Avodah Zarah Daf 44 עבודה זרח דַף 44

In the next Mishnah, Rebbe Yose says: שוחק וזורה לרוח או מטיל לים – one may grind an idol and scatter it to the wind, or throw it into the sea. The Chochomim argue that if so, it will become fertilizer, and the passuk prohibits benefiting from idols in any way. Rebbe Yose told the Chochomim that the עגל הזהב was ground into a fine dust, but they responded that Moshe sprinkled the powder into the water and made Yisroel drink it, because לא נתכוין אלא לבודקן כסוטות – [Moshe] intended to test them like סוטות to determine their participation in the עגל. Rebbe Yose told the Chochomim that King Asa ground up his mother’s idol and burned it in נחל קדרון, without concern of fertilization, and they responded: נחל קדרון אינו מגדל צמחין – Kidron Valley does not grow vegetation. Rebbe Yose told the Chochomim that Chizkiyah ground up the נחש נחושת – Copper Serpent made by Moshe, but they responded that since it was made from Moshe’s personal property, it could not become prohibited through the worship of others. Thus, it did not need to be ground at all, and Chizkiyah only did so because he saw people erring after it.

Rav Huna poses a contradiction between pesukim if Dovid and his men burned captured idols, or carried them away (and kept them). He explains that after איתי הגיתי, a gentile, joined Dovid’s camp, he was able to nullify all idols. Similarly, the passuk says that Dovid took the crown of their idol, מלכם, and Rav Nachman explains that איתי הגיתי permitted it by nullifying it. The Gemara wonders how Dovid wore this crown, which was extremely heavy (a ככר זהב – a talent of gold). Rav explains that it was fit for Dovid’s head, although he did not physically wear it. Rebbe Yose bar Rebbe Chanina says that a magnet held the crown suspended. Rebbe Elazar says the crown had a precious stone worth a ככר זהב, but that was not its weight. Dovid said: בשכר שפקודיך נצרתי – as reward for guarding your commandments, זאת היתה לי לעדות – I had this crown as a testimony, because the crown fit him exactly, despite being perfectly circular. Rav said this crown served as a testimony for בית דוד: שכל הראוי למלכות הולמתו – for whoever was worthy of kingship, [the crown] fit him, but not those who were unworthy. Adoniyah tried to wear the crown, but it did not fit him.

The next Mishnah states that an idolator challenged Rabban Gamliel for bathing in the bathhouse of the idol אפרודיטי, and he replied that it is forbidden to answer in a bathhouse. Later, he explained: אני לא באתי בגבולה – I did not come into her domain; היא באה בגבולי – she came into my domain. Furthermore, we do not say that the bathhouse becomes a נוי – adornment for אפרודיטי (since a bathhouse is not something which beautifies); rather, we say נעשה אפרודיטי נוי למרחץ – Aphrodite becomes an adornment for the bathhouse. Finally, he pointed out to the idolator that even if someone would give him a lot of money, he would not go into his idol unclothed and relieve himself before it, yet people did so before this statue. Therefore, it is permitted in benefit, because the Torah only prohibits "אלהיהם" – their gods, implying: את שנוהג בו משום אלוה – that which is treated like a god, not this statue which was not treated like a god. Rebbe Oshaya says that Rabban Gamliel offered a תשובה גנובה – dishonest response, but Rebbe Chama bar Rebbe Yosef B’Ribbi said it was a legitimate response. Four explanations are given for this machlokes.