Avodah Zarah 52b

כֵּיוָן דְּאִיסּוּרַהּ בָּטֵיל, טוּמְאָה נָמֵי בָּטְלָה. כִּי קָא מִיבַּעְיָא לֵיהּ תִּקְרוֹבֶת לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁל אוֹכְלִין, מַאי? כֵּיוָן דְּאִיסּוּרֵיהּ לָא בָּטֵיל, כִּדְרַב גִּידֵּל, טוּמְאָה נָמֵי לָא בָּטְלָה, אוֹ דִלְמָא אִיסּוּר דְּאוֹרָיְיתָא לָא בָּטֵיל, טוּמְאָה דְּרַבָּנַן בָּטֵיל? תֵּיקוּ.

as, since its prohibition is nullified, its impurity is also nullified. When he raises the dilemma, it is only with regard to an offering consisting of food brought in idolatrous worship. What is the halakha ? Does one say that since its prohibition is not nullified, in accordance with the statement of Rav Giddel, who teaches that the prohibition that takes effect with regard to offerings brought in idolatrous worship is never nullified, therefore the impurity is also not nullified? Or perhaps only their prohibition, which is by Torah law, is not nullified, but their impurity, which is by rabbinic law, is nullified. The Gemara concludes: The dilemma shall stand unresolved.

בְּעָא מִינֵּיהּ רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן שָׁאוּל מֵרַבִּי: כֵּלִים שֶׁשִּׁימְּשׁוּ בָּהֶן בְּבֵית חוֹנְיוֹ, מַהוּ שֶׁיִּשְׁתַּמְּשׁוּ בָּהֶן בְּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ?

§ Rabbi Yosei ben Shaul asked Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: With regard to vessels that were used in the temple of Onias, what is the halakha with regard to using them in the Temple?

וְקָא מִיבַּעְיָא לֵיהּ, אַלִּיבָּא דְּמַאן דְּאָמַר בֵּית חוֹנְיוֹ לָאו בֵּית עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הִיא, דִּתְנַן: כֹּהֲנִים שֶׁשִּׁימְּשׁוּ בְּבֵית חוֹנְיוֹ לֹא יְשַׁמְּשׁוּ בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ שֶׁבִּירוּשָׁלַיִם, וְאֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר לְדָבָר אַחֵר.

And he raised this dilemma according to the opinion of the one who says that the temple of Onias was not a temple of idol worship. As we learned in a mishna ( Menaḥot 109a): Priests who served in the temple of Onias may not serve in the Temple that is in Jerusalem, and needless to say, those priests who served in a temple of something else, i.e., idol worship, may not serve in the Temple in Jerusalem. This distinction indicates that the temple of Onias was not a temple of idol worship. It was used for the service of God, but it violated the prohibition against sacrificing offerings outside of the Temple in Jerusalem.

כֹּהֲנִים הוּא דְּקַנְסִינְהוּ רַבָּנַן, מִשּׁוּם דִּבְנֵי דֵעָה נִינְהוּ, אֲבָל כֵּלִים — לָא, אוֹ דִלְמָא לָא שְׁנָא?

The Gemara explains the dilemma: Does one say that it is only the priests that the Sages penalized by preventing them from serving in the Temple, as they possess awareness and are responsible for their actions, but they did not institute a similar decree with regard to vessels, as they are inanimate? Or perhaps there is no difference, and the decree also applies to the vessels.

אָמַר לוֹ: אֲסוּרִים הֵן, וּמִקְרָא הָיָה בְּיָדֵינוּ וּשְׁכַחְנוּהוּ.

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to Rabbi Yosei ben Shaul: The vessels that were used in the temple of Onias are prohibited, and we possessed knowledge of a verse from which this halakha was derived, but we forgot which verse it is.

אֵיתִיבֵיהּ: ״כׇּל הַכֵּלִים אֲשֶׁר הִזְנִיחַ הַמֶּלֶךְ אָחָז בְּמַלְכוּתוֹ בְּמַעֲלוֹ הֵכַנּוּ וְהִקְדָּשְׁנוּ״, מַאי לָאו ״הֵכַנּוּ״ — דְּאַטְבֵּלִינַּנְהוּ, ״הִקְדָּשְׁנוּ״ — דְּאַקְדֵּישִׁנַּנְהוּ?

Rabbi Yosei ben Shaul raised an objection to this ruling from a verse referring to vessels of the Temple that Ahaz had used for idol worship: “All the vessels, which King Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he acted treacherously, we have prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the Lord” (II Chronicles 29:19). What, is it not the case that the term “we have prepared” means that we immersed them in a ritual bath, and the term “sanctified” means that we sanctified them to be used again in the Temple? This would indicate that the vessels may be used in the Temple even though they were used in idolatrous worship.

