Avodah Zarah 61A

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Text Excerpt

התם, דקאזיל מיניה ומיניה.

Rav Ashi replied: There, the Mishnah is referring to a case where the jug is not actually thrown. Rather, it is propelled by the non-Jew, and again propelled by him, until it reaches the vat. Therefore, if the non-Jew did so not in anger, there is reason to be concerned that he might have touched the wine.

מתני׳ המטהר יינו של נכרי, ונותנו ברשותו (ובבית) [בבית] הפתוח לרשות הרבים, בעיר שיש בה גוים וישראלים ⁠— מותר, בעיר שכולה גוים ⁠— אסור, עד שישב ומשמר.

Mishnah: In the case of a Jew who renders the wine of a non-Jew permitted by treading the non-Jew’s grapes so that the wine can be sold to Jews, and although a Jew has not yet paid for the wine he then places the wine in the non-Jew’s domain in a house that is open to a public thoroughfare until he sells it, the halakha depends on the circumstances. If this occurs in a city in which there are both non-Jews and Jews, the wine is permitted, as the non-Jew does not touch the wine lest the Jews see him doing so. If this occurs in a city in which all its inhabitants are non-Jews, the wine is prohibited unless a Jew sits and safeguards the wine.

ואין השומר צריך להיות יושב ומשמר, אף על פי שהוא יוצא ונכנס ⁠— מותר. רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר: רשות גוים אחת היא.

But the watchman is not required to sit and guard the wine constantly; even if he frequently leaves the place and comes in again later, the wine is permitted. R' Shimon ben Elazar says: The domain of non-Jews is all one, as the Talmud will explain.

המטהר יינו של נכרי ונותנו ברשותו, והלה כותב לו: ״התקבלתי ממך מעות״⁠ — מותר, אבל אם ירצה ישראל להוציא ואינו מניחו עד שיתן לו את מעותיו, זה היה מעשה בבית שאן ואסרו.

In the case of a Jew who renders the wine of a non-Jew permitted by treading the non-Jew’s grapes so that the wine can be sold to Jews, and he then places the wine in the non-Jew’s domain until he sells it, the halakha depends on the circumstances. If that one, the non-Jew, writes for the Jew: I received money from you in payment for the wine, even though he did not yet receive the actual payment, the wine is permitted. This is because the wine is considered the Jew’s property and the non-Jew does not venture to touch it. But if the Jew desires to remove the wine and the non-Jew does not allow him to do so until the Jew gives him the money due to him, this was an incident that occurred in Beit She’an and the rabbis deemed the wine prohibited. In this case the non-Jew believes that he has a lien upon the wine, and therefore he has no compunctions about touching it.

Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.