Avodah Zara 20
Summary
- This shiur locates the sugya at עבודה זרה דף כ (holding on דף יט עמוד ב) and presents rulings on receiving wages for building structures or even the idol itself for *avodah zarah*, the Mishnah’s prohibitions on making ornamentation for *avodah zarah* and selling items that are *mechubar la’karka* to an *oved kokhavim*, and the derivation of three prohibitions from לא תחנם: לא תיתן להם חנייה בקרקע, לא תיתן להם חן, and לא תיתן להם מתנת חינם. It analyzes the verse on נבילה and the dispute between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda about gifting or selling to a *ger toshav* or a *nokhri*, addresses praising the beauty of non-Jews and the limits of looking that lead to הרהור under ונשמרת מכל דבר רע (including clothing and animals), and applies the principle בעבידתיה טריד to practical cases like doctors and drivers. It describes the מלאך המות and the טיפת מרה, records רבי פנחס בן יאיר’s ladder of spiritual growth and the debate over whether חסידות or ענווה is greatest, and notes three disputes at the end of the daf between רבי יהודה and רבי מאיר on selling attached property על מנת לקצוץ.
- The shiur opens with a sponsorship by Lishon Elisheva Newman לזכות ורפואה שלמה for חיים נפתלי בן פרומה פרידא, for שרה פרידא בת חיה, and for דבורה שירה חיה בת הינדא פרל, רפואה שלמה בתוך שאר חולי ישראל. The learning is situated at the two dots about eight lines before the lines widen on דף יט עמוד ב of עבודה זרה, with today’s דף being עבודה זרה דף כ.
- R. Elazar in the name of R. Yohanan rules that if one already built the dome where they place the *avodah zarah*, his payment is permitted, since these are only *meshamshei avodah zarah* which become prohibited only after service. R. Yirmiyah limits the case to when a Jew fashioned the *avodah zarah atzmah* and states that wages are permitted before it is worshipped, while Rabbah bar Ulla refines the case to the last hammer blow, where the object first becomes *avodah zarah*. The Gemara establishes that the actionable completion is the final blow, which is worth less than a *shaveh perutah*, and infers ישנה לשכירות מתחילה ועד סוף, while agreeing אין שכירות משתלמת אלא לבסוף. Tosafot resolves the concern that even פחות משוה פרוטה of *avodah zarah* benefit is prohibited by asserting that the employer would pay the full sum even if the worker did not deliver the final, negligible act, so the payment is not attributable to that act.
- The Mishnah prohibits making תכשיטין for *avodah zarah* such as קטלאות, נזמים, וטבעות, and records a view that בשכרו מותר regarding payment. The Mishnah forbids selling to *ovdei kokhavim* what is *mechubar la’karka* but permits selling after detachment, with Rabbi Yehuda permitting sale על מנת לקוץ. The Gemara links the prohibition of selling *mechubar la’karka* to לא תחנם as חנייה בקרקע, and the Ramban and Ritva explain that although the Mishnah sounds general, the prohibition fundamentally concerns ארץ ישראל, with the Tanna relying on later clarifications and not ruling like Rabbi Meir in חוץ לארץ.
- The verse לא תחנם yields three halachot: לא תיתן להם חנייה בקרקע, לא תיתן להם חן, and לא תיתן להם מתנת חינם, as learned from the precise forms לא תחנם, לא תחונום, and לא תחינם. Tosafot addresses to whom these apply and argues that the sugya implies all *ovdei kokhavim*, even though the verse’s context lists the שבע אומות, by evaluating each phrase on its own parameters rather than lumping all prohibitions together. The baraita confirms the three readings explicitly and notes that מתנת חינם is itself a Tannaitic dispute.
- The prohibition is defined specifically as לא תיתן להם מתנת חינם, and the Rishonim are lenient when reciprocity or benefit to the giver is anticipated, rendering it not a true *matanat chinam*. The Ran in Gittin explains Rabbi Eliezer’s freeing of an עבד to complete a מנין as not a pure benefit to the slave but a personal need, paralleling the logic of avoiding *matanat chinam*. The halachah of מפרנסים עניי עכו"ם עם עניי ישראל permits tzedakah to non-Jews מפני דרכי שלום and is not a violation of לא תחנם. The Magen Avraham cites the Taz that in ברכת המזון one should say אותנו בני ברית כולנו יחד rather than include non-Jews in the הרחמן, to avoid לא תיתן להם חן.
