Talmud - Avodah Zarah 47b עבודה זרה מ״ז ב׳

the area is treated as half and half with regard to withdrawing into his property before rebuilding the wall; he may build the wall four cubits from the middle of that space.

The stones of the fallen wall, its wood, and its dust, transmit impurity like a creeping animal, i.e., one who touches them becomes impure like one who touches a creeping animal, as it is stated: “And you shall not bring an abomination into your house, and be accursed like it; you shall detest it [shakketz teshakketzennu], and you shall abhor it; for it is a proscribed item” (Deuteronomy 7:26). The term shakketz is used in a different form, shekketz, with regard to creeping animals.

Rabbi Akiva says: Those items transmit impurity like a menstruating woman, as it is stated: “You will put them far away as a menstruating woman; you shall say to it: Go away” (Isaiah 30:22). Just as a menstruating woman transmits impurity by carrying, as one who moves a menstruating woman, even without touching her, becomes impure, so too, objects of idol worship transmit impurity by carrying.

GEMARA: The mishna teaches that one must rebuild his wall at a distance from the house of idol worship. The Gemara asks: But how may one do so? Isn’t he creating more space for the house of idol worship? Rav Ḥanina of Sura said: This is not a problem, as he converts the empty space into a bathroom.

Since the mishna teaches that no wall may be built in that space, the bathroom is apparently not enclosed. The Gemara asks: But doesn’t a bathroom need to be in a place of modesty? The Gemara answers: This is not a problem, as he converts it into a bathroom for nighttime, when no one can see him.

The Gemara asks: But didn’t the master say in a baraita: Who is a modest person? One who defecates at night in the same place that he defecates during the day, i.e., in a place where no one can see him? And although we interpreted the baraita as referring not to location but to conduct, teaching that one must conduct himself at night in the same manner, i.e., with the same degree of modesty, as he does during the day with regard to removing his clothing when defecating (see Berakhot 62a), nevertheless, it can be inferred from here that even at night one is required to observe the dictates of modesty.

The Gemara answers: This is not a problem, as he converts it into a bathroom for children, who are not required to observe the same level of modesty.

The Gemara suggests a different answer to the problem of enlarging the space used for idolatry: Alternatively, one can answer that he fences in the four-cubit space with thorns and shrubs, thereby preventing its use.

MISHNA: With regard to idol worship there are three types of houses, each with its own halakhot. A house that one built initially for the purpose of idol worship is forbidden, i.e., it is prohibited to derive benefit from such a house. If one plastered a house or cemented it for the purpose of idol worship, and he thereby added a layer to the walls of the house, one removes that which he added, and the rest of the house is permitted. If one brought an object of idol worship into a house temporarily and then removed it, the house is then permitted.

GEMARA: Rav says: One who bows to a house has rendered it forbidden. The Gemara infers: Evidently, Rav holds that an item that was detached and that one subsequently attached is considered as if it were still detached. Consequently, a house, which is attached to the ground but was built with materials that were detached from the ground, can become forbidden through worship. The Gemara asks: But didn’t we learn in the mishna that if a house was initially built for the purpose of idol worship, it is forbidden? This indicates that the house becomes forbidden only when it is initially constructed for idolatrous purposes.

The Gemara answers that there are two cases where the house is rendered forbidden: If one built it for purposes of idol worship, even if he did not bow to it, or if he bowed to it, even if he did not build it for purposes of idol worship; it is forbidden in either case. The Gemara asks: If so, why does the mishna list only these three types of houses, when there are really four?

The Gemara answers: Since with regard to the revocation of their idolatrous status there is no difference between a house that one built for idolatrous purposes and a house that one bowed down to, the mishna considers them as one.

MISHNA: With regard to idol worship there are three types of stones, each with its own halakhot. A stone that one initially hewed for use in a platform [bimos] for an idol is forbidden. If one plastered a stone or cemented it for the sake of idol worship, one removes that which he plastered or cemented and the stone is permitted. If one erected an object of idol worship upon a stone and subsequently removed it, the stone is then permitted.

GEMARA: The mishna teaches that one may not derive benefit from a stone plastered or cemented for the sake of idol worship. Rabbi Ami says: And that is the halakha provided that one plastered or cemented within the stone itself, by carving or engraving into it. If the plaster or cement was merely appended to the outside of the stone as an external ornament, the stone is not forbidden.

The Gemara asks: But didn’t we learn in the mishna the halakha with regard to stones immediately following the halakha with regard to a house utilized for idol worship? This indicates that the halakha of a stone is similar to the halakha of a house. And in the case of a house that was rendered forbidden when it was plastered or cemented for idol worship, that plastering was not done within the house itself, but on the exterior of its walls, and even so it is rendered forbidden. Accordingly, even external plastering should render the stone forbidden. The Gemara answers: In the case of a house it can also be explained that the plaster or cement was added to the house itself, as there is space in between the bricks that can be filled in.

The Gemara asks: As the mishna does not specify, are we not dealing even with a house that one plastered with no idolatrous purpose and then plastered again on top of that layer for the sake of idol worship, rendering the house forbidden even without affecting the house itself?

The Gemara answers: Rabbi Ami was not explaining at what point a stone plastered for idolatry becomes forbidden; rather, when Rabbi Ami’s statement was stated, it was stated with regard to revocation of the stone’s idolatrous status, and he taught that even if one plastered or cemented within the stone itself, when one removes that which was added, it is permitted.

The Gemara explains Rabbi Ami’s ruling: Lest you say that since one plastered or cemented within the stone itself, it is equivalent to a stone that one initially hewed for idol worship, and therefore the entire stone is forbidden, Rabbi Ami teaches us that the stone can become permitted by the removal of the additional layer of plaster.

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

AvodaZara 47b explores property boundaries near idol worship sites and the ritual impurity transmitted by remnants of a destroyed idolatrous wall.