- How much time does as idolator need to access wine in a Jew’s barrel
The next Mishnah teaches the laws of leaving wine with an idolator: if an עכו"ם was transporting jugs of wine for a Jew from place to place, אם היה בחזקת המשתמר – if it was in a state of supervision, it is permitted (i.e., even if the Jew traveled at a distance, the עכו"ם is afraid the Jew may appear at any moment, and does not touch the wine). אם הודיעו שהוא מפליג – However, if he informed [the עכו"ם] that was going far, כדי שישתום ויסתום ויגוב – then if he would be away long enough for [the עכו"ם] to bore a hole in the jug’s cover, close the hole with clay, and for [the clay] to dry, the wine would be prohibited, since he had enough time to access the wine without fear of being discovered. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: כדי שיפתח את החבית ויגוף ותיגוב – there must be enough time for him to open the barrel’s cover, make a new cover, and for [the cover] to dry. He holds the עכו"ם is afraid to drill a hole and seal it with clay, because the new clay patch is recognizable. This machlokes is taught in additional cases.
- Defining חזקת המשתמר, leaving tahor foods with an עם הארץ
The Gemara asks to define בחזקת המשתמר – “in a state of supervision,” where the Mishnah permits the Jew’s wine. It answers with a Baraisa discussing someone whose workers, who are עמי הארץ, are transporting his tahor food. It states: אפילו הפליג מהן יותר ממיל טהרותיו טהורות – even if he distanced himself from them more than a mil, his tahor [foods] remain tahor. But if he told them, לכו ואני בא אחריכם – “Go ahead, and I will follow you later,” then כיון שנתעלמה עינו מהם – as soon as he could not see them, they are considered tamei. The Gemara explains that the case is where he was מטהר his workers in mikveh, so they are not metamei the foods by carrying them. The concern is that אין עם הארץ מקפיד על מגע חבירו – an am haaretz is not particular about his friend’s touching the owner’s טהרות, so he may have allowed someone he met to touch them, rendering them tamei. This is not a concern in the רישא, because בבא להם דרך עקלתון – he could come back to them in a roundabout route, so the workers are afraid to allow others to touch the foods. In the סיפא, since they were sent ahead, they are confident he would not return immediately.
- We do not leave wine barrels with an עכו"ם nowadays because of the air hole
Rava says that the halachah follows Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel in our Mishnah, who is not concerned that an עכו"ם would risk drilling a hole in a barrel’s cover, since the clay patch is noticeable (instead, he is concerned about the cover being removed and replaced). The Gemara asks: we additionally pasken like Rebbe Eliezer, דלא חייש לזיופא – who is not concerned about forgery, meaning he holds an עכו"ם would not bother to break a single seal on a barrel if he would have to forge a replacement. Since there is no concern of a hole being drilled, nor of the cover being replaced, האידנא מאי טעמא לא מותבינן חמרא ביד עובדי כוכבים – why do we not leave wine in sealed barrels with idolators nowadays? It answers: משום שייכא – because of the air hole, a very small hole in a barrel’s cover to allow the wine’s aroma to escape. We are concerned that the עכו"ם may squeeze a straw through this hole, and drink some of the wine.