Avodah Zarah 41B

והא שברים נינהו! תרגמה שמואל: בעומדין על בסיסן.

But aren’t they fragments of idols, which are permitted according to Shmuel? The Talmud answers that Shmuel interpreted the Mishnah as follows: It is referring to a case where these objects that are in the figure of a hand or a foot are standing on their pedestals, which shows that they were designed this way initially and are not merely fragments.

אתמר: עבודה זרה שנשתברה מאיליה, רבי יוחנן אמר: אסורה, רבי שמעון בן לקיש אמר: מותרת.

§ It was stated: With regard to objects of idol worship that broke by themselves, R' Yoḥanan says: It is prohibited to derive benefit from them. R' Shimon ben Lakish says: It is permitted.

רבי יוחנן אמר: אסורה, דהא לא בטלה. רבי שמעון בן לקיש אמר: מותרת, מסתמא בטולי מבטיל לה, מימר אמר: איהי נפשה לא אצלה, לההוא גברא מצלה ליה?

The Talmud explains the sides of the dispute. R' Yoḥanan says that it is prohibited, as its owner did not revoke its status as an object of idol worship. R' Shimon ben Lakish says that it is permitted, as the owner presumably revoked its status as an object of idol worship, having said to himself: If the idol could not save even itself from harm, can it save that man, i.e., myself?

איתיביה רבי יוחנן לרבי שמעון בן לקיש: ״וראש דגון ושתי כפות ידיו כרתות וגו׳״, וכתיב: ״על כן לא ידרכו כהני דגון וגו׳״!

R' Yoḥanan raised an objection to R' Shimon ben Lakish from the passage in the book of Samuel recounting the downfall of the Philistine god Dagon: “And when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before the Ark of YHWH; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him” (I Samuel 5:4). And from the next verse it seems that Dagon’s worshippers accorded it honor despite its destruction, as it is written: “Therefore, the priests of Dagon, and anyone who comes into Dagon’s house, do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod until this day” (I Samuel 5:5). Evidently, when an idol breaks, its worshippers do not stop worshipping it.