Zichru Daf Simanim
Avodah Zarah - Daf 61
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  • המטהר יינו של עובד כוכבים

The next Mishnah states: המטהר יינו של עובד כוכבים – if [a Jew] produces an idolator’s wine in purity (i.e., as kosher wine, which he would sell to other Jews and pay the עכו"ם afterwards), ונותנו ברשותו – and he places it in [the עכו"ם’s] domain, [בבית] הפתוח לרשות הרבים – in a house which opens into the public domain, then if it is in a city in which both Jews and idolators reside, the wine is permitted. The עכו"ם is afraid to touch the wine, since he may be caught and lose his profit in producing this kosher wine. If only idolators reside in the city (and the עכו"ם is not afraid of being caught), then it is prohibited unless a watchman is appointed to guard the wine. This guard does not need to sit and guard it; אף על פי שהוא יוצא ונכנס מותר – even if he goes out and comes in occasionally, it is permitted, since the עכו"ם is afraid to touch it. Rav Yosef says that where a Jew’s window faces the place where the wine is stored, or there is a garbage heap there, or a Jew’s palm tree, it is considered a public domain, since the עכו"ם can be seen by Jews.

  • Buying or renting a house in an idolator’s חצר to store wine

A Baraisa teaches that whether one buys or rents a house in an idolator’s חצר, and filled it with wine, if a Jew resides in the חצר, the wine is permitted, ואף על פי שאין מפתח וחותם בידו – even though there is no key or seal in [the Jew’s] hand, because the עכו"ם is afraid to enter the house to touch the wine. If a Jew lives in a different חצר, but not in the חצר where the wine is stored, the wine is still permitted, but only if the Jew has a key or seal. The Gemara explains that the Chochomim, quoted below in the Baraisa, mean to disagree with this ruling and prohibit such wine עד שיהא שומר יושב ומשמר – unless there is a watchman sitting and guarding it, או עד שיבא ממונה הבא לקיצין – or unless there is an appointee who comes at set intervals. The Gemara asks about this last clause that if he comes at set intervals, גריעותא הוא – it is a deficiency, since the עכו"ם knows when he will not come!? Therefore, it is emended to be: שאינו בא לקיצין – that he does not come at set intervals, rather, at unpredictable times.

  • Storing wine with an עכו"ם who is not the owner (חיישינן לגומלין)

In the Mishnah, the Tanna Kamma said that if a Jew produced an idolator’s wine in purity and stores it with an עכו"ם in a city of idolatrous residents, the wine is prohibited unless a watchman guards it. Rebbe Shimon ben Elazar says: רשות עובדי כוכבים אחת היא – the domain of idolators are all one. Amoraim debate what this means. Rav Yehudah quotes Zeiri saying that Rebbe Shimon is coming להקל – to be lenient. Meaning, the Tanna Kamma was saying that the wine is even prohibited if it was stored with a different idolator (i.e., not the owner, and he has no excuse to touch the wine), וחיישינן לגומלין – [because] we are concerned for reciprocal [agreements], that this עכו"ם will allow the owner to touch the wine, who will return the favor when the roles are reversed. To this, Rebbe Shimon ben Elazar asked, do you think all idolatrous domains are one? They are not, and the wine would be permitted when stored with a different עכו"ם. Rav Nachman quoted Zeiri saying that Rebbe Shimon is coming להחמיר – to be stringent. Accordingly, the Tanna Kamma is not concerned for "גומלין", and Rebbe Shimon said all domains of idolators are one, and we are concerned for גומלין. A Baraisa supports Rav Nachman’s opinion.

Siman – Saw (Magician sawing a person in half trick). The magician who had a side business to produce an idolater’s wine to sell to Jews and used his magician’s saw to make an opening to the רשות הרבים, and kept his own wine in a house he rented in an idolater’s chatzeir where another Jew resided who didn’t have the key, wouldn’t store wine with an עכו'ם who wasn’t the owner of the wine he produced, because חיישינן לגומלין.

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.