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Avodah Zarah 46b

עבודה זרה מ״ו ע״ב

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Topic

Using worshipped things for the בית המקדש: attached items, the קל וחומר debate, and change in form

Overview

The גמרא asks whether a נעבד במחובר, an item attached to the ground that was worshipped, is forbidden for the בית המקדש even though an ordinary person may use it. A follow-up question asks whether this also covers מכשירי קרבן, such as the מזבח. רבא answers with a קל וחומר from אתנן: a prostitute's payment is forbidden for the Temple even when attached, so a worshipped item should be too. רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע flips the argument to reach the opposite, lenient result, and shows that the phrase 'בית ה׳ אלהיך' is already used for another teaching. רבא replies that when a קל וחומר can go either way, we choose the strict direction. רב פפא challenges this rule from רבי עקיבא's lenient reasoning about הזאה for the פסח. The גמרא answers that רבי עקיבא was only reminding רבי אליעזר of a tradition he had learned from him. Then רמי בר חמא asks a new question: does a change in form, such as wheat ground into flour, remove the ban of a נעבד for מנחות? מר זוטרא tries to answer from the dispute about offspring of animals forbidden for the מזבח, and the גמרא begins to narrow that dispute, a discussion that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

יֵשׁ נֶעֱבָד בִּמְחוּבָּר אֵצֶל גָּבוֹהַּ,

Is there a disqualification of a worshipped attached item for the Most High,

אוֹ אֵין נֶעֱבָד בִּמְחוּבָּר אֵצֶל גָּבוֹהַּ?

or is there no disqualification of a worshipped attached item for the Most High?

אִם תִּמְצֵי לוֹמַר

If you say

יֵשׁ נֶעֱבָד בִּמְחוּבָּר אֵצֶל גָּבוֹהַּ,

that a worshipped attached item is disqualified for the Most High,

The steps (13)

  1. QuestionIs a worshipped attached item forbidden for the Temple?
  2. QuestionFollow-up question about items used to prepare offerings
  3. Responseרבא proves the stricter answer from a prostitute's payment
  4. Challengeרב הונא reverses רבא's argument
  5. RejectionThe verse about the House of God is needed for something else
  6. Resolutionרבא: when logic can go either way, we choose the strict side
  7. Challengeרב פפא: רבי עקיבא reasoned toward leniency
  8. ProofThe משנה where רבי עקיבא reverses the argument
  9. Resolutionרבי עקיבא Was Only Reminding רבי אליעזר
  10. Proofרבי עקיבא's Own Words Prove He Was Quoting a Tradition
  11. QuestionCan Worshipped Wheat Be Used for Meal Offerings?
  12. Proofמר זוטרא Tries to Answer from Offspring of Forbidden Animals
  13. RejectionThe Offspring Dispute Is Limited to a Specific Case