ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
prepared by Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler
Kollel Iyun Hadaf, Jerusalem
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Avodah Zarah 30
Questions
1)
(a) We learned in a Beraisa that the boiled wine and Aluntis (a beverage
containing wine) of a Nochri is forbidden, but that 'Aluntis ki'Beri'asah'
is permitted. 'Aluntis ki'Beri'asah' means - Aluntis which the Nochri
purchased from a Yisrael, which is permitted - because it was never wine in
the possession of a Nochri to begin with.
(b) Another Beraisa forbids making Aluntis on Shabbos, but permits Anumlin,
which consists of wine, honey and peppers. Aluntis comprises - old wine,
clear water and Afarsemon (balsam) oil.
(c) The basic difference between them is - that whereas Anumlin is made to
drink, Aluntis is made to help cool down after a hot bath (and which
therefore falls under the category of a cure).
2)
(a) Wine that has been left uncovered is forbidden to drink - because we are
afraid that a snake drank from it, leaving its venom inside whatever
remains.
(b) Rabah and Rav Yosef preclude ...
1. ... diluted wine - from the above suspicion.
2. ... boiled wine - from the Din of Yayin Nesech.
(c) In answer to our She'eilah whether boiled wine is also permitted if left
uncovered, we cite a statement of Ya'akov bar Idi - who specifically
precluded it.
(d) When the Rabbanan, who were visiting the sick Rebbi Yanai bar Yishmael
together with Rebbi Yishmael ben Zirud, asked the same She'eilah, the latter
cited Resh Lakish quoting Rebbi Chiya - who permitted it, too.
3)
(a) When the Rabbanan (surprised at this ruling) asked whether they could
rely on it, Rebbi Yanai bar Yishmael replied - that he personally, could
vouch for its authenticity.
(b) Shmuel and Avalat the Nochri were once sitting together when someone
brought them boiled wine to drink. When Avalat made a point of not
touching the wine - Shmuel told him that this was not necessary, since the
Chachamim had permitted boiled wine that was touched by a Nochri.
4)
(a) We previously cited Rebbi Chiya with regard to the She'eilah of boiled
wine that was left uncovered. When his maidservant asked him whether some
wine that she had left uncovered was permitted or not, he replied - that it
was.
(b) When the Shamash of Rav Ada bar Ahavah left some diluted wine uncovered,
Rav Papa - forbade it since it was only slightly diluted (and the Chachamim
only permitted if it was diluted properly [three parts water to one part
wine]).
(c) When Rabah bar Rav Huna spied a snake swimming towards the boat in which
he was transporting wine, he instructed his servant to 'blind the eyes' of
the snake. The servant complied - by adding a bit of water to the wine.
(d) Rav Papa reconciled his previous ruling with this episode - establishing
that, although a snake will drink wine that is slightly diluted, it will not
take the risk of doing so when there are people who are actually watching
(something it will do when the wine is undiluted).
5)
(a) Rebbi Yanai (or bar Hedya) was once sitting in bei Achburi drinking
diluted wine, when a snake was seen approaching the half-empty barrel -
which they had covered with a cloth as a precaution against a snake drinking
from the barrel.
(b) The snake however - proceeded to fill the barrel with water until it
reached the top and then to drink it from the saturated cloth.
(c) In spite of the fact that the wine was diluted, we reconcile our earlier
ruling precluding diluted wine from Yayin Megulin with this episode - by
differentiating between wine that was diluted by a person and wine that the
snake diluted itself.
(d) Rav Ashi (or Rav Mesharshaya) objected to this answer - on the grounds
that when it comes to Sakanah (as opposed to Halachah), it is better to be
strict than to look for answers (in which case we ought to include diluted
wine in the category of Yayin Megulin).
6)
(a) So Rava finally concludes - that cooked wine is precluded from Yayin
Megulin, but diluted wine is not ...
(b) ... and the same applies to Yayin Nesech.
7)
(a) When Rebbi Chilkiyah bar Tuvi's Shamash fell asleep beside an open
barrel of water - he ruled that snakes are afraid of people even when they
are asleep - by day, but not at night.
(b) The Halachah in this regard is - that snakes are afraid of people who
are awake, but not of those who are asleep (even by day).
(c) The reasoning of ...
1. ...Rav, who would not drink water that came from Nochrim, but who would
drink water that came from an Almanah is - that Nochrim are not conversant
with the concept of Mayim Megulin, whereas a widow will do what she saw her
husband doing whilst he was alive.
2. ... Shmuel, who would practice the reverse is - that whereas, on the one
hand, neither is conversant with the concept of Giluy, Nochrim are at least
particular about cleanliness (in which case they will not leave water
uncovered).
(d) In the second Lashon, Rav did just like he did in the first - whereas
Shmuel would drink neither water from a widow, nor water from a Nochri.
