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Avodah Zarah 75a

עבודה זרה ע״ה ע״א

Learn Avodah Zarah 75a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

How to clean a non-Jew's winepress and its woven equipment: water and ashes, rinsing, waiting, hot water, and running water

Overview

The גמרא explains how to clean a winepress that a non-Jew used. רב starts with water and then ashes, while רבה בר בר חנה starts with ashes and then water. They do not really argue: one speaks of a wet winepress and the other of a dry one. בי רב and שמואל then disagree about how many rounds of cleaning are needed, and the גמרא explains that in the Pumbedita version the gap is only about whether the final rinse counts. The students ask רבי אבהו how to clean gentiles' grape nets, and he answers from a ברייתא about impure presses. That ברייתא sorts the cleaning by material: rinsing, cleansing with ashes and water, or leaving the item unused for a year. רבי יוסי adds faster methods: boiling water, or leaving the item in running water for an עונה. The גמרא corrects the ברייתא's closing line so that יין נסך follows טהרות. It then defines an עונה as twelve hours, measured differently by season. Finally, רב יהודה explains how to clean gentiles' straining bags, baskets and strainers by their material, and his list continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

רַב אָמַר: בְּמַיִם,

Rav says: with water,

וְהוּא הַדִּין לְאֵפֶר.

and the same with ashes (afterward).

רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר: לְאֵפֶר,

Rabba bar bar Ḥana says: with ashes,

וְהוּא הַדִּין לְמַיִם,

and the same with water (afterward).

The steps (20)

  1. StatementWater first or ashes first
  2. ResolutionWet winepress versus dry winepress
  3. StatementHow many rounds: the Sura version
  4. StatementHow many rounds: the Pumbedita version
  5. ResolutionCounting the final rinse
  6. QuestionHow do you clean the gentiles' grape nets?
  7. Responseרבי אבהו answers from a ברייתא about impure presses
  8. ChallengeIsn't רבן שמעון בן גמליאל the same as the first opinion?
  9. ResolutionThe difference is early and late harvests
  10. Statementרבי יוסי's quick way: boiling water or olive water
  11. StatementRunning water for an עונה
  12. StatementThe ברייתא compares wine rules to purity rules
  13. ChallengeThe comparison is backwards
  14. ResolutionFixing the wording: wine follows purity
  15. QuestionHow long is an עונה?
  16. ResponseFirst answer: a full day or a full night
  17. ResponseSecond answer: half a day and half a night
  18. ResolutionNo real argument: it depends on the season
  19. StatementCleaning non-Jews' straining bags by material
  20. StatementCleaning non-Jews' baskets and strainers woven from palm strips