Avodah Zarah 045

1:
Our present mishnah continues the topic that was broached towards the end of the previous mishnah: the Asherah. Indeed, the whole of the rest of the present chapter concerns this topic. Once again, the Gemara divides our mishnah into two mishnayot.

2:
The first clause of our mishnah seems to present a contradiction: if a Jew may not sit in the shade of a tree which serves as an Asherah (because he would be deriving benefit from it) how can we explain the continuation "if one does sit…"? This is not one of those situations in which the ideal ruling is the former but in the event of an infraction it can be the latter (lekhatĥilah and bedi'avad). The sages explain that a Jew may not sit beneath a tree that serves as an Asherah; however, if he sits away from the tree but still benefiting from the shadow cast by the tree's foliage he is not considered as having become ritually impure through contact with idolatry and its appurtenances.

3:
Not only is sitting beneath such a tree prohibited but even just standing there. The Gemara [AZ 48b] explains that this is the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah ben-Beteyra, and his reasoning is that if this tree serves (or served) as an Asherah it is impossible that some kind of appurtenance is not buried beneath it or next to it. Even though the idolatrous things are buried they still impart ritual impurity:

4:
The opinion of Rabbi Yehudah ben-Beteyrah quoted above is a rabbinically derived ruling. In the case where the foliage of a tree which serves as an Asherah overhangs the public thoroughfare the sages did not extend their ruling to such an extent.

5:
Vegetables may not be planted beneath an Asherah-tree in the hot summer months because the shade afforded by the foliage will benefit their growth and a Jew will thus benefit even indirectly from idolatry. In the winter months this concern would not apply. An exception is lettuce, which – according to the sages – benefits from shade all the year round.

6:
Finally, we have the more stringent view of Rabbi Yosé who prohibits the growing of vegetables beneath an Asherah-tree in all circumstances. His reasoning is that when the foliage of the tree falls to the ground it becomes manure and thus fertilizes the vegetables.

Benjamin Fleischer writes concerning mishnah 7 of the present chapter [AZ 044], the latter part of which discusses the Asherah:

I've been looking for that Mishnah for a while. I was learning Shoftim once and found Gideon used the wood of an Asherah for an offering and I was surprised that it wasn't herem and forbidden for a holy purpose. This mishnah seems to highlight that what Gideon did was wrong (at least in the view of Deuteronomy and the Mishnah) but I haven't seen any commentary on it. Are you familiar with any?

I respond:

What a lovely question, certainly one to restore my spirits! In his message to me Benjamin quotes the relevant verses from the book of Judges:

On the face of it it certainly does seem that Gideon here is contravening the letter and the spirit of the ruling of our mishnah which is not to derive any benefit from the stones of an idolatrous altar or from the wood of an Asherah. The Gemara [Temurah 28b] deals with this at length. However, there are two other sources which I find easier to present here in response to Benjamin's interesting question.

In the Talmud of Eretz-Israel [Megillah 16b] we find the following:

Thus the sages were aware of seven transgressions, not just the one that Benjamin mentions! Only the first two, of course, are relevant to our present discussion. (Muktzeh is something which one may not touch; 'worshipped' refers to something which was worshipped as an idol; sacrificial ritual is only permitted during the daytime; only priests are permitted to offer sacrifices and Gideon was not a priest; and the Torah prohibits all high places except the Bet Mikdash in Jerusalem.)

The Gemara quoted above seems to be saying that what Gideon did was permitted because God told him to act as he did. This is made much clearer by the commentary of Ralbag (Rabbi Levi ben-Gershon, 1288-1344) on Judges 6:26. He writes:

I hope this answers Benjamin's question.