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Avodah Zarah 38b

עבודה זרה ל״ח ע״ב

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Topic

בישולי גוים and other foods of גויים: which are permitted and which are forbidden

Overview

This amud is about food that גויים cooked or prepared (בישולי גוים), and when it is still permitted. First the גמרא rules that food is forbidden only if a גוי did all of the cooking. If a Jew placed the food on the fire or turned it over, it is permitted, and רבינא applies this to bread, even when the Jew only stoked the coals. Next come disputes about salted fish and roasted eggs, and a story at the house of ריש גלותא where רב זביד rules like רבי יוחנן that a roasted egg is forbidden. A ברייתא lists simple foods of גויים that are permitted, and the גמרא explains what the bean called שיעתא is and how it was grown. Then come rules about date husks cooked in large or small pots, which depend on נותן טעם לפגם. רב ספרא challenges רב ששת's ban on cooked oil, and רבי אסי says boiled medium dates are forbidden. רב and לוי argue about the dish שתיתא, and in practice people were lenient. Finally, חזקיה and רבי יוחנן argue about benefiting from pickles of גויים that are known to contain wine. The answer to the last question comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

וּמְגִיסָה, עַד שֶׁתָּבֹא

and she stirs it, until she comes back

מִבֵּית הַמֶּרְחָץ אוֹ מִבֵּית הַכְּנֶסֶת,

from the bathhouse or from the synagogue,

וְאֵינָהּ חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת.

and she need not be concerned.

אִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ:

A question was raised before them:

The steps (38)

  1. StatementA gentile woman may stir the Jewish woman's pot
  2. QuestionWhat if the gentile placed it and the Jew turned it over?
  3. ResponseA קל וחומר: if the Jew finished the cooking, surely it is permitted
  4. Proofרבי יוחנן agrees: forbidden only if the gentile did it all
  5. ConclusionThe הלכה for bread: any part by a Jew makes it permitted
  6. StatementSalted fish and roasted eggs: who permits and who forbids
  7. Statementרב דימי's version: both Sages permit both foods
  8. QuestionThe question at the house of ריש גלותא
  9. ResponseTwo Sages outweigh one, so the egg is allowed
  10. Rejectionרב זביד: the law follows רבי יוחנן
  11. StatementA ברייתא lists which foods of גויים are allowed
  12. Statementמטליא has other names
  13. QuestionWhat is שיעתא?
  14. ResponseIt came from מצרים: forty years ago or sixty?
  15. ResolutionNo real dispute: each spoke in his own time
  16. ResponseHow the plants for שיעתא were grown
  17. Statementרבי חנינא's reaction to the story
  18. StatementDate husks of גויים: large pot versus small pot
  19. QuestionWhat counts as a small pot?
  20. Responseרבי ינאי: too small for a swallow to enter
  21. ChallengeBut maybe they cut the food into pieces
  22. ResolutionCorrected measure: too small for a swallow's head
  23. ChallengeAnother ברייתא permits both pots
  24. ResolutionThe two ברייתות follow different views on נותן טעם לפגם
  25. StatementCooked oil of non-Jews is forbidden
  26. Challengeרב ספרא rejects every possible reason to forbid the oil
  27. QuestionThe question about boiled dates, narrowed down
  28. Responseרבי אסי answers: my teacher Levi forbade them
  29. StatementArgument about שתיתא made by non-Jews
  30. StatementFirst version: they argue about lentils made with water
  31. StatementSecond version: they argue about wheat and barley
  32. Statementברזילי sent two kinds of שתיתא to דוד
  33. ConclusionIn נהרדעא everyone sells שתיתא freely
  34. Statementחזקיה: if wine is known to be inside, even benefit is forbidden
  35. ChallengeWhy is this different from fish brine?
  36. ResolutionWine for smell versus wine for taste
  37. Statementרבי יוחנן: even when known, benefit is permitted
  38. ChallengeWhy is this different from רבי מאיר's fish brine ruling?