Talmud - Avodah Zarah 76a עבודה זרה ע״ו א׳

that was used for cooking that same day by a gentile, as in such a case, it does not impart flavor to food cooked in it to the detriment of the mixture.

The Gemara asks: If so, from that point onward the pot should be permitted, as on the following day the taste of the non-kosher food imparted by the pot is already to the detriment of the food. The Gemara answers: There is a rabbinic decree that prohibits use of a pot that was not used by a gentile that same day, due to concern that one will use a pot used by a gentile that same day.

The Gemara comments: And according to the opinion of the other tanna, who holds that even if the imparted flavor is to the detriment of the permitted food nevertheless it is forbidden, even the flavor imparted by a pot that was used that same day is detrimental to the flavor of the food, and still the Torah deems it forbidden, which proves that if a forbidden substance imparts flavor to a permitted food to its detriment, the permitted food is forbidden.

§ Rav Amram raises a contradiction before Rav Sheshet: We learned in the mishna: With regard to the spits and the grill, one must heat them until white-hot in the fire. But it is taught in a mishna (Zevaḥim 97a) with regard to sacrificial meat: The spit and the grill that were used to roast sacrificial meat may not be used again after the time for eating that particular offering has passed, as the leftover taste of the offering in these utensils is forbidden, unless one purges them in hot water. Apparently, heating them until white-hot is unnecessary.

Rav Sheshet said to him: Amram, my son, what has the matter of sacrificial meat to do with vessels of gentiles that require purging? Here, in the case of sacrificial meat, the utensils absorbed a permitted food that subsequently became forbidden, and therefore purging in hot water is sufficient. There, in the case of utensils acquired from gentiles, the utensils absorbed a forbidden food, and so they must be heated until white-hot.

Rava disagreed, saying: Ultimately, even in the case of sacrificial meat, when it emits flavor, it emits a forbidden flavor, so what difference does it make that it was permitted when it was absorbed? Rather, Rava said: What is meant by the purging stated with regard to sacrificial meat? It means that besides heating it until white-hot, rinsing and scouring it are also required, as is the halakha with regard to any utensil used with sacrificial meat, as the verse states: “It shall be scoured and rinsed in water” (Leviticus 6:21).

Abaye said to him: Are rinsing and scouring comparable to purging? Scouring and rinsing are done in cold water, whereas purging is done in hot water. Therefore, this is not a valid interpretation of the term purging. Rather, Abaye said that the Mishna employs the style of: Its counterpart reveals about it (see Job 36:33), as follows: The Mishna taught here that the spit and the grill require heating until white-hot, and the same is true of purging, which is also required. The Mishna taught there that purging the spit and the grill is necessary, and the same is true of heating until white-hot.

Rava said to him: If so, let the Mishna teach all of these requirements in one of the places, and let it teach only one of them in the other, and then let us say that the Mishna employs the style of: Its counterpart reveals about it. The principle that one mishna supplements the other can apply when all of the information is stated in one of the two places, but not when each has only part of it.

Rather, Rava said that with regard to sacrificial meat, this is the reason that its utensils do not require heating until white-hot: It is in accordance with that which Rav Naḥman says that Rabba bar Avuh says, as he says: Each and every day constitutes purging for the other day, i.e., the previous day. Since the designated time for eating the meat of a peace-offering ends the day after it is sacrificed, using the utensils every day for an offering sacrificed on that day guarantees that the taste of every offering is expelled from the utensils before they become forbidden, by using them with fire on the following day. Therefore the utensils do not require special heating until white-hot in fire in order to become permitted for subsequent use.

The Gemara raises an objection: This works out well with regard to peace-offerings, as, since their meat may be eaten over two days, purging is achieved before they become leftover sacrificial meat, which is forbidden. But with regard to a sin-offering, since its meat may be eaten only over the course of a day and a night, when one cooks the meat of a sin-offering with the utensil now, it becomes leftover the next morning. And when one cooks with it again the next day, whether the meat of a peace-offering or a sin-offering, the utensil expels the leftover taste of the sin-offering sacrificed now into the meat of the sin-offering or peace-offering sacrificed the next day, and it should be forbidden.

The Sages say in response: It is not necessary to purge the utensil by heating it until white-hot even if it was used for the meat of a sin-offering; it is possible to avoid such a requirement, as when one cooks a sin-offering with the utensil now, he can then cook the meat of a peace-offering with the same utensil now, i.e., on the same day, and the taste of the sin-offering is consequently expelled from the utensil on that same day.

Then, when the taste of the peace-offering is absorbed, it creates a situation where the designated times for eating the meat of the sin-offering of the next day and the meat of the peace-offering of the previous day are complete simultaneously. It is therefore possible to use the utensil for cooking the meat of a sin-offering the next day without having to purge it from the taste of the previous day’s offerings. And one can then cook the meat of a peace-offering with the utensil the next day, thereby expelling from it the taste of the sin-offering of that day, and repeat this practice day after day.

The Gemara raises an objection: If so, if each day the utensil expels the taste of the sacrificial meat that has not become leftover, then purging it with boiling water is also unnecessary. Why, then, does the mishna require purging with boiling water? The Gemara comments: This poses a difficulty to Rava’s explanation.

Rav Pappa said that there is another resolution to the contradiction between mishnayot: In this case of a gentile’s spit and grill, because it is a utensil that is not in continual use, it becomes crusty and must be heated until white-hot; but that utensil used for sacrificial meat is in continual use, so it does not become crusty.

Rav Ashi said: Actually, the contradiction should be resolved as we said from the outset, as explained by Rav Sheshet: There, in the case of sacrificial meat, the utensils absorbed a permitted food that subsequently became forbidden, and therefore purging is sufficient. Here, in the case of utensils acquired from gentiles, the utensils absorbed a forbidden food, and so they must be heated until white-hot.

And as for that which poses a difficulty for you, that at the time that the utensil expels flavor, it expels the flavor of a forbidden food, the answer is that at the time it expels flavor, the forbidden food is nonexistent in its substantive form. Since the forbidden substance expelled from the utensil is not the forbidden food itself but only its flavor, it is treated leniently, and therefore the fact that it was permitted at the time it was absorbed in the utensil is taken into account.

§ Returning to the mishna, the Gemara asks: And how much does one heat utensils to make them white-hot? Rabbi Mani says: Until they shed their outer layer. And how does one purge utensils with boiling water? Rav Huna says: One immerses a small kettle inside a large kettle of boiling water.

The Gemara asks: What does one do with a large kettle? The Gemara suggests: Come and hear an answer from an incident involving a certain cauldron that was in the house of Rav Akavya and required purging. He surrounded it

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

AvodaZara 76a examines purging non-kosher pots through heat versus hot water, contrasting gentile vessels with utensils used for sacrificial meat.