## Avodah Zarah Daf 44a

###### Avodah Zarah 44a:1
[Avodah Zarah 44a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:1)

אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם אֶת הָעֵגֶל לָקַחְתִּי וָאֶשְׂרֹף אֹתוֹ בָּאֵשׁ וָאֶכֹּת אֹתוֹ טָחוֹן הֵיטֵב עַד אֲשֶׁר דַּק לְעָפָר וָאַשְׁלִךְ אֶת עֲפָרוֹ אֶל הַנַּחַל הַיֹּרֵד מִן הָהָר״!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**the calf that you had made, I took and burned it with fire, and beat it in pieces, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust; and I cast its dust into the brook that descended out of the mount”** (Deuteronomy 9:21)? Moses, who ground up the idolatrous golden calf and dispersed its dust, was apparently unconcerned with the fact that it may fertilize the soil.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:2
[Avodah Zarah 44a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:2)

אָמְרוּ לוֹ: מִשָּׁם רְאָיָה? הֲרֵי הוּא אוֹמֵר: ״וַיִּזֶר עַל פְּנֵי הַמַּיִם וַיַּשְׁקְ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל״, לֹא נִתְכַּוֵּין אֶלָּא לְבוֹדְקָן כְּסוֹטוֹת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Rabbis **said to him:** You seek to bring **proof from there? Doesn’t it state** in the verse: “And he took the calf that they had made, and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, **and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it”** (Exodus 32:20)? Moses ground up the calf **intending only to inspect them like *sota* women,** i.e., like a woman suspected by her husband of having been unfaithful. Such a woman is compelled to drink water containing the ground-up ink from a scroll of Torah passages relating to a *sota* woman, which causes her to die if she was unfaithful, and exonerates her and bestows blessings upon her if she was faithful. Similarly, Moses ground up the calf in order to compel the people to drink, to cause the guilty parties to die.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:3
[Avodah Zarah 44a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:3)

אָמַר לָהֶם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: וַהֲלֹא כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר ״וְגַם אֶת מַעֲכָה אִמּוֹ הֱסִירָהּ מִגְּבִירָה אֲשֶׁר עָשְׂתָה מִפְלַצְתָּהּ וְגוֹ׳ וַיָּדֶק וַיִּשְׂרֹף בְּנַחַל קִדְרוֹן״! אָמַר לוֹ: מִשָּׁם רְאָיָה? נַחַל קִדְרוֹן אֵינוֹ מְגַדֵּל צְמָחִין!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yosei said to them: But isn’t it already stated** concerning Asa: **“And he also removed Maacah his mother from being queen, because she had made an abominable image [*miflatztah*]** for an *ashera*; **and** Asa **cut down her image, and burned it at the Kidron River”** (see I Kings 15:13)? It seems that Asa was unconcerned that the ground-up idol may provide fertilization. **They said to him:** You seek to bring **proof from there? The Kidron River does not grow vegetation,** so even if the idol would have fertilized the soil, it would have been of no benefit.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:4
[Avodah Zarah 44a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:4)

וְלָא? וְהָתַנְיָא: אֵלּוּ וְאֵלּוּ מִתְעָרְבִין בְּאַמָּה, וְיוֹצְאִין לְנַחַל קִדְרוֹן, וְנִמְכָּרִין לְגַנָּנִין לְזֶבֶל, וּמוֹעֲלִין בָּהֶן! מְקוֹמוֹת מְקוֹמוֹת יֵשׁ בּוֹ: יֵשׁ מָקוֹם מְגַדֵּל צְמָחִין, וְיֵשׁ מָקוֹם שֶׁאֵין מְגַדֵּל צְמָחִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **And does** the Kidron River **not** grow vegetation? **But isn’t it taught** in a mishna (*Yoma* 58b): **This** remainder of blood from the external altar **and that** remainder of blood from the inner altar **are mixed in the** Temple courtyard **drain** beneath the altar, **and** they **flow out** with the water used to rinse the area, **to the Kidron River, and** this water **is sold to gardeners for** use as **fertilizer?** The mishna continues: The gardeners pay for this water and thereby desacralize it, **and** failure to do so would render them liable for **misuse** of consecrated property. This is explicit proof that the Kidron River does yield produce. The Gemara answers: **There are** different **places in** the Kidron River area. **There is a place** that **grows vegetation, and there is a place that does not grow vegetation.**


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:5
[Avodah Zarah 44a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:5)

