Avodah Zarah 45A

מתני׳ הגוים העובדים את ההרים ואת הגבעות ⁠— הן מותרין, ומה שעליהן אסורין, שנאמר: ״לא תחמד כסף וזהב עליהם״.

Mishnah: With regard to the halakha in the case of the non-Jews who worship the mountains and the hills, the mountains and hills are permitted, but what is upon them is forbidden. It is not prohibited to derive benefit from the mountains and hills themselves, and they can be used for planting, harvesting, and the like. But if non-Jews coated them with gold or silver, it is prohibited to derive benefit from the coating, as it is stated: “The graven images of their gods should you burn with fire; you should not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourself, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 7:25).

רבי יוסי הגלילי אומר: ״אלהיהם על ההרים״⁠ — ולא ההרים אלהיהם, ״אלהיהם על הגבעות״⁠ — ולא הגבעות אלהיהם.

R' Yosei HaGelili says with regard to the verse: “You should destroy all the places where the nations that you are to dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every leafy tree” (Deuteronomy 12:2): The mitzva to destroy objects of idol worship applies to “their gods, upon the high mountains,” but not to the mountains themselves that are their gods. Similarly it applies to “their gods…upon the hills,” but not to the hills themselves that are their gods.

ומפני מה אשירה אסורה? מפני שיש בה תפיסת ידי אדם, וכל שיש בה תפיסת ידי אדם ⁠— אסור.

The Mishnah asks: And for what reason, then, is an ashera forbidden? Doesn’t the verse also state: “And under every leafy tree,” which indicates that the mitzva to destroy objects of idol worship does not apply to the trees themselves? The Mishnah answers: It is because it is the product of human involvement and did not grow by itself, and the halakha is that anything that is the product of human involvement is forbidden.