitted by a court, despite stories about רבי that people misunderstood. רבי חלבו and רבי יוחנן limit the leniency of a non-Jewish baker, and the story of איבו shows the ban was enforced. Finally, the גמרא turns to oil, where רב says דניאל decreed the ban; שמואל's view comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (32)

1. ResolutionOne source is from before the retraction, the other from after
2. StatementReason one: they smooth the cheese with pig fat
3. StatementReason two: they curdle it with vinegar
4. StatementReason three: they curdle it with sap of עורלה
5. QuestionWhose view does the עורלה reason follow?
6. ResponseIt follows רבי אליעזר, who says sap counts as fruit
7. ResponseIt can even fit רבי יהושע: he agrees about fruit sap
8. Proofרבי יהושע's own words prove that sap from unripe fruit is forbidden
9. ChallengeBoth reasons should make the cheese forbidden even for benefit
10. StatementA Torah scholar is like a flask of perfume
11. StatementHidden things are revealed to the scholar
12. StatementThe Angel of Death loves the scholar
13. StatementThe scholar inherits two worlds
14. StatementThe new list opens with milk, bread and oil
15. StatementThe list continues with cooked, pickled and fish products
16. ChallengeWhy should gentile milk be a problem?
17. ResolutionThe ban is for milk used in כמכא, not cheese
18. ChallengeWhy not test a little of the milk?
19. ResolutionThe curdling test does not work because kosher milk also leaves whey
20. ResolutionEven milk for cheese is a worry because of trapped liquid
21. StatementBread was never permitted by a court
22. QuestionDoes that mean someone did permit bread?
23. ResponseYes: the story of רבי and the gentile's bread
24. ChallengeBread was forbidden because of marriage
25. Resolutionרבי was really asking about bread in the field
26. ConclusionPeople thought רבי permitted bread, but he did not
27. StatementA different version: רבי asked for a baker
28. Statementרבי חלבו: only where there is no Jewish baker
29. Statementרבי יוחנן: only in the field, not in the city
30. Statementאיבו is criticized for eating non-Jewish bread in the fields
31. StatementThe גמרא quotes the משנה: their oil
32. Statementרב says דניאל decreed against the oil