8)
(a) Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi lists three wines that are not subject to
Giluy - 'Chad, Mar and Masok' (sharp, bitter and sweet).
(b) 'Chad' is a sharp wine which does not have a sweet, winey venom - and
which causes the flask in which it is placed to crack.
(c) 'Mar' is a bad, bitter tasting wine. 'Masuk' is also know as 'Chulya',
which turns so sweet - because of the effect of the sun on it.
(d) Rav Chama interprets all three favorably. According to him, 'Mar' venoms
like (venomous) wormwood, 'Masuk' like a pleasant tasting wine - and 'Chad'
has a sharp venom due to the peppers and spices that are added to it.
(e) According to Resh Lakish, a sweet wine called 'Karina' is not subject to
Giluy. In its own country says Rava, it is - because the snakes have gotten
used to it.
30b---------------------------------------30b
Questions
9)
(a) According to Rava, wine that has turned sour, is still subject to both
Giluy and Yayin Nesech - for another three days.
(b) The Neherda'i argue with Rava with regard to Giluy. According to them -
a snake will continue to drink from it for longer.
(c) Wine fresh from the vat is not subject to Giluy - for the first three
days.
(d) Basically, cress is not subject to Giluy either. But the Beraisa cites
the B'nei Golah - who forbade it.
(e) Even the B'nei Golah however, will concede that cress is not subject to
Giluy - if it contains vinegar (with which the snakes palate does not
agree).
10)
(a) Likewise, Kutach ha'Bavli (a mixture of moldy bread, whey and salt) is
not subject to Giluy, though the B'nei Golah are strict. Rav Menashi
states - that if the mark of a snakes fangs are visible on it, then even the
B'nei Eretz Yisrael will concede that it is forbidden.
(b) Rav Chiya bar Ashi Amar Shmuel precludes 'Mei Tif-Tif' from Giluy. Rav
Ashi interprets 'Mei Tif-Tif' - as drops that follow each other in quick
succession (a noise which frightens the snakes away).
(c) Rav Chiya bar Ashi Amar Shmuel precludes the 'mouth of a fig' - the tip
of the stalk where it was originally attached to the tree.
(d) We establish this like Rebbi Eliezer, who, in a Beraisa, permits eating
grapes and figs at night-time, because the Pasuk in Tehilim writes "Shomer
Pesayim Hashem" (meaning that Hashem guards the fools [who behave
conventionally] see Seifer 'Seider Ya'akov').
11)
(a) Rav Safra in the name of Rebbi Yehoshua from Rome, lists three kinds of
venom. The venom of a young snake, he says - shoots to the bottom of
whatever it drinks, that of a middle-age snake - penetrates to the middle,
whereas that of and an old snake - floats at the top.
(b) The Beraisa lists a fish, a snake and a pig - as the three species that
gain strength as they get older.
(c) We reconcile this with Rav Safra, according to whom it seems, the older
a snake gets, the weaker it becomes (like other species) - by confining his
statement to the snake's venom, whereas the Beraisa is speaking about the
general strength of the three animals concerned.
(d) The ramifications of Rav Safra's statement are presented in a Beraisa -
which warns the tenth person not to drink from a jar or eat from a
watermelon, after nine people have already partaken from it (And what's
more, such a case actually took place, and the tenth person did indeed die.
12)
(a) Neither however, should ...
1. ... the first person have drunk from the jar or eaten from the
watermelon - in case an old snake partook of it.
2. ... the middle ones have drunk or eaten either - in case it was a
middle-age snake.
(b) Besides pouring Mayim she'Nisgalu into the street, sprinkling it around
the house or using it for mixing cement - the Beraisa also forbids feeding
an animal with it or washing one's face, hands and feet.
(c) One may not pour it in the street - in case someone walks past
bear-footed, and the venom lodges between his toes and punctures an opening
in his skin.
13)
(a) Acherim (Rebbi Meir) restricts the prohibition of washing oneself with
Mayim Megulin to parts of the body which has cracks and splits. The problem
with this ruling is - that it seems to concur with the Tana Kama, who
forbids washing hands, face and feet (all of which have cracks n the skin)
with Mayim Megulin,
(b) To clarify their Machlokes - we confine Acherim to the front of the
hands and the feet, and most of the face, precluding the back of the hands,
the back of the feet and the cheekbones, which are smooth, which he
therefore permits.
(c) We reconcile the current Beraisa, which forbids feeding even one's own
animal 'Mayim Megulin' with another Beraisa, which permits it - by
establishing the latter Beraisa with regard to a cat, who is immune to a
snake-bite.
(d) The second Tana nevertheless forbids giving Mayim Megulin to somebody
else's cat more than to one's own - because, even though the venom will not
kill the cat, it will weaken him momentarilyshould he attempt to sell it at that moment.
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