Avodah Zarah 026

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Before we move on to the next item in our present mishnah I would like to present to you some information about porous clay pottery as used in the ancient world. You will recall that this fact was central to our understanding of the nature of 'Adriatic earthenware'. In the December issue of Biblical Archeologist there is an article by Gloria London, who describes herself as an ethnoarchaeologist. A colleague has given this brief synopsis in a post to a discussion group:

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We can now turn our attention to the next item in our mishnah.

Meat before it enters a place of idolatry is permitted, but that which comes out from there is forbidden, because it is like sacrifices of the dead – says Rabbi Akiva.

Rather surprisingly, our mishnah teaches that a Jew may buy from a non-Jew meat which he – the non-Jew – had brought into his place of worship. The presumption of the Tanna of our mishnah is that the meat was not used for any purpose – otherwise, why would the vendor be selling it? The fact that he took it into a heathen temple does not necessarily mean that it was used for heathen worship.

This seems to be problematic. In what way would such meat be different from the meat which is prohibited if it comes out of that temple? Both kinds of meat do, in fact, come out of the temple. Rashi, in his commentary on this item [AZ 32b] says that this means that

18:
However, meat which is brought out of a heathen temple by a non-Jew may not be bought by a Jew. The Gemara [AZ 32b] explains:

As usual, the rabbis of Eretz-Israel knew much more about heathen religious practices in Roman Eretz-Israel than did the sages of distant Babylon. The word cenaculum refers to a small room or inner sanctum. Apparently it was in the inner sanctum that the religious rites took place. So we must understand our mishnah as saying that a Jew may acquire meat that comes from a heathen temple if it was not taken into the cunciulum; but meat which was taken into the cenaculum and was then brought out again may not be acquired by a Jew.

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The last item in our mishnah is concerning those who go to debauchery. The term 'debauchery' is clearly a denigratory term for some kind of pagan festival. Some scholars have linked the term with the festivities associated with the god Dionysos, and this, does, indeed, seem very likely. This Greek god was known in the Roman world as Bacchus, and most people will be aware of the name of the festivities associated with this god, 'bacchanalia'. Dionysos was the god of agriculture and the theatre. One of his titles was Ελευθηριος Eleutherios, liberator, because the form which his worship took freed the adherent from his inhibitions through ecstasy and alcohol. The god was closely associated with the flute whose music was said to put an end to "all worries and cares."

It follows that our mishnah teaches that a Jew is forbidden to do business with non-Jews who are on their way to the Bacchanalia. The reason is the same as that which we discussed in Chapter 1: anything that the pagans buy from the Jew will undoubtedly be used by them in their religious delirium in honour of their god. However, a Jew may do business with these same people who are returning from those celebrations because they have done whatever they have done and for them the matter is concluded – until the next time.

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The Gemara [AZ 32b] offers an additional dimension to this discussion:

This suggests that the Bacchanalia were very alluring to some Jews who wanted to join in the debauchery and licentiousness.