Avodah Zarah Daf 54 עבודה זרח דַף 54

A Baraisa defines נעבד – a worshipped [animal] which is disqualified as a korban: כל שעובדים אותו בין בשוגג ובין במזיד – any animal that [people] worship, whether unintentionally or intentionally, בין באונס ובין ברצון – whether against their will or willingly. Rami bar Chama explains the case of "אונס" that gentiles coerced someone to bow down to his own animal. Rebbe Zeira objects: אונס רחמנא פטריה – but the Torah exempts someone coerced for any aveirah from liability, as we see in the case of a married woman who was violated!? Rava answers that when the Torah said "וחי בהם" – and he will live by [the mitzvos], it teaches: ולא שימות בהם – and he shall not die because of them (i.e., one may transgress aveiros under threat of death). Yet, the passuk says: ולא תחללו את שם קדשי – and you shall not desecrate My Holy Name, indicating one must even give up his life to avoid desecrating Hashem’s Name. The difference is: הא בצנעא – this permit to transgress aveiros to save his life is in private, והא בפרהסיא – and that warning not to desecrate Hashem’s Name, even under pain of death, is in public. There, the worshipped animal becomes prohibited. [Many Rishonim say that this is according to Rebbe Yishmael, but according to the Rabbonon that one must always give up his life to avoid idolatry, the animal would be prohibited even in private.]

The Gemara offers another explanation of the Baraisa that an animal becomes prohibited "באונס": כגון שניסך לה יין בין קרניה – the case is where he poured wine between [the animal’s] horns as a libation of worship to [the animal], דעבד בה מעשה – because he did an act in it. This agrees with Rebbe Yochanan’s statement: אף על פי שאמרו המשתחוה לבהמת חבירו לא אסרה – even though they said that one who bows to his fellow’s animal, he does not prohibit it, עשה בה מעשה אסרה – if he did an act in it, he does prohibit it. Rav Huna similarly taught that if someone else’s animal was lying in front of an idol, כיון ששחט בה סימן אחד אסרה – as soon as he cuts one pipe of its neck, he prohibits it in any benefit, although the animal is not his. The Gemara eventually proves this from a passuk teaching that vessels of the Mikdash were concealed because King Achaz had used them for idolatry. Although one cannot prohibit someone else’s items, he can if he does an act of avodah zarah with them.

In the next Mishnah, philosophers asked the Sages in Rome, “If Hashem does not want an idol, למה אינו מבטלה – why does He not get rid of it?” They replied that if people would only worship items which the world does not need, He would get rid of it. However, people worship the sun, the moon, the stars, and constellations. יאבד עולמו מפני השוטים – “Should He destroy His world because of the fools?!” The philosophers then asked why Hashem does not at least destroy unnecessary idols, and the Sages replied that this would be taken as evidence that the sun, etc. are true deities, since other idols were destroyed and they were not. A Baraisa relates that they added: אלא עולם כמנהגו נוהג – Rather, Hashem directs the world to operate naturally, ושוטים שקלקלו עתידין ליתן את הדין – and the fools who sin will have to give an accounting. Similarly, Hashem allows stolen wheat which was planted to grow, and a married woman who has illicit relations to become pregnant.