מַאי ״מִפְלַצְתָּהּ״? אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: דַּהֲוָה מַפְלְיָא לֵיצָנוּתָא, כִּדְתָנֵי רַב יוֹסֵף: כְּמִין זַכְרוּת עָשְׂתָה לָהּ, וְהָיְתָה נִבְעֶלֶת לוֹ בְּכׇל יוֹם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara tangentially inquires about the meaning of a word in the verse quoted above. **What** is the meaning of **“*miflatztah*”? Rav Yehuda says:** It means an object **that intensifies [*mafli*] licentiousness [*leitzanuta*]; as Rabbi Yosef teaches:** Maacah **fashioned** upon the idol **the likeness of a male** organ, **and she would engage in sexual activity with it daily.**


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:6
[Avodah Zarah 44a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:6)

אָמַר לָהֶן רַבִּי יוֹסֵי, וַהֲלֹא כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר: ״וְכִתַּת נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה מֹשֶׁה״!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The *baraita* continues: Rabbi Yosei attempts to cite another proof that grinding an object of idol worship is sufficient, from Hezekiah’s destruction of Moses’ serpent, which was worshipped by the Jewish people in Hezekiah’s time. **Rabbi Yosei said to them: But isn’t it already stated: “And he broke into pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made;** as until those days the children of Israel sacrificed to it” (II Kings 18:4)? This indicates that breaking an object of idol worship into pieces suffices.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:7
[Avodah Zarah 44a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:7)

אָמְרוּ לוֹ: מִשָּׁם רְאָיָה? הֲרֵי הוּא אוֹמֵר ״וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל מֹשֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף״, ״לְךָ״ — מִשֶּׁלְּךָ, וְאֵין אָדָם אוֹסֵר דָּבָר שֶׁאֵינוֹ שֶׁלּוֹ, וְהָתָם בְּדִין הוּא דְּכַתּוֹתֵי לָא הֲוָה צְרִיךְ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Rabbis **said to him:** You seek to bring **proof from there? Doesn’t it state** in the verse: **“And the Lord said to Moses: Make you a fiery serpent,** and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he sees it, shall live” (Numbers 21:8)? The term “make **you”** is interpreted to mean that the Lord commanded Moses: Make the serpent **from your** property. Consequently, the serpent belonged to Moses, **and** the principle in such a case is that **a person does not render forbidden an item that is not his.** Therefore, despite worshipping the serpent, the Jewish people could not render it a forbidden object of idol worship, **and by right, it was not necessary to demolish** it **there.**


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:8
[Avodah Zarah 44a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:8)

אֶלָּא, כֵּיוָן דַּחֲזָא דְּקָא טָעוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּתְרֵיהּ, עָמַד וְכִיתָּתוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather,** despite the fact that the serpent did not have the halakhic status of an object of idol worship, **since** Hezekiah **saw that the Jewish people were straying after it, he arose and demolished it.** Nevertheless, since this demolishing was not done in order to fulfill the obligation to eradicate objects of idol worship, but merely to prevent its worship, breaking it into pieces was sufficient.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:9
[Avodah Zarah 44a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:9)

אָמַר לָהֶם, וַהֲלֹא כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר: ״וַיַּעַזְבוּ שָׁם אֶת עֲצַבֵּיהֶם וַיִּשָּׂאֵם דָּוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו״, וּמַאי מַשְׁמַע דְּהַאי ״וַיִּשָּׂאֵם דָּוִד״ לִישָּׁנָא דְּזָרוֹיֵי הוּא? כְּדִמְתַרְגֵּם רַב יוֹסֵף: ״תִּזְרֵם וְרוּחַ תִּשָּׂאֵם״, וּמְתַרְגְּמִינַן: תִּזְרֵינוּן וְרוּחַ תְּטַלְטְלִינּוּן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rabbi Yosei **said to** the Rabbis, citing another proof for his opinion: **But isn’t it already stated: “And they left their images there, and David and his men took them away [*vayyissa’em*]”** (II Samuel 5:21)? **And from where may** it **be inferred that** the meaning of **this formulation: “*Vayyissa’em* David,” is winnowing,** i.e., scattering in the wind? It is **as Rav Yosef translates** the verse: **“*Tizrem veruaḥ tissa’em*”** (Isaiah 41:16), **and we translate** it as follows: **“You shall fan them, and the wind shall carry them** away.” Apparently, this way of disposing of idolatrous objects is sufficient.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:10
[Avodah Zarah 44a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:10)

