Study Avodah Zarah folio 74B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מתני׳ גת של אבן שזפתה גוי, מנגבה והיא טהורה. ושל עץ, רבי אומר: ינגב, וחכמים אומרים: יקלוף את הזפת. ושל חרס, אף על פי שקלף את הזפת — הרי זו אסורה.
Mishnah: In the case of a stone winepress that a non-Jew lined with pitch and then poured wine onto the pitch to neutralize its flavor, one may cleanse it and it is pure, i.e., wine pressed in it is permitted. And if the winepress is fashioned of wood, R' Yehuda HaNasi says: One may cleanse it, but the Rabbis say: One must peel off the pitch completely. And if the winepress is of earthenware, even if one peeled off the pitch, this press is forbidden.
גמ׳ אמר רבא: דוקא זפתה, אבל דרך בה — לא. פשיטא, ״זפתה״ תנן! מהו דתימא: הוא הדין אפילו דרך בה, והאי דקתני ״זפתה״ — אורחא דמלתא קתני, קא משמע לן.
Talmud: Rava says: The requirement to cleanse the winepress applies specifically if the non-Jew lined it with pitch. But if he only trod on his grapes in it without lining it with pitch, this is not required. The Talmud asks: Isn’t this obvious? We learned in the Mishnah that cleansing the winepress is necessary if the non-Jew lined it with pitch. The Talmud responds: Lest you say that the same is true that it requires cleansing even if he trod on his grapes in it, and the fact that the Mishnah teaches a case where he lined it with pitch is because the Mishnah is teaching the manner in which the matter typically occurs, therefore Rava teaches us that this is not the case.
איכא דאמרי, אמר רבא: דוקא זפתה, אבל דרך בה לא סגי לה בניגוב. פשיטא, ״זפתה״ תנן! מהו דתימא: הוא הדין דאפילו דרך בה, והאי דקתני ״זפתה״ אורחא דמלתא קתני, קא משמע לן דוקא זפתה, אבל דרך בה לא סגי לה בניגוב.
There are those who say that Rava says: Cleansing the winepress is effective specifically if the non-Jew lined it with pitch. But if he trod on his grapes in it as well, cleansing it is not sufficient to purify the winepress. The Talmud asks: Isn’t this obvious? We learned in the Mishnah that cleansing the winepress is sufficient if the non-Jew lined it with pitch. The Talmud responds: Lest you say that the same is true and that cleansing is sufficient even if he trod on his grapes in it, and the fact that the Mishnah teaches a case where he lined it with pitch is because the Mishnah is teaching the manner in which the matter typically occurs, therefore Rava teaches us that cleansing the winepress is sufficient specifically if he lined it with pitch, but if he trod on his grapes in it, cleansing it is not sufficient.