daf bit: Avodah Zarah 69

[cellio]

The rabbis are concerned that Jews not drink wine from which a heathen has poured a libation. The mishna discusses some of the conditions under which we do or don't trust non-Jews with wine. If a heathen and a Jew are conveying the latter's wine together, it is presumed that the wine is under supervision and the wine is permitted. If the Jew leaves his wine in a wagon for a time, takes a shortcut to a nearby town, bathes, and returns, it is permitted; however, if he told the heathen that he was going to do so, and there was enough time for the heathen to bore a hole, take wine, seal it, and have the clay dry, the wine is forbidden. (69a)

It's not discussed here, but it appears that if he left but there was not enough time for the heathen to do anything to the wine, the wine is still permitted. Sometime between mishnaic times and now the rabbis got a lot more cautious, to the point of forbidding wine that has been so much as touched by gentiles unless precautions are taken. I am mildly curious about when and how that happened. (Note to my non-Jewish friends: I hold more liberally than that, though I'm cautious in SCA or fannish settings because there are actually pagans in some numbers in those communities.)

(Today's daf is actually 68 but doesn't distill well.)

Edit 2011-11-21: This entry seems to have become a spammer favorite, so I'm disabling further comments. Those of you who are real people know where to find similar posts and how to get in touch with me.

Comments

[dragonazure.livejournal.com]

Although I have a general distrust of people until I know them better, this seems a little excessive. From your description it almost sounds like the rabbis were worried about gentiles and heathens having wine cooties or something.... I think I need to understand the historical context a little better--was there such prevelant prejudice and animosity from that time that the rabbis were worried about people being poisoned? Or is it more along the lines of keeping kosher?

If the latter, what constitutes "touching" the wine? Picking the grapes? Being involved in the vinting process? Handing you the bottle? Pouring the wine itself? I'm pretty sticking a finger in the wine counts.... When it comes to homebrew, I'm guessing that the process of grating the orange zest in making mead involves me touching the ingredients. Does the boiling of the must not constitute an act of purification (from a scientific standpoint, it does, but faith =/= science)?

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

(Today's daf is actually 68 but doesn't distill well.)

Which is to say that the brandy turned out very badly? *g, d, rvvvvvvf*