Study Avodah Zarah folio 52A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Since the verse does not apply to places that were themselves worshipped, apply it to the matter of vessels that were used for idol worship. It is from here that the rabbis stated: A non-Jew’s object of idol worship is not prohibited until it is worshipped, but a Jew’s object of idol worship is forb
The Talmud questions how the halakha with regard to an object of idol worship is derived from this verse. But didn’t we interpret this verse as being stated with regard to vessels used in idolatrous worship, and not to an object of idol worship? The Talmud answers: The verse states: “You shall dest
The Talmud asks: And as for the opinion of R' Yishmael, we found a source for the halakha that a non-Jew’s object of idol worship is not prohibited until it is worshipped. From where does he derive that a Jew’s object of idol worship is prohibited immediately? The Talmud answers: It is based on log
The Talmud challenges: But one could say that a Jew’s idol is forbidden only once it is worshipped, just as a non-Jew’s idol is forbidden only once it is worshipped. The Talmud answers: The verse states: “And I took your sin, the calf that you had made, and I burned it with fire” (Deuteronomy 9:21)
The Talmud asks: Why not say that this matter applies only with regard to rendering the man who made the idol liable for the sin, but the object of idol worship does not become prohibited until it is worshipped? The Talmud answers: The verse states: “Cursed be the man who shall make a graven or mol