אָמַר לוֹ: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה לַשָּׁמַיִם שֶׁהֶחְזַרְתָּ לִי אֲבֵדָתִי. ״הֵכַנּוּ״ — שֶׁגְּנַזְנוּם, וְ״הִקְדָּשְׁנוּ״ — שֶׁהִקְדַּשְׁנוּ אֲחֵרִים תַּחְתֵּיהֶם.

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to Rabbi Yosei ben Shaul: Blessed are you to Heaven, as you have returned my lost verse to me. That verse is the forgotten source of the halakha that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi stated, and it should be interpreted as follows: “We have prepared” means that we interred them; “and sanctified” means that we sanctified other vessels in their stead, as the vessels used by Ahaz were forbidden, and the same applies to the vessels from the temple of Onias.

לֵימָא מְסַיַּיע לֵיהּ: מִזְרָחִית צְפוֹנִית — בָּהּ גָּנְזוּ בֵּית חַשְׁמוֹנַאי אֶת אַבְנֵי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ שֶׁשִּׁקְּצוּ אַנְשֵׁי יָוָן, וְאָמַר רַב שֵׁשֶׁת: שֶׁשִּׁקְּצוּ לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה.

The Gemara suggests: Let us say that the mishna supports Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s opinion ( Middot 1:6): The northeast chamber of the Chamber of the Hearth was the chamber in which the Hasmoneans sequestered the altar stones that the people of Greece desecrated. And Rav Sheshet says: This means that they desecrated the stones by using them for idol worship. This indicates that Temple vessels that were used in idolatrous worship can no longer be used and must be sequestered.

אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: הָתָם קְרָא אַשְׁכַּח וּדְרַשׁ, דִּכְתִיב: ״וּבָאוּ בָהּ פָּרִיצִים וְחִלְּלוּהָ״.

Rav Pappa said: That case of the altar’s stones is different, because there a Sage found a verse and interpreted it homiletically, as it is written: “And they shall profane My secret place, and robbers shall enter into it and profane it” (Ezekiel 7:22). The verse indicates that when the gentiles entered the Temple and desecrated it, the altar was desacralized and acquired non-sacred status. Consequently, when the stones were subsequently used for idolatrous worship they were rendered forbidden even for non-sacred use.

אָמְרִי: הֵיכִי נַעֲבֵיד? נִיתְבְּרִינְהוּ? ״אֲבָנִים שְׁלֵמוֹת״ אָמַר רַחֲמָנָא! נְנַסְּרִינְהוּ? ״לֹא תָנִיף עֲלֵיהֶם בַּרְזֶל״ אָמַר רַחֲמָנָא.

The Gemara explains why the altar’s stones were sequestered: The Hasmoneans said: What should we do to revoke the stone’s forbidden status? Shall we break them? That is not possible, as the Merciful One states in the Torah: “You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of unhewn stones” (Deuteronomy 27:6). Shall we saw them without breaking them? That is also not a viable option, as the Merciful One states in the Torah: “You shall lift up no iron tool upon them” (Deuteronomy 27:5). There was therefore no alternative to sequestering the stones.

וְאַמַּאי? לִיתְבְּרִינְהוּ וְלִישְׁקְלִינְהוּ לְנַפְשַׁיְיהוּ! מִי לָא אָמַר רַב אוֹשַׁעְיָא: ״בִּקְּשׁוּ לִגְנוֹז כׇּל כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם מִשּׁוּם כַּסְפָּא וְדַהֲבָא שֶׁל יְרוּשָׁלַיִם״, וְהָוֵינַן בַּהּ: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם הָוְיָא רוּבָּא דְּעָלְמָא?

The Gemara asks: But why did the Hasmoneans have no alternative? Let them break the stones and take them for themselves. Didn’t Rav Oshaya say: The Sages wished to sequester all of the silver and gold in the world because of the silver and gold of Jerusalem, most of which was consecrated to the Temple treasury and became mixed with other silver and gold. And we discussed it and asked: Is Jerusalem the majority of the world that all of the silver and gold of the world should be forbidden as perhaps it came from Jerusalem?

אֶלָּא אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: בִּקְּשׁוּ לִגְנוֹז דִּינָרָא הַדְרְיָיאנָא טוּרְיָינָא שִׁיפָא, מִפְּנֵי טִבְעָהּ שֶׁל יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, עַד שֶׁמָּצְאוּ לָהּ מִקְרָא מִן הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁהוּא מוּתָּר, ״וּבָאוּ בָהּ פָּרִיצִים וְחִלְּלוּהָ״!

Rather, Abaye said: The Sages wished to sequester all of the worn-out dinars of Hadrian and Trajan because of the coins of Jerusalem, as it was known that these coins contained a large quantity of the Temple treasury’s gold and silver. They did not permit the use of these coins until they found a verse in the Torah indicating that it is permitted: “And robbers shall enter into it, and profane it” (Ezekiel 7:22).

