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Avodah Zarah 39a

עבודה זרה ל״ט ע״א

Learn Avodah Zarah 39a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Avodah Zarah 39a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Food bought from non-Jews: fish products and kosher signs, חילתית cut with a knife, trusting a חבר's household, and items left under seal

Overview

This amud first finishes a question about wine mixed into food. Wine you can notice in the dish forbids it, and wine you cannot notice does not. Then the גמרא explains the fish products in the משנה. חילק is the small fish סולתנית, which is forbidden only because non-kosher fish come up with it. A fish that grows scales later, or sheds them when caught, is kosher. רבי אבהו and אביי permit fish products whose source is known to be free of non-kosher fish. רבינא later forbids the small fish of the river בב, because other rivers now flow into it. Next come memory aids for which sea creatures are kosher, and stories of חכמים who checked doubtful fish for scales. The גמרא then explains why a sliver of חילתית is forbidden: the sharp spice makes the knife's fat taste good. Stories and ברייתות teach that a חבר's slave and wife are trusted like a חבר, with a dispute between רבי מאיר and רבי יהודה about people who move between households. The amud ends with רב's rule about items left with a non-Jew under one seal, and the explanation continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

הָתָם יְדִיעַ מַמָּשׁוֹ,

There, its substance is noticeable,

הָכָא לָא יְדִיעַ מַמָּשָׁן.

here, their substance is not noticeable.

וְטָרִית טְרוּפָה,

And minced טרית fish,

וְצִיר שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ דָּגָה וְכוּ׳.

and brine that has no fish in it, etc.

The steps (34)

  1. ResolutionWine you can notice versus wine you cannot
  2. QuestionQuoting the משנה and asking what חילק is
  3. Responseרב says חילק is סולתנית
  4. ResponseWhy סולתנית is forbidden
  5. ProofFish that grow scales later or shed them when caught
  6. Statementרבי אבהו permits fish innards and eggs from anyone
  7. Proofאביי's similar ruling about small fish from the river of בב
  8. QuestionWhy did אביי permit the fish of בב?
  9. RejectionFast-flowing water is not the reason
  10. RejectionSalty water is not the reason either
  11. ResponseThe mud does not let non-kosher fish breed
  12. Statementרבינא: nowadays these fish are forbidden
  13. Statementאביי: the sea donkey is permitted, the sea ox is forbidden
  14. Statementרב אשי: שפר נונא permitted, קדש נונא forbidden
  15. StatementAnother version: קבר נונא is forbidden
  16. Statementרבי עקיבא finds hidden scales on a strange fish
  17. Statementרב אשי holds an eel-like fish up to the light
  18. Statementרב אשי uses a white vessel to spot scales
  19. Statementרבה בר בר חנה hears a fish dish called by a non-kosher name
  20. Statementרבה בר בר חנה avoids the dish and is proven right
  21. QuestionWhy is a sliver of חילתית forbidden?
  22. ResponseBecause non-Jews cut it with a knife
  23. ChallengeBut a taste that spoils the food is allowed
  24. ResolutionThe sharp spice makes the fat taste good
  25. QuestionCan we still buy חילתית from רבי לוי's slave?
  26. ResponseA חבר's slave is like a חבר
  27. Statementרב הונא בר מניומי buys תכלת and רב יוסף has no answer
  28. Statementחנן the tailor had the same experience
  29. Responseשמואל: a חבר's wife is like a חבר
  30. ProofA ברייתא teaches both rules and more
  31. StatementMoving into or out of a חבר's household
  32. Statementרבי יהודה says even those leaving must accept again
  33. ProofA story of a woman who changed with her husband
  34. Statementרב's rule about items left with a non-Jew under one seal