- Why idols may appear to “heal” people, etc. ("החליקן בדברים")
Zunin said to Rebbe Akiva, “Both you and I know there is nothing to idolatry, but why do people enter a pagan temple with broken limbs and leave healed?” Rebbe Akiva responded with a משל of someone with whom everyone would leave deposits without עדים, and one person would always leave deposits with עדים, but one time left something with him without עדים. The שומר’s wife suggested denying having received the item and keeping it, but the שומר replied, “Just because this fool acted improperly, we should destroy our trustworthiness?!” Similarly, any יסורין – sufferings decreed upon a person are sworn to depart at a particular moment and keep true to their oaths even if the sufferer entered a pagan temple at that moment. Rav Yehudah was asked to explain an idol which appeared in dreams during a drought, demanding human sacrifice to make it rain, and after the sacrifice, it would indeed rain. He quoted Rav darshening a passuk about idols: אשר "חלק" ה' אלקיך אותם לכל העמים – which Hashem your G-d has apportioned to them, מלמד שהחליקן בדברים כדי לטורדן מן העולם – this teaches that [Hashem] smoothed the way for [idolators] to slip with meaningless words which enable them to believe in their idols.
- Harvesting and treading grapes with an עכו"ם, or Yisroel who processes wine in tumah
The next Mishnah permits buying the contents of a winepress (i.e., grapes crushed by foot) from an עכו"ם, ואינו עושה יין נסך עד שירד לבור – and it cannot become יין נסך until it descends into the pit. Once it descends into the pit, the juice in the pit is prohibited, but the juice remaining in the treading area remains permitted. The Mishnah continues: דורכין עם העובד כוכבים בגת – one may tread with an idolator in the winepress, and there is no concern he is being paid for working with a prohibited substance, since the juice is still permitted. There is also no concern of causing tumah to chullin in Eretz Yisroel, because the grapes became tamei when the עכו"ם began trampling them. However, it is prohibited to harvest grapes with an עכו"ם, since the Jew’s placing them in the treading area will cause their becoming tamei. The Mishnah prohibits harvesting or treading grapes with a Yisroel who processes his wine in a state of tumah, because he cannot assist his sinful actions in any way (as opposed to assisting an עכו"ם, who is not prohibited from being metamei food). Still, he may help the sinful Yisroel transport barrels to and from the winepress, which is a separate activity.
- When juice pressed from grapes is considered “wine” for יין נסך
Rav Huna says: יין כיון שהתחיל להמשך עושה יין נסך – once wine begins to flow down the treading basin, it can become יין נסך. Our Mishnah disagrees, since it states that once the pressed juice descends into the pit, only the juice in the pit is prohibited, but the juice remaining in the treading basin remains permitted!? Rav Huna answers that our Mishnah reflects the משנה ראשונה – original teaching, whereas his own ruling reflects the משנה אחרונה – final teaching. A Baraisa elaborates that originally, it was permitted to tread grapes with an עכו"ם, without concern that it can become יין נסך, but later they taught it is prohibited to tread grapes with an עכו"ם, because it can become יין נסך as soon as it starts to flow down the basin. The Baraisa teaches that they additionally retracted and permitted being metamei chullin in Eretz Yisroel, and one may therefore harvest grapes together with an עכו"ם. However, it is still prohibited to harvest or tread grapes with a Yisroel who processes wine in tumah, because a portion of it must be made terumah, which is Biblically prohibited to be metamei.