Chagigah 25A

המדומעות ⁠— נאמנין עליהם בשעת הגיתות והבדים, וקודם לגיתות שבעים יום.

that are mingled, amei ha’aretz are trusted with regard to them during the period of the winepress and the olive press, and also up to 70 days before the winepress, for that is when people begin to purify their vessels in preparation for the wine-pressing season.

גמ׳ ביהודה אין, ובגליל לא, מאי טעמא?

Talmud: The Mishnah teaches that amei ha’aretz are trusted with regard to the purity of sacrificial wine and oil in Judea. The Talmud infers: In Judea, yes, but in the Galilee, no. What is the reason for this distinction between the two places?

אמר ריש לקיש: מפני שרצועה של כותים מפסקת ביניהן.

Reish Lakish said: It is because a strip of land inhabited by Samaritans [Kutim] separates between Judea and the Galilee, and it is impossible to travel from one land to the other without traversing this strip. The rabbis decreed that lands inhabited by non-Jewish nations are considered ritually impure, so that it would be impossible to transport food from the Galilee to Judea, where the Temple is located, without the food becoming impure. Therefore, even oil and wine prepared by ḥaverim who lived in the Galilee were not accepted for sacrificial use.

וניתיב בשידה תיבה ומגדל? הא מני ⁠— רבי היא, דאמר: אהל זרוק ⁠— לאו שמיה אהל. דתניא: הנכנס לארץ העמים בשידה תיבה ומגדל, רבי מטמא, ורבי יוסי ברבי יהודה מטהר.

The Talmud raises a difficulty: And let the residents of the Galilee place the wine and oil and transport it to Judea in a closed box, a chest, or a closet, whose contents cannot contract impurity, as they have the status of separate tents. The Talmud answers: In accordance with whose opinion is this Mishnah? It is in accordance with the opinion of R' Yehuda HaNasi, who said: A thrown tent, i.e., a moving tent, is not called a proper tent, and therefore its contents are subject to impurity. In our case, then, the contents would contract the impurity decreed upon the lands of non-Jewish nations. As it is taught in a baraita: Concerning one who enters a land of non-Jewish nations sitting in a box, a chest, or a closet, R' Yehuda HaNasi declares him to be impure, and R' Yosei, son of R' Yehuda, declares him to be pure.