אָמְרוּ לוֹ: מִשָּׁם רְאָיָה? הֲרֵי הוּא אוֹמֵר ״וַיִּשָּׂרְפוּ בָּאֵשׁ״, וּמִדְּלָא כְּתִיב ״וַיִּשְׂרְפֵם וַיִּשָּׂאֵם״, שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ ״וַיִּשָּׂאֵם״ מַמָּשׁ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Rabbis **said to him:** You seek to bring **proof from there? Doesn’t it state** with regard to the same incident: “And they left their gods there; and David gave an order, **and they were burned with fire”** (I Chronicles 14:12)? **And from** the fact **that it is not written** here: **And they burned them *vayyissa’em*, learn from it** that the word ***vayyissa’em*** is not referring to scattering in the wind, but rather it should be understood **literally,** i.e., David and his men took the idols away; and it does not mean that they demolished and scattered them.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:11
[Avodah Zarah 44a:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:11)

מִכׇּל מָקוֹם, קָשׁוּ קְרָאֵי אַהֲדָדֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **In any case, the verses contradict each other.** The two accounts with regard to David’s disposal of the idols seem inconsistent. One states that his men took them away or scattered them, while the other recounts that they burned them.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:12
[Avodah Zarah 44a:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:12)

כִּדְרַב הוּנָא, דְּרַב הוּנָא רָמֵי: כְּתִיב ״וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד וַיִּשָּׂרְפוּ בָּאֵשׁ״, וּכְתִיב ״וַיִּשָּׂאֵם״!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers **in accordance with** the resolution **of Rav Huna, as Rav Huna raises a contradiction** between the verses, as follows: **It is written:** “And they left their gods there; **and David gave an order, and they were burned with fire”** (I Chronicles 14:12), **and it is** also **written: “And** David and his men **took them away”** (II Samuel 5:21).


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:13
[Avodah Zarah 44a:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:13)

לָא קַשְׁיָא, כָּאן — קוֹדֶם שֶׁבָּא אִיתַּי הַגִּיתִּי, כָּאן — לְאַחַר שֶׁבָּא אִיתַּי הַגִּיתִּי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rav Huna answers: It is **not difficult.** In the interim, Ittai the Gittite, who was a gentile, arrived, and David commanded him to revoke the idolatrous status of the idols, as only gentiles are capable of doing this. **Here,** the verse that states that they burned the idols describes their actions **before Ittai the Gittite came,** whereas **there,** the verse that indicates that they simply carried them away is referring to **after Ittai the Gittite came** and revoked their status as objects of idol worship, obviating the need to burn them.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:14
[Avodah Zarah 44a:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:14)

דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיִּקַּח אֶת עֲטֶרֶת מַלְכָּם מֵעַל רֹאשׁוֹ וּמִשְׁקָלָהּ כִּכַּר זָהָב״, וּמִי שְׁרֵי? אִיסּוּרֵי הֲנָאָה נִינְהוּ! אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן: אִיתַּי הַגִּיתִּי בָּא וּבִיטְּלָהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Another difficulty is resolved by Ittai’s arrival; **as it is written** with regard to the Ammonite idol: **“And he took the crown of Malcam from off his head, and its weight was a talent of gold,** and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David’s head” (II Samuel 12:30). **But is it permitted** for David to wear the crown? Isn’t it an object of idol worship and therefore under the category of **items from which** deriving **benefit** is **prohibited? Rav Naḥman says: Ittai the Gittite arrived and revoked** its status as an object of idol worship.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:15
[Avodah Zarah 44a:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:15)

מִשְׁקָלָהּ כִּכַּר זָהָב, הֵיכִי מָצֵי מַנַּח לַהּ? אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: רְאוּיָה לָנוּחַ עַל רֹאשׁ דָּוִד. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא אָמַר: אֶבֶן שׁוֹאֶבֶת הָיְתָה בָּהּ, דַּהֲוָת דָּרָא לַהּ. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אָמַר: אֶבֶן יְקָרָה הָיְתָה בָּהּ, שֶׁשָּׁוָה כִּכַּר זָהָב.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The Gemara discusses David’s crown. The verse states: **“And its weight was a talent of gold.”** As a talent is a very heavy weight, the Gemara asks: **How could** David **place it** on his head? **Rav Yehuda says** that **Rav says:** What is meant is not that it was actually placed on his head, but rather that **it was fit to rest on David’s head,** i.e., it fit the size of his head. Giving a different answer, **Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: There was a lodestone in it that would hold it up,** i.e., from which it was suspended. David sat and placed his head in it, giving the appearance that he was wearing it. **Rabbi Elazar says:** What is meant is not that it weighed a full talent of gold, but rather that **there was a precious stone on it that was worth a talent of gold.**


