Avodah Zarah Daf 65 עבודה זרח דַף 65

The Mishnah on Daf 62a taught that if an עכו"ם hired a Yisroel for other work, then even if he told him, “Bring this barrel of יין נסך from one place to another,” the wages are permitted. The Gemara asks, is this permitted even when the instructions were not given לעיתותי ערב – towards evening, after his workday was completed? But a Baraisa teaches that if an עכו"ם told his Jewish worker towards evening to transport a barrel of יין נסך, it is permitted, implying that if he transported the wine during his workday, his wages would be prohibited!? Abaye answered that our Mishnah’s case is also where he was told to carry the יין נסך after his workday was over. Rava answered that the Baraisa’s case is where he said, העבר לי מאה חביות במאה פרוטות – “Transport for me one hundred barrels for one hundred perutos,” where all hundred barrels must be transferred for the wages to be earned. Therefore, if one barrel contains יין נסך, all the wages are prohibited. In contrast, the Mishnah’s case is where he said, “Transport for me each barrel for a perutah,” so even if he transports a barrel of יין נסך, the remaining wages are unaffected.

The next Mishnah states: יין נסך שנפל ע"ג ענבים – if יין נסך fell onto grapes, ידיחן והן מותרות – he washes them off and they are permitted, because no wine was absorbed into the grapes. ואם היו מבוקעות אסורות – However, if they were cracked, they are forbidden, because the wine seeped through the cracks, and washing them does not remove all the wine. If יין נסך fell onto figs or dates, אם יש בהן בנותן טעם – if there is enough wine to transfer flavor, they are prohibited. There was an incident in which ביתוס בן זונן brought dried figs on a ship, and יין נסך spilled onto them, and the Sages permitted them for him. The Gemara emends the Mishnah to add: אם נותן טעם לפגם הוא מותר – if it gives flavor to [the food’s] detriment, it is permitted, and the story illustrates this principle, because the wine’s flavor was detrimental to the dried figs. The Mishnah concludes with a rule: כל שבהנאתו בנותן טעם אסור – wherever the transferred flavor is to one’s benefit, it is forbidden, but wherever the transferred is not to one’s benefit, it is permitted, such as vinegar on split beans.

יין נסך once spilled onto a pile of wheat, and Rava permitted it to be sold to an עכו"ם. Rabbah bar Leivai challenged him from a Baraisa: בגד שאבד בו כלאים – if כלאים was lost in a garment (i.e., a thread making the garment shaatnez was woven into the garment and cannot be located), one cannot sell the garment to an עכו"ם, because he may sell it to a Jew, who will not realize there is כלאים in it. He cannot make it a saddle blanket for his donkey, because he may forget and cut a piece of it to patch his garment. However, he can use it for תכריכין – burial shrouds for a מת מצוה (a corpse with no one to bury it), because the dead person is not obligated in mitzvos. Just as one cannot sell shaatnez which cannot be seen to an עכו"ם, because he may sell it to a Yisroel, it should likewise be forbidden to sell him wheat which contains יין נסך flavor!? Therefore, Rava permitted to the Jew to first grind the wheat and bake it as bread, and then sell it to an עכו"ם, because a Jew would not purchase bread from an עכו"ם.