Dafyomi for - Zichru Daf Simanim

Avodah Zarah - Daf 60

An עכו"ם carrying a closed flask or open jug of wine

Rav Pappa said that if an עכו"ם is carrying זיקא – a tied leather flask of wine, and a Yisroel is walking behind him, then מליא שרי – if the flask is full, it is permitted, דלא מקרקש – because he cannot agitate the wine by shaking the flask, so there is no concern of ניסוך. However, חסירא אסיר דלמא מקרקש – if it is lacking (not completely filled), it is prohibited, because perhaps he might agitate the wine for ניסוך by shaking the flask. If the עכו"ם is carrying a כובא – open jug of wine, then מליא אסיר דלמא נגע – if it is full, it is prohibited, because perhaps he touched the wine at the top of the jug without the Jew noticing him. חסירא שרי דלא נגע – If it is lacking, it is permitted, because he did not touch the wine inside the jug (which the Jew would have noticed). There is no concern he would shake the jug, since it is open.

Rav Ashi says that a tied flask is permitted even where it is not full, and there is no concern of ניסוך through shaking, because אין דרך ניסוך בכך – this is not the normal manner of libation.

An עכו"ם pressing grapes בכחו or בכח כחו

Amoraim debate the status of מעצרא זיירא – a crushing winepress (where the grapes are not trodden by foot, but pressed with a beam). Rav Pappi permits the wine produced in it, but Rav Ashi (or Rav Shimi bar Ashi) prohibits it. The Gemara first explains that בכחו – where the grapes were pressed with his force (i.e., he stood on the boards over the grapes and pressed upon them with his weight), all agree it is prohibited. Their argument is בכח כחו – where he crushed the grapes with the force of his force (i.e., he turned the screw which lowers the beam onto the grapes). In another version, all agree that grapes which were crushed בכח כחו are permitted and only argue about those crushed בכחו. There was an incident of an עכו"ם who crushed grapes with כח כחו, and Rav Yaakov of Nehar Pekod prohibited the wine.

נפל לבור, ועלה מדדו בקנה

The next Mishnah teaches that if an עכו"ם is found near a Jew’s wine pit, he would ordinarily be afraid to touch the wine, and it would be permitted. However, if the עכו"ם is owed money by the Jew, the wine is prohibited (even in benefit), because he is not afraid to be caught doing ניסוך, since he can take the wine as payment for his loan (Shmuel says this is specifically if he has a lien on this wine). The Mishnah lists more cases: נפל לבור ועלה – [an עכו"ם] fell into a wine pit and arose (thereby directly touching the wine, but unintentionally), מדדו בקנה – or he measured it with a reed, התיז את הצרעה בקנה – or struck away a hornet with a reed (where although he intended to touch it, he did so indirectly, and for a specific purpose), או שהיה מטפיח ע"פ חבית מרותחת – or was tapping the top of a foaming barrel, (where he touched it directly, but not in a manner of ניסוך). Incidents occurred with all these cases, and the Rabbis ruled that the wine is sold to idolators.

Rabbi Avraham Goldhar

Rabbi Avraham Goldhar has been designing and teaching Jewish literacy courses for over thirty years. His knowledge frameworks for Biblical mastery, Jewish History, Talmudic Law & Jewish Holidays enable students of all backgrounds to better integrate Jewish concepts and learn systematically. After serving as the Educational Director of Aish HaTorah New York, Avraham launched GoldharSchool.com, Home of Big Picture Jewish Education, featuring Jewish literacy content for schools and individuals. He is the developer of the Goldhar Method, a revolutionary learning system that integrates memory into the learning process and has trained over 80,000 students, teachers and professionals. He lectures internationally on the topic of academic mastery and the solutions required to raise the bar in education. Avraham learned in Aish HaTorah, Mir, and Chaim Berlin and received his ordination under the tutelage of Rabbi Yitzchok Berkovits in Jerusalem.