- The verse לא תאכלו כל נבילה, לגר אשר בשעריך תתננה ואכלה או מכור לנכרי yields that to a *ger toshav* one gives and to a *nokhri* one sells, while Rabbi Meir reads תתננה או מכור as distributable to both parties, permitting both gift and sale to either. Rabbi Yehuda argues that the word או divides the verse into two exclusive clauses, enforcing דברים ככתבם. Rabbi Meir treats או as a preference to give to a *ger toshav* rather than sell to a *nokhri*, while Rabbi Yehuda deems that preference obvious given the mitzvah להחיותו of the *ger toshav*. Tosafot explains the plausibility of giving specifically by נבילה because it has minimal market value among Jews but retains full value for a *ger toshav*, creating a meaningful chesed case.
- The prohibition לא תיתן להם חן forbids saying “how beautiful is this *oved kokhavim*,” yet Rabban Gamliel’s praise upon seeing an exceptionally beautiful עובדת כוכבים and Rabbi Akiva’s reactions upon seeing the wife of טורנוסרופוס הרשע are framed as praising Hashem, e.g., מה רבו מעשיך השם and the theme of ברוך שככה ברא בעולמו. Poskim state that directing praise to Hashem avoids violation of *lo techanem*, whereas praising the individual as such constitutes an issur. Some infer that the formal berachah ברוך שככה ברא בעולמו is not recited on a non-Jew from the way the narratives are presented.
- The verse ונשמרת מכל דבר רע teaches שלא יסתכל אדם באשה נאה ואפילו פנויה, באשת איש ואפילו מכוערת, ולא בבגדי צבע של אשה, and not at animals בזמן שנזקקין זה לזה. The cases of Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Akiva are justified as קרן זויות, accidental encounters, followed by channeling the moment to avodat Hashem. Tosafot underscores that ונשמרת מכל דבר רע is a de’oraita demand, with יחזקאל’s testimony being remarkable because of actual success in avoiding הרהורי עבירה. The clothing restriction applies even when garments are hung on a wall if they are מכירי בעליה, and the phrasing ולא בבגדי צבע של אשה indicates a link to a specific woman.
- The Gemara entertains a leniency for new garments but ultimately bases permissibility on בעבידתיה טריד, that occupational absorption averts הרהור. The same principle permits managing animal mating and allows tailors and cleaners to handle women’s clothing without concern. Poskim apply בעבידתיה טריד to permit physicians’ examinations of female patients, while Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach limits relying on it for a Jewish bus driver regarding girls’ singing, and poskim are lenient for a non-Jewish driver who has no איסור of קול אישה.
- The מלאך המות is depicted as standing over the dying with חרבו שלופה and a טיפת מרה that enters the mouth, from which one dies, decomposes, and the face turns green. The account is reconciled with אבוה דשמואל’s tradition that the מלאך המות could reveal a “slit” like שחיטה by positing that the טיפא cuts the סימנים. The statement ממנו מסריח supports רבי חנינא בר כהנא’s teaching אמרי בי רב that one who wants to avoid הסרחת המת should turn the body on its face.
- Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair teaches that תורה מביאה לידי זהירות, זהירות מביאה לידי זריזות, זריזות מביאה לידי נקיות, נקיות מביאה לידי פרישות, פרישות מביאה לידי טהרה, and then through the correct girsa to קדושה, חסידות, ענווה, יראת חטא, רוח הקודש, and תחיית המתים, with חסידות גדולה מכולן, שנאמר: אז דברת בחזון לחסידיך. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi argues that ענווה גדולה מכולן, שנאמר: רוח ה' אלקים עלי יען משח ה' אותי לבשר ענוים, establishing ענוים as the highest ideal. Tosafot reconciles a Midrash that weighs יראת חטא, חכמה, and ענווה as שקולים by explaining their interdependence while maintaining the primacy stated here.
- The daf concludes with three distinct disputes between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Meir regarding selling items attached to the ground על מנת לקצוץ, and the Gemara explains why all three cases are necessary despite their apparent similarity.
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