Avodah Zarah 076

נושא: AZ

BET MIDRASH VIRTUALI

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If [a Jew] buys [household] utensils from a non-Jew he should immerse [in water] that which it is customary to immerse, he should scald [that which it is customary] to scald and he should heat in fire [that which it is customary] to heat in fire. Spits and racks are to be heated in fire; knives should be polished and then they are pure.

1:
Our present mishnah is the last of this chapter and also the last of this tractate. The last issue to be discussed in this tractate is of a social nature: how a Jew should treat utensils that he or she has bought from a non-Jew.

2:
The utensils that are the subject of our mishnah are household utensils: to be specific, our mishnah is concerned with utensils that are used in the preparation and consumption of food. The utensils are thus pots and pans, cooking equipment, cutlery and so forth.

3:
The Gemara [AZ 75b] makes clear that all such utensils must be immersed in a mikveh. In some instances the immersion in a mikveh is all that is required, and that is the first item in our present mishnah. However, some utensils must be scalded in boiling water as well as being immersed in a mikveh and other utensils must be brought to a white heat as well as being immersed in a mikveh. These are the second and third items in our mishnah.

4:
The immersion of utensils acquired from a non-Jewish source is based on an incident in the Torah [Numbers 31:21-23]. After having attacked and defeated the Midianites and having taken a great deal of spoil the Israelites are told to purify certain kinds of utensils:

El'azar the priest said to the troops who had taken part in the fighting, "This is the law that God has commanded Moses: Gold and silver, copper, iron, tin, and lead – any article that can withstand fire – these you shall pass through fire and they shall be clean, except that they must be cleansed with niddah water; and anything that cannot withstand fire you must pass through water.

Thus we see that the Torah is concerned with metal utensils. (Niddah water refers to a mikveh in which women immerse themselves after menstruation.) Glass is not mentioned in this passage, but was considered by the sages, as we shall soon see. The issue was whether glass was considered to be earthenware (because sand was used in its manufacture) or whether it should be considered like metals.

5:
The Gemara [AZ 75b] details these utensils:

Rav Yitzḥak ben Yosef bought a utensil made from a mixture of earth and animal dung from a heathen and thought to immerse it. A certain sage, named Rav Ya'akov, told him: It was explained to me by Rabbi Yoḥanan that the biblical passage is concerned only with metal utensils. Rav Ashi said: Glass utensils, since they can be repaired when broken, are like metal utensils. Concerning glazed utensils Rav Aḥa and Ravina differ; one maintains [that it must be treated] according to its original state,while the other maintains [that it must be treated] according to its final state. The ultimate decision is [that it must be treated] according to its final state.

Rav Ashi holds that glass utensils can be repaired when broken by re-melting the glass and starting again, therefore they should be treated like metals. Concerning glazed utensils the question was whether they should be judged according to their original state (glass derives from sand) or according to their end state (lead was used in the glazing process). The Gemara decides according to the latter opinion.

6:
Another passage in the Gemara [AZ 75b] explains the considerations referred to in our mishnah:

If [a Jew] purchases cooking-utensils from a non-Jew, the unused articles are to be immersed and are then clean; as for those which are used for cold things, such as cups, jugs and flasks, they must be rinsed and immersed and are then clean; but those which are used for hot things, such as boilers, kettles and heating vessels, they must be scalded [in boiling water] and immersed and are then clean. Utensils used with fire, such as spits and grills, must be made white-hot [by a direct flame] and immersed and are then clean.

7:
Concerning knives the Gemara is stricter than our mishnah. The Gemara [AZ 76b] 'explains' the nature of the polishing required by the mishnah:

Rav Ukba ben Ḥama says: One plunges it ten times in soil. Rav Huna the son of Rav Yehoshu'a says: That is, in untilled [hard] soil. Rav Kahana says: [This holds good only] of a knife which is in sound condition and has no notches… Rav Huna the son of Rav Yehoshu'a [also] says: [This holds good only] to eat cold food with it [and for hot food it must be scalded].

8:
The Conservative Movement has decided that the law concerning the immersion of utensils (used or unused) is no longer applicable because today's non-Jews are not to be considered pagans. The halakhic decision of Rabbis Meyer Rabinowitz and Avram Reisner is as follows:

Immersion of utensils is not required in our day, save for personally owned or crafted food utensils purchased from idolaters. However, if one knows or reasonably suspects the owner or craftsman, (or in the case of antiques, any previous owner), to be an idolater, then immersion of the utensils is in order, with the appropriate blessing. If immersion is done in a public establishment out of concern for those who still maintain this practice, one should not recite a blessing.

9:
The ultimate reasoning of this responsum brings us back to our discussion at the very beginning of our study of this tractate. Rabbis Rabinowitz and Reisner quote the great sage Rabbi Shelomo Luria, Maharshal, [1510-1574] in his great halakhic compendium Yam Shel Shelomo; and his words are a most appropriate conclusion to our study of this tractate:

I wish to make it known to all who read this my composition, wherever it says "heathen" or more generally "non-Jew" it refers to those worshippers of the stars and constellations… who deny divine providence… It does not at all apply to the people with whom we live and under whose government we reside. They believe in divine providence… Let no one deign to think that the terms heathen or non-Jew that appear herein apply in any way to the nations with whom we live.

10:
I offer heartfelt thanks to Heaven that we have merited concluding our study of an eleventh tractate in the Virtual Bet Midrash. In a few days time I shall, God willing, send our a message concerning the next tractate to be studied.

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