Avodah Zarah 008

14:
In the previous shiur we saw how Rabbenu Gershom, in the 10th century, allowed Jews to trade with the local Christians on the Christian holy days and saints' days mainly for reasons of economic necessity. By the time we reach the 12th and 13th centuries we find the sages of France and Germany trying not only bolster the permission given by Rabbenu Gershom (which by that time had become established custom) but also to find further justifications.

15:
One of the greatest of rabbinic sages of the middle ages was Rashi. Rashi had three daughters (and no sons); but his grandsons established a mode of learning which was based on Rashi's teachings. Often their learning suggests that they were continuing their discussions with their grandfather long after his death, as it were. It is now customary to refer to these scholars as Tosafists. The greatest of the first generation of these Tosafists were Rashbam and Rabbenu Tam. (Rashbam was Rabbi Shemu'el and Rabbenu Tam was Rabbi Jacob. Both were the sons of Rashi's daughter Yokheved and her husband Me'ir.) Scholars of the Tosafist school continued their work for several generations until the 14th century. Their commentary on the Gemara is now printed opposite Rashi's commentary in parallel columns that surround the text of the Gemara.

16:
You will recall that the first mishnah of the present chapter establishes that Jews are forbidden to associate socially or financially with non-Jews for three days prior to a non-Jewish holy day and on the day itself. In their commentary on this mishnah the Tosafists first state the problem:

They propose possible arguments that might explain the the permission which ignores the plain meaning of the mishnah – and refute them:

So the Tosafists have shown that Shemu'el has pulled the carpet from under the feet of Rabbi Yoĥanan and has stated quite categorically that even if it is permitted for Jews in the diaspora to trade with non-Jews during the three days prior to a non-Jewish holy day the holy day itself is still forbidden. They now adduce another possible explanation: perhaps it was permitted to trade with non-Jews on their holy days in order to prevent enmity and discord. They quote a story from the Gemara in which a certain sage justified his dealings with a non-Jew on a holy day as having been done in order not to cause the non-Jew chagrin. But then the Tosafists reject this argument too:

17:
So the Tosafists are left with only one possible explanation why Jews in Europe do trade with non-Jews on their holy days:

They support this by quoting a passage from the Talmud of Eretz-Israel where there is a rider to the blank prohibition of the mishnah:

Thus the Tosafists suggest that the Christians among whom they live are not idolators and therefore it would be impolite not to do business with them on their holy days. They do not explain why they consider Christians not to be idolators. Possibly they think as did the Me'iri in the following century that the Christians follow a moral code which removes them from the classification of pure idolators.

18:
Rabbenu Tam clearly feels the reasoning of his colleagues is rather far-fetched. He suggests a different interpretation of the mishnah. We explained that the reason for the prohibition is lest the non-Jew thank his god for his good fortune [see AZ 003]. Rabbenu Tam suggests that the mishnah only outlaws one kind of trading:

Rabbenu Tam says that the mishnah prohibits the sale to a non-Jew of anything that he might offer on his altar or use in his ceremonies. Everything else is permitted. The Tosafists then draw a conclusion from the reasoning of Rabbenu Tam:

19:
In this philosophic agonising of the Tosafists we can clearly perceive their attempts to both have their cake and eat it: Christians are not monotheists as they understand the term (to put it politely) but nevertheless the prohibitions of the mishnah do not apply to them!