Pt1 Permissibility of Jewish Wine in the Hands of Non-Jews: Ten Talmudic Cases Explored (Avodah Zarah 69b-70b)
Scenarios: Non-Jewish and Jewish Prostitutes; Stories: Non-Jew Enters House with Jewish Wine, Locks Door, but Visible Through Crack; Non-Jew Below Locks Door; Non-Jew Found Standing Among Barrels
This is the first installment of a two-part series. The outline is provided below.
Note: The term עובד כוכבים, as found in the standard traditional printed editions of the Talmud (which serve as the base text here), is a result of Christian censorship of Jewish books in pre-war Europe1 and should actually be גוי / נכרי. For more on this, refer to Hillel Gershuni:
לכל לומדי התלמוד הבבלי, שאין חפצם לילך אחר הצנזור הנוצרי / הלל גרשוני
Outline
Non-Jewish Prostitute Scenario
Jewish Prostitute Scenario
Story: Non-Jew Enters House with Jewish Wine, Locks Door, but Visible Through Crack
Story: Jew Stores Wine in Upper Story, Non-Jew Below Locks Door After Hearing Fighting
Story: Jew's Wine Stored in Inn, Non-Jew Found Sitting Among Barrels
Story: Non-Jew Found Standing Among Barrels
Story: Jew and Non-Jew Drinking Wine Together, Jew Leaves to Pray Upon Hearing Synagogue Prayers
Story: Jew and Non-Jew on Boat, Jew Departs Upon Hearing Shofar Signaling Start of Shabbat
Non-Jews Assume Jews Don't Fully Observe Shabbat, Presuming Wallets Would Be Untouched in Marketplace if Rules Were Strictly Followed
Story: Lion's Roar Near Winepress Sends Non-Jew Hiding Among Barrels in Fear
Story: Wine Opened by Thieves: Rava and Shmuel's Rulings in Pumbedita and Neharde’a
Story: Non-Jewish Girl Found Near Wine Barrels Holding Wine Froth, Rava Rules Wine Permissible, We Assume Froth Taken from Barrel’s Exterior
Story: Army Entry into Neharde’a
Story: Female Wine Shop Owner Gives Key to Non-Jewish Woman; Sages Rule No Concern of Entry, Key Entrusted Only for Safekeeping
Intro
This sugya discusses various cases where Jewish wine might be considered permitted or forbidden when non-Jews are involved. The primary concern is whether non-Jews may have tampered with the wine, particularly for the purpose of using it in idolatrous libations.
See Wikipedia, “Kosher wine” > “Requirements for being kosher”, with major adjustments:
Kashrut laws include a prohibition on Yayin Nesekh (יין נסך – "poured wine"), wine that has been poured to an idol, and on drinking Stam Yeynam (סתם יֵינָם), wine that has been touched by a non-Jew.
Throughout this sugya, the general theme revolves around the perception of intent and supervision: if a non-Jew might fear being caught or is not interested in the wine for libation purposes, the wine is typically permitted.
The first nine out of the total of ten rulings are by Rava. In addition, the sugya also starts with a theoretical scenario and ruling by Rava. In most cases, Rava rules the wine permitted (חמרא שרי). The stories are all in Aramaic.
The Passage
Non-Jewish Prostitute Scenario
Rava rules that when Jews are reclining at a drinking party2 with a non-Jewish prostitute, the wine is permitted because, while the Jews' lust (יצרא דעבירה; for the prostitute) might cloud their judgment, they would not allow the wine to be used for idolatry.
אמר רבא:
זונה עובדת כוכבים וישראל מסובין אצלה
חמרא שרי
נהי דתקיף להו יצרא דעבירה
יצרא דיין נסך לא תקיף להו
Rava says:
In the case of a gentile prostitute, where Jews are dining at her table,
the wine at the table is permitted.
Granted, their passion for the sin of harlotry overwhelms their judgment,
but the passion for wine used for a libation does not overwhelm their judgment, and they will not allow her to use it for a libation.
Jewish Prostitute Scenario
When non-Jewish men recline with a Jewish prostitute, the wine at the meal becomes forbidden. Since (as a hired prostitute) she is cheapened in the eyes of the non-Jews, we can assume that they wouldn’t care about her feelings and might use the wine for idolatry.
זונה ישראלית ועובדי כוכבים מסובין
חמרא אסור
מ"ט?
הואיל וזילה עלייהו, בתרייהו גרירא
In the case of a Jewish prostitute and gentiles dining with her,
the wine is forbidden.
What is the reason?
It is that since she is contemptible in their eyes, she is subjugated to them, and they use the wine for a libation without consideration for her.