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:16
[Avodah Zarah 44a:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:16)

״זֹאת הָיְתָה לִּי כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי״ — מַאי קָאָמַר? הָכִי קָאָמַר: בִּשְׂכַר שֶׁפִּקּוּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי, זֹאת הָיְתָה לִי לְעֵדוּת. מַאי עֵדוּתָהּ? אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי: שֶׁהָיָה מַנִּיחָהּ בִּמְקוֹם תְּפִילִּין וְהוֹלַמְתּוֹ. וְהָא בָּעֵי אַנּוֹחֵי תְּפִילִּין! אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר רַב יִצְחָק: מָקוֹם יֵשׁ בָּרֹאשׁ שֶׁרָאוּי לְהַנִּיחַ בּוֹ שְׁתֵּי תְפִילִּין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks with regard to the verse: **“This I have had, as I have kept Your precepts”** (Psalms 119:56): **What is it saying?** The Gemara answers that **this** is what the verse **is saying: As reward for** the fact **that I kept your precepts, this** crown **was a testimony for me** that I am fit to be king. **What** exactly **was its testimony? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says:** It was **that** David **would place** the crown on his head **on the spot** where one dons **phylacteries, and it fit him** perfectly. The Gemara asks: **But** how could he have worn the crown? **Wasn’t he required to don phylacteries? Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzḥak says: There is** enough **space on** the part of **the head that is fit for donning** phylacteries for one to don **two phylacteries.**


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:17
[Avodah Zarah 44a:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:17)

״וַיּוֹצִיאוּ אֶת בֶּן הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיִּתְּנוּ עָלָיו אֶת הַנֵּזֶר וְאֶת הָעֵדוּת״, ״נֵזֶר״ — זוֹ כְּלִילָא, ״עֵדוּת״ — אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: עֵדוּת הוּא לְבֵית דָּוִד, שֶׁכׇּל הָרָאוּי לַמַּלְכוּת הוֹלַמְתּוֹ, וְכֹל שֶׁאֵינוֹ רָאוּי לַמַּלְכוּת אֵין הוֹלַמְתּוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Similarly, it is stated with regard to Joash: **“Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown [*hanezer*] and the testimony,** and made him king” (II Chronicles 23:11). **“*Nezer*” is a crown.** What was the **“testimony”? Rav Yehuda says** that **Rav says: It is a testimony for** the progeny of **house of David that anyone who is fit for kingship,** the crown **fits him** properly; **and anyone who is unfit for kingship,** the crown **does not fit him** properly.


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:18
[Avodah Zarah 44a:18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:18)

״וַאֲדֹנִיָּה בֶן חַגִּית מִתְנַשֵּׂא לֵאמֹר אֲנִי אֶמְלֹךְ״, אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: שֶׁמִּתְנַשֵּׂא לְהוֹלְמוֹ וְלֹא הוֹלַמְתּוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Similarly, the verse states: **“Now Adonijah, son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying: I will be king”** (I Kings 1:5). **Rav Yehuda says** that **Rav says:** The term “exalted himself” **teaches that he sought to** have the crown **fit him, but it did not fit him.**


###### Avodah Zarah 44a:19
[Avodah Zarah 44a:19](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Avodah%20Zarah/r/44a:19)

״וַיַּעַשׂ לוֹ רֶכֶב וּפָרָשִׁים וַחֲמִשִּׁים אִישׁ רָצִים לְפָנָיו״, מַאי רְבוּתַיְיהוּ? תָּנָא: כּוּלָּם נְטוּלֵי טְחוֹל וַחֲקוּקֵי כַּפּוֹת הָרַגְלַיִם הָיוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The verse continues: **“And he prepared for himself chariots and riders and fifty people to run before him”** (I Kings 1:5). The Gemara asks: **What** is **the novelty of these** actions, since other wealthy people do the same, even if they are not the sons of kings with designs on the throne? It is **taught** in a *baraita* that what was unique was that the runners **all had** their **spleens removed and had the soles of their feet hollowed,** i.e., flesh from their feet was removed, and these two procedures enhanced their speed.