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Avodah Zarah 45b

עבודה זרה מ״ה ע״ב

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Topic

A tree planted normally and later worshipped, and how each side reads the פסוקים about destroying idols

Overview

The גמרא explains that the תנא קמא and רבי יוסי הגלילי argue about a tree that was planted normally and only later worshipped: the תנא קמא permits it, and רבי יוסי הגלילי forbids it. It proves רבי יוסי הגלילי's view from the משנה's extra rule that 'anything with human handling is forbidden.' רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה also forbids such a tree, based on the פסוק 'burn their אשרים with fire.' The phrase 'under every leafy tree' only marks where idols are found, as רבי עקיבא taught. The גמרא then works out which פסוק each side uses for which law. For רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה, 'burn' covers a tree planted for worship from the start, which leaves 'hew down their אשרים' free to teach the later-worshipped tree. The רבנן use 'hew down' for רבי יהושע בן לוי's order: chop the idols, conquer the land, then destroy them fully. The amud ends with the doubled verb 'אבד תאבדון' and 'destroy their name,' which the two sides read in opposite ways, and with a ברייתא that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וְהָכָא בָּאִילָן שֶׁנְּטָעוֹ

And here, regarding a tree that one planted

וּלְבַסּוֹף עֲבָדוֹ קָמִיפַּלְגִי,

and only afterward worshipped, they disagree

תַּנָּא קַמָּא סָבַר:

The first tanna holds:

אִילָן שֶׁנְּטָעוֹ וּלְבַסּוֹף עֲבָדוֹ — מוּתָּר,

a tree that one planted and afterward worshipped is permitted,

The steps (30)

  1. StatementThe dispute is about a tree planted first and worshipped later
  2. QuestionHow do we know this is רבי יוסי הגלילי's view?
  3. ResponseThe end of the משנה: an אשירה is forbidden because of human handling
  4. ProofThe extra general rule comes to include a tree planted first and worshipped later
  5. Statementרבי יוסי ברבי יהודה also forbids such a tree
  6. ProofThe ברייתא: mountains and hills are not forbidden, so maybe trees are not either
  7. Response'Burn their אשרים with fire' shows the tree itself is forbidden
  8. ChallengeWhy does the פסוק mention 'under every leafy tree'?
  9. ResolutionThe leafy tree is רבי עקיבא's sign of idol worship
  10. QuestionHow do the רבנן use 'burn their אשרים'?
  11. ResponseThe רבנן use it for a tree planted for idol worship
  12. ChallengeDoesn't רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה need that lesson too?
  13. QuestionHe agrees, so where is his source?
  14. ResponseFrom 'hew down their אשרים'
  15. ChallengeBut the ברייתא used 'burn their אשרים'!
  16. ResolutionHe was speaking in the style of 'if it were not written'
  17. QuestionWhat do the רבנן learn from 'hew down their אשרים'?
  18. ResponseThe רבנן use the פסוק for the order of conquest
  19. Proofרב יוסף's ברייתא: break the idols and leave them
  20. ChallengeHow can we just leave them? Idols must be burned!
  21. Resolutionרב הונא: chase first, burn afterward
  22. QuestionWhere does רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה get his idea?
  23. ResponseThe doubled verb teaches two stages
  24. QuestionWhat do the רבנן do with the doubled verb?
  25. ResponseRooting out every trace of the idol
  26. QuestionWhere does רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה learn the root-out rule?
  27. ResponseDestroy their name from that place
  28. QuestionWhat do the רבנן learn from 'destroy their name'?
  29. ResponseGiving the idol an insulting nickname
  30. ProofA ברייתא that reads 'destroy their name' in two ways