Story: Non-Jew Enters House with Jewish Wine, Locks Door, but Visible Through Crack
The Talmud recounts an incident where a non-Jew entered a house where Jewish wine was stored and locked the door behind him, but a crack (ביזעא) in the door allowed the non-Jew to be seen, and “he was found standing between the containers (דני)”.3
Rava ruled that wine jugs visible through the crack are permitted, as the non-Jew would have been cautious about tampering with them. However, wine jugs on either side of the crack, where the non-Jew could not be seen, are forbidden, as they may have been used for libation purposes.
ההוא ביתא, דהוה יתיב ביה חמרא דישראל
על עובד כוכבים, אחדה לדשא באפיה
והוה ביזעא בדשא
אישתכח עובד כוכבים דקאי ביני דני
אמר רבא:
כל דלהדי ביזעא -- שרי
דהאי גיסא והאי גיסא -- אסור
The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving a certain house where Jews’ wine was stored.
A gentile entered the house, and he locked the door before the Jew,
but there was a crack in the door,
and the gentile was found standing between the barrels.
Rava said:
All the barrels that were opposite the crack through which the gentile could be seen are permitted, because he would have been wary about being seen tampering with them.
Barrels on this side and that side of the crack, where the gentile could not be seen, are forbidden, as perhaps the gentile used them for a libation.
Story: Jew Stores Wine in Upper Story, Non-Jew Below Locks Door After Hearing Fighting
The Talmud recounts an incident where a Jew stored wine in the upper story (עליונה) of a house, while a non-Jew lived in the lower story. One day, after hearing sounds of an argument (תיגרא) outside, both residents went outside. The non-Jew returned first and locked the door before the Jew could re-enter.
Rava ruled that the wine remains permitted because the gentile likely thought that the Jew might have returned unnoticed to the upper story and could be watching, thus preventing the gentile from using the wine for idolatrous purposes (libation).
ההוא חמרא דישראל, דהוה יתיב בביתא דהוה דייר ישראל בעליונה ועובד כוכבים בתחתונה
שמעו קל תיגרא
נפקי
קדים אתא עובד כוכבים, אחדה לדשא באפיה
אמר רבא:
חמרא שרי
מימר אמר, כי היכי דקדים אתאי אנא
קדים ואתא ישראל
ויתיב בעליונה
וקא חזי לי
The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving a certain Jew’s wine that was stored in the lower story of a house, in which the Jew was living in the upper story and a gentile in the lower story, and the wine could be supervised from the upper story.
One day the residents heard a sound of quarreling
and went outside.
The gentile came back in first and locked the door before the Jew.
Rava said:
The wine is permitted,
because the gentile presumably said to himself: Just as I came back in early,
perhaps my neighbor the Jew came back in early
and is sitting in the upper story
and watching me, and therefore he would not use the wine for a libation.
Story: Jew's Wine Stored in Inn, Non-Jew Found Sitting Among Barrels
The Talmud recounts a case where a Jew's wine was stored in an inn (אושפיזא - from Latin or Persian), and a non-Jew was found sitting among the barrels (בי דני).
Rava ruled that if the non-Jew was caught off guard and appeared suspicious, the wine remains permitted, as the non-Jew likely did not use it for idolatrous purposes out of fear of being caught. However, if the non-Jew was not startled and had a reasonable explanation for being there, the wine is forbidden, as there is a concern it might have been used for a libation.
ההוא אושפיזא,
דהוה יתיב ביה חמרא דישראל,
אישתכח עובד כוכבים דהוה יתיב בי דני
אמר רבא:
אם נתפס עליו כגנב -- שרי
ואי לא -- אסיר
The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving a certain inn [ushpiza]
where a Jew’s wine was stored,
and a gentile was found sitting among the barrels.
Rava said:
If he was caught as a thief, i.e., if the gentile seemed startled and did not have a good explanation for being there, the wine is permitted, as the gentile was presumably afraid about being caught and would not have used it for a libation.
But if not, the wine is forbidden.
See also the Hebrew Wikipedia entry on historical Christian censorship of Jewish books: צנזורה על ספרים עבריים.
Especially the section on historical Christian censorship of the Talmud: “הצנזורה בתלמוד הבבלי“.
מסובין - literally: “reclining”, meaning, a drinking party, similar to a symposium. Wikipedia:
“In Ancient Greece, the symposium (Greek: συμπόσιον, sympósion or symposio, from συμπίνειν, sympínein, "to drink together") was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, or conversation“).