הָתָם, לָא אִשְׁתַּמַּשׁוּ בְּהוּ לְגָבוֹהַּ; הָכָא, כֵּיוָן דְּאִשְׁתַּמַּשׁ בְּהוּ לְגָבוֹהַּ — לָאו אוֹרַח אַרְעָא לְאִשְׁתַּמּוֹשֵׁי בְּהוּ הֶדְיוֹטָא.

The Gemara answers: The two cases are not comparable. There, the coins of Jerusalem had not been used in service of the Most High; they were only consecrated. Here, since the stones of the altar had been used in service of the Most High, it is not proper conduct for an ordinary person to make use of them, and therefore the Hasmoneans sequestered the stones.

מַתְנִי׳ נׇכְרִי מְבַטֵּל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁלּוֹ, וְשֶׁל חֲבֵירוֹ, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֵין מְבַטֵּל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁל נׇכְרִי. הַמְבַטֵּל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה — מְבַטֵּל מְשַׁמְּשֶׁיהָ, בִּיטֵּל מְשַׁמְּשֶׁיהָ — מְשַׁמְּשִׁין מוּתָּרִין, וְהִיא אֲסוּרָה.

MISHNA: A gentile can revoke the status of his object of idol worship and the status of the idol of another gentile, but a Jew cannot revoke the status of the object of idol worship of a gentile. One who revokes the status of an object of idol worship thereby revokes the status of its accessories. But if he revokes the status of its accessories, its accessories alone are rendered permitted, but the object of idol worship itself remains prohibited.

גְּמָ׳ מַתְנֵי לֵיהּ רַבִּי לְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בְּרַבִּי: נׇכְרִי מְבַטֵּל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁלּוֹ וְשֶׁל חֲבֵירוֹ. אָמַר לוֹ: רַבִּי, שָׁנִיתָ לָנוּ בְּיַלְדוּתֶךָ נׇכְרִי מְבַטֵּל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁלּוֹ וְשֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל. דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל מִי קָא מְבַטְּלָהּ? וְהָא ״וְשָׂם בַּסָּתֶר״ כְּתִיב! אָמַר רַבִּי הִילֵּל בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי וָולֶס: לֹא נִצְרְכָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ בָּהּ שׁוּתָּפוּת.

GEMARA: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi taught Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the following version of the mishna: A gentile can revoke the status of his object of idol worship and the status of the idol of another gentile. Rabbi Shimon said to him: My teacher, in your youth, i.e., when you were younger, you taught us a different version of the mishna: A gentile can revoke the status of his object of idol worship and the status of the object of idol worship of a Jew. The Gemara asks: Can the status of a Jew’s idol be revoked? But isn’t it written: “And shall set it up in a hidden place” (Deuteronomy 27:15), from which the Sages derived that a Jew’s idol requires interment? Rabbi Hillel, son of Rabbi Volas, said: No, this halakha is necessary in a case where the gentile has partnership in the idol, and therefore it is possible to say that its status can be revoked.

בְּיַלְדוּתוֹ מַאי קָסָבַר, וּבְזִקְנוּתוֹ מַאי קָסָבַר? בְּיַלְדוּתוֹ סָבַר: יִשְׂרָאֵל אַדַּעְתָּא דְּנׇכְרִי פָּלַח, כֵּיוָן דְּנׇכְרִי מְבַטֵּל דְּנַפְשֵׁיהּ, דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל נָמֵי מְבַטְּלָהּ. וּבְזִקְנוּתוֹ סָבַר: יִשְׂרָאֵל אַדַּעְתָּא דְּנַפְשֵׁיהּ פָּלַח, כִּי מְבַטֵּל נׇכְרִי דְּנַפְשֵׁיהּ, דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל לָא בָּטֵיל.

The Gemara asks: What did Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi hold in his youth, and what did he hold in his old age? The Gemara answers: In his youth he held that the Jew worships the idol based on the intention of the gentile. Once the gentile revokes the status of his share in the idol, the status of the share of the Jew is also revoked. But in his old age Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi held that the Jew worships the idol based on his own intentions. Therefore, when the gentile revokes the status of the object of idol worship, he revokes the status of only his own share, but the status of the share of the Jew is not revoked.

אִיכָּא דְּמַתְנֵי לַהּ אַסֵּיפָא: יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵינוֹ מְבַטֵּל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁל נׇכְרִי. פְּשִׁיטָא! אָמַר רַבִּי הִילֵּל בְּרֵיהּ

There are those who teach Rabbi Hillel’s statement with regard to the latter clause of the mishna: A Jew cannot revoke the status of the object of idol worship of a gentile. The Gemara asks: Isn’t that obvious? Said Rabbi Hillel, son