Avodah Zarah 69A

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Text Excerpt

נפל לגו חלא, מאי? אמר ליה רב הילל לרב אשי: הוה עובדא בי רב כהנא, ואסר רב כהנא. אמר ליה: ההוא אימרטוטי אימרטט.

If a mouse fell into vinegar, what is the halakha? Does it enhance its flavor? Rav Hillel said to Rav Ashi: There was such an incident in the study hall of Rav Kahana, and Rav Kahana deemed the vinegar forbidden. This indicates that it enhances the flavor. Rav Ashi said to him: This is not a proof. That mouse was dismembered, and Rav Kahana deemed the vinegar forbidden due to concern that one might consume a substantive piece of the mouse in the vinegar, which is prohibited regardless of the taste.

רבינא סבר לשעורי במאה וחד, אמר: לא גרע מתרומה, דתנן: תרומה עולה באחד ומאה. אמר ליה רב תחליפא בר גיזא לרבינא: דלמא כתבלין של תרומה בקדירה דמי, דלא בטיל טעמייהו!

The Talmud relates: Ravina thought that the quantity of vinegar necessary for nullifying the flavor of the mouse should be calculated at 101 times the volume of the mouse. He said: It should not be rendered worse, i.e., more stringent, than teruma, which is nullified by 101 times its volume in a mixture. This is as we learned in a Mishnah (Terumot 4:7): Teruma is nullified in a mixture by 101 times its volume of permitted food. Rav Taḥlifa bar Giza said to Ravina: Perhaps this case is similar to spice of teruma in a pot, whose flavor is not nullified even by 101 times its volume of permitted food, as the flavor imparted by spice is exceptionally strong.

רב אחאי שיער בחלא בחמשין, רב שמואל בריה דרב איקא שיער בשיכרא בשיתין.

Rav Aḥai calculated the amount of vinegar necessary to nullify the flavor of the mouse at 50 times its volume. Although forbidden food in a mixture usually requires the presence of 60 times its volume of permitted food to be nullified, vinegar has a sharp enough flavor that it nullifies the mouse with less. Rav Shmuel, son of Rav Ika, calculated the amount of beer necessary for nullifying the mouse at 60 times the volume of the mouse.

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.