It might have been common for a courtesan / prostitute to be present at a symposium-like drinking party. See, for example, Wikipedia, Hetaira:
A hetaira (/hɪˈtaɪrə/; Ancient Greek: ἑταίρα, lit. 'companion'; pl.. ἑταῖραι hetairai, /hɪˈtaɪraɪ/), Latinized as hetaera (/hɪˈtɪrə/ pl. hetaerae /hɪˈtɪriː/), was a type of courtesan or prostitute in ancient Greece, who served as an artist, entertainer, and conversationalist in addition to providing sexual service. Custom excluded the wives and daughters of Athenian citizens from the symposium, but this prohibition did not extend to hetairai, who were often foreign born and could be highly educated. Other female entertainers made appearances in the otherwise male domain, but hetairai joined the male guests in their sexual joking, sometimes evidencing a wide knowledge of literature in their contributions.
This Hebrew/Aramaic term for reclining is most famously used in the Talmudic literature in the context of the Seder night, on the first night of Passover, see Hebrew Wikipedia here: הסבה.
In the context contemporary to the Babylonina Talmud, refer to my earlier article on a sugya found a few pages before the current one, titled "Rose Water and Decadence: Rava and the Pleasure-seeking Bar-Sheshakh (Avodah Zarah 65a)," which presents the following scenario—also involving Rava, though with a non-Jewish government official.
רבא אמטי ליה קורבנא לבר שישך ביום אידם
אמר: ידענא ביה, דלא פלח לעבודת כוכבים
אזל, אשכחיה דיתיב עד צואריה בוורדא, וקיימן זונות ערומות קמיה
א"ל: אית לכו כה"ג לעלמא דאתי?
א"ל: דידן עדיפא טפי מהאי
א"ל: טפי מהאי מי הוה?!
The Gemara relates: Rava brought a gift to a minister named bar Sheshakh on their festival day.
Rava said: I know of him that he does not worship idols.
Rava went to him and found him sitting up to his neck in rose water, and naked prostitutes were before him (קיימן זונות ערומות קמיה)
Bar Sheshakh said to him: Do you have anything as fine as this in the World-to-Come?!
Hebrew words used for wine containers:
כד / כדים
חבית / חביות
קנקן / קנקנים
נוד (leather skin, bladder, see Wineskin - Wikipedia)
לגין (a Greek loanword)
Aramaic words used for wine containers:
דנא / דני
גרבא / גרבי
לקינא (a Greek loanword)
Steinzaltz consistently translates the various wine containers as barrels. However, this isn't a good translation. A more precise translation is amphorae, or more simply, jars, jugs, or simply containers.
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops
Barrels were not widely used during the Talmudic era for storing wine. While wooden barrels became common in Europe, especially under the influence of Roman and later medieval practices, the use of barrels in the Near East was much less prevalent.
Clay vessels, such as amphorae and jars, remained the dominant method for storing wine. These materials were more suited to the climate and the long-established local traditions of craftsmanship. The humid climate of Mesopotamia also made wooden barrels less practical for long-term storage, as they would be prone to swelling and rot, unlike the dry conditions of certain parts of Europe where barrels were more effective.
Barrels were primarily a Western innovation during the Roman and post-Roman periods, but in the talmudic era, ceramic containers persisted as the primary storage medium for wine. Thus, while barrels were known, they likely did not play a significant role in wine storage in Sasanian Babylonia.
An amphora (/ˈæmfərə/; Ancient Greek: ἀμφορεύς, romanized: amphoreús; English pl. amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land or sea. The size and shape have been determined from at least as early as the Neolithic Period. Amphorae were used in vast numbers for the transport and storage of various products, both liquid and dry, but mostly for wine. They are most often ceramic, but examples in metals and other materials have been found.
A major concern with wine jugs was breakage during transport, since pottery is so brittle (unlike wooden barrels). I plan on a future piece analyzing a sugya with many cases of this.
Cf. Wikipedia there:
The shards are ubiquitous in any type of archaeological context. The vessels were used primarily to carry wine, which was drunk by all known peoples over Eurasia […]
In the Bronze and Iron Ages amphorae spread around the ancient Mediterranean world, being used by the ancient Greeks and Romans as the principal means for transporting and storing grapes, olive oil, wine, oil, olives, grain, fish, and other commodities. They were produced on an industrial scale until approximately the 7th century AD. Wooden and skin containers seem to have supplanted amphorae thereafter.
They influenced Chinese ceramics and other East Asian ceramic cultures, especially as a fancy shape for high-quality decorative ceramics, and continued to be produced there long after they had ceased to be used further west.
Tractate Keilim discusses various containers extensively, many of them using their contemporary Greek names. This tractate highlights the variety of materials and shapes used for storage, especially earthenware (ibid. Chapters 2–10).
Compare on pottery and glassware in the talmudic literature, from an archeological and comparative context, the monumental books by Joshua Brand (no relation), discussed at Hebrew Wikipedia here: