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Avodah Zarah 52b

עבודה זרה נ״ב ע״ב

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Topic

טומאה of idol offerings; כלים of בית חוניו and the altar stones; who can nullify an idol

Overview

The עמוד opens by finishing a question about ביטול. Once an idol is nullified, its rabbinic טומאה clearly goes away too. But the איסור on a food offering to an idol can never be removed, as רב גידל taught, so the גמרא asks whether its rabbinic טומאה can still be cancelled. That question ends in תיקו. Next, רבי יוסי בן שאול asks רבי whether כלים used in בית חוניו may be used in the בית המקדש. רבי says they are forbidden, and the פסוק about King אחז's כלים turns out to be his forgotten source: the old כלים were put away and new ones were sanctified in their place. The גמרא then discusses the altar stones the Greeks defiled. רב פפא explains that those stones had already lost their holiness, and the גמרא explains that the חשמונאים stored them away because things used in holy service should not be put to ordinary use. A new משנה then teaches who can nullify an idol and how far ביטול reaches. רבי's two versions of the משנה are explained through an idol owned by a נכרי and a Jew together.

Opening lines

כֵּיוָן דְּאִיסּוּרַהּ בָּטֵיל,

Since its prohibition is nullified,

טוּמְאָה נָמֵי בָּטְלָה.

the impurity is also nullified.

כִּי קָא מִיבַּעְיָא לֵיהּ

When he raises the question,

תִּקְרוֹבֶת לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁל אוֹכְלִין, מַאי?

it is about an offering of food to an idol: what is the law?

The steps (25)

  1. ResponseNo question about the idol itself
  2. QuestionThe real question: food offerings to an idol
  3. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
  4. QuestionMay vessels from בית חוניו be used in the Temple?
  5. StatementThe question assumes בית חוניו was not idol worship
  6. ProofA משנה showing that view
  7. QuestionAre only כהנים penalized, or כלים too?
  8. Responseרבי rules the כלים are forbidden but has forgotten his source
  9. ChallengeChallenge from the פסוק about King אחז's כלים
  10. Resolutionרבי rereads the פסוק: the old כלים were put away and new ones were sanctified
  11. ProofPossible support from the altar stones the Greeks defiled
  12. RejectionThe altar stones were a special case
  13. StatementWhy the stones had to be stored away
  14. ChallengeWhy not break them and keep them?
  15. Proofאביי's version: the פסוק permitted the coins
  16. ResolutionCoins never used for service, but altar stones were
  17. StatementThe משנה: who can nullify an idol, and its accessories
  18. StatementTwo versions of the משנה taught by רבי
  19. ChallengeHow can a Jew's idol ever be nullified?
  20. ResolutionThe case is an idol owned in partnership
  21. QuestionWhat was רבי's reasoning in youth and in old age?
  22. ResponseDoes the Jew worship on the gentile's intention or his own?
  23. StatementSome teach רבי הילל's statement on the last clause of the משנה
  24. ChallengeIsn't that obvious?
  25. Resolutionרבי הילל begins his answer