Study Avodah Zarah folio 48A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מתני׳ שלש אשרות הן — אילן שנטעו מתחלה לשם עבודה זרה, הרי זו אסורה. גידעו ופיסלו לשם עבודה זרה והחליף — נוטל מה שהחליף. העמיד תחתיה עבודה זרה ונטלה — הרי זו מותרת.
Mishnah: There are 3 types of trees that were used as part of idolatrous rites [ashera]: A tree that one initially planted for the sake of idol worship is forbidden, and one may not derive benefit from any part of the tree. If one lopped off part of the trunk of a tree or trimmed its branches for the sake of idol worship, i.e., to worship that which would regrow there, and the tree’s trunk or limbs regrew, one removes that which has regrown and burns it. The remainder of the tree is then permitted. If one erected an object of idol worship beneath a tree and subsequently removed it, it is permitted to derive benefit from the tree.
גמ׳ אמרי דבי רבי ינאי: והוא שהבריך והרכיב בגופו של אילן.
Talmud: The Mishnah teaches that if one lopped off or trimmed a tree’s branches for the sake of idol worship and it regrew, the tree is permitted upon the removal of the new growth. The rabbis of the school of R' Yannai say: And this is the halakha only when one sank the shoot of a vine into the ground or grafted onto the trunk of the tree itself.
והאנן ״גידעו ופיסלו״ תנן!
The Talmud asks: But didn’t we learn that if he lopped off part of the trunk or trimmed the tree’s branches, the growth is forbidden? In order to render a tree forbidden, according to the rabbis of the school of R' Yannai, the act dedicated to idol worship must be sinking or grafting, which are tantamount to replanting the entire tree. The Mishnah indicates that even cutting off part of a tree renders the new growth forbidden.