Fifteen seifim. The previous siman asked what remains permitted although worshipped; this one asks how the prohibition can be lifted. The answer is ביטול — and the siman fixes its author, its act and its term
Structured revision, ruling tables, rapid memorisation
The act of seif ז — cutting, crushing the face — nullifies not because it damages but because it can mean only one thing. The proof stands right beside it: spitting humiliates just as much and nullifies nothing, because the Talmud knows that a man returns to a god he has insulted.
« אָמַר חִזְקִיָּה, דְּאָמַר קְרָא: ״וְהָיָה כִי יִרְעַב וְהִתְקַצַּף וְקִלֵּל בְּמַלְכּוֹ וּבֵאלֹהָיו וּפָנָה לְמַעְלָה » (עבודה זרה נ״ג ע״א)
Hence the three exclusions of persons in seif א and seif ה: one needs someone who believed, who still believes enough for his renunciation to mean something, and who is not a Jew — for a Jew never conferred on the object a status he could withdraw.
| Seif | What it says |
|---|---|
| א | A non-Jew nullifies; a Jew never — neither the non-Jew’s nor his own, which “never has nullification.” And a non-Jewish partner nullifies only his share: the Jew’s share stays forbidden forever. |
| ב | Once in Jewish hands and acquired, the idol has no nullification — a rabbinic decree, lest it be confused with a Jew’s own idol. Accessories and ornaments keep theirs. |
| ג | Scrap bought from a non-Jew in which an idol is found: paid without taking, or taken without paying — return it. Both — take it to the Dead Sea. |
| ד | The convert inheriting with his non-Jewish brother may say “take the idols and I the money” — until they enter his domain. |
| ה | A non-Jew who knows the nature of idols nullifies, even another’s, even without worshipping that one, even under compulsion. Those who do not nullify: an undiscerning minor, an imbecile, a ger toshav — and, says the Rama, an Ishmaelite. |
| ו | A leaf taken from the ashera for his own use nullifies the tree; pruning to beautify it does not. In both cases the chips are permitted. |
| ז | Cutting off the tip of the ear, nose or finger, or crushing the face: nullifies, even removing nothing. Spitting, urinating, dragging, defiling: does not. Rama: speech alone nullifies, but not under duress. |
| ח | Selling or pledging does not nullify, even to a Jewish goldsmith; and some permit with him. Rama: the accessories, sold or pledged, are nullified. |
| ט | A landslide left uncleared, a theft left unpursued: this is no nullification. |
| י | Worshippers who left in peacetime: permitted. Who left in wartime: forbidden — unless they could have returned and did not. |
| יא | Broken of itself: the fragments stay forbidden until nullified, and those one finds are forbidden by doubt. Jointed, so that a layman can reassemble it: each piece must be nullified; otherwise one limb suffices for all. |
| יב | A damaged altar: still forbidden, until most of it is torn down by a non-Jew. A damaged bimos: permitted. The bimos is one stone, the altar many. |
| יג | Nullifying the idol nullifies its accessories — even if already with a Jew, adds the Rama. Nullifying the accessories does not nullify the idol. |
| יד | A mitzvah, for whoever finds an idol, to destroy it: grind and scatter to the wind, or cast into the sea. Rama: likewise its accessories and all made for it. |
| טו | One must root out the idol and give it a name of contempt. |
The bolt of seif ב is not biblical: it is a decree, and the Taz draws his whole reading from that.
« ונ״ל דכיון שאין הטעם אלא משום גזירה לא גזרו אלא אם באה לידו אחר הזכייה דוקא » (ט״ז יו״ד קמ״ו ס״ק ג)
« והב״ח כתב דאפילו לא זכה בה כגון שמצאה לפני יאוש או גזלה אע״ג דמדינא עבודת כוכבים של עובד כוכבים היא ויש לה ביטול מ״מ מדרבנן אין לה ביטול » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ו ס״ק א)
Three questions in order: who acted? What did he do? And was there still time?
« ר״ל דהכא מיירי שאומר שרוצה לבטל לקטוע אזנה או חוטמה וכה״ג אבל התם אינו מבטלו וגם סובר שהקונה לא יבטל ודלא כב״י » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ו ס״ק ח)
« כתב ב״י על זה ותמיהני מדין מכרה או משכנה בסמוך דמשמע אפילו מכרה ברצונו לא בטלה וכתב ד״מ שאני התם דלא ידעינן בודאי שבטלה » (ט״ז יו״ד קמ״ו ס״ק ז)
« אִי (בָּעֲיָא) [בְּעוֹ] לְמִיהְדָּר הֲדוּר, מִדְּלָא הֲדוּר בַּטּוֹלֵי בַּטְּלֻהָ » (עבודה זרה נ״ג ע״ב)
Six places where the Rishonim, and then the Acharonim, part ways. The table gives each position, and where the question is settled.
| On what | Permits | Forbids | Where it is settled |
|---|---|---|---|
| זכייה — the idol paid for but not received (seif ב) | Taz — the decree applies only after acquisition and receipt | Bach — even without acquisition: found before the owner despaired, or stolen | The Ba’er Hetev reports both, without deciding |
| אמירה בעלמא — nullifying by speech (seif ז) | Mordechai, Raavyah, Rama — a believer’s word amounts to renunciation | The Beit Yosef is astonished: selling is stronger, and does not nullify | Darkhei Moshe: a sale is ambiguous; Bach and Shach: a sale is forced by the money |
| צורף ישראל — selling to a Jewish goldsmith (seif ח) | Rambam, and the Mehaber’s second view | Tur, Rif, Rosh, Ran — a biblical doubt, hence stringency | The Mehaber writes the stringency first, then ויש מתירין |
| משכון בהרהון — a pledge with a forfeiture clause (seif ח) | Ran, Taz, Bach — it is a sale on terms | Beit Yosef, Shach — a pledge remains a pledge | The Taz faults the Mehaber for not saying which pledge he means |
| נשברה מאליה — do the Rif and Rosh differ from the Rambam? (seif יא) | Shach — they do not; the Ran’s distinction holds for all | Bach — they do, and distinguish only fragments from fragments of fragments | The Ba’er Hetev cuts it short: “it is not according to the halakhah” |
| שם גנאי בחוץ לארץ — naming with contempt outside Israel (seif טו) | Taz — the limitation belongs only to “root out”; here, a copyist’s error | Shach and Nekudot HaKesef — both duties come from one verse, מן המקום ההוא | The Ba’er Hetev cites the Taz and then the Nekudot HaKesef’s answer |
« ול״נ דאין כאן ט״ס אלא כיון דבש״ס פ׳ כל הצלמים קאמר דהא דצריך לשרש אחריה נפקא לן מואבדתם את שמם מן המקום ההוא » (נקודות הכסף יו״ד קמ״ו)
« בלא שחיקה אבל לשאר נהרות בעי שחיקה ב״י וד״מ ושאר אחרונים » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ו ס״ק י״ג)
| Seif | What it says |
|---|---|
| א | A non-Jew nullifies; a Jew never — neither the non-Jew’s nor his own, which “never has nullification.” And a non-Jewish partner nullifies only his share: the Jew’s share stays forbidden forever. |
| ב | Once in Jewish hands and acquired, the idol has no nullification — a rabbinic decree, lest it be confused with a Jew’s own idol. Accessories and ornaments keep theirs. |
| ג | Scrap bought from a non-Jew in which an idol is found: paid without taking, or taken without paying — return it. Both — take it to the Dead Sea. |
| ד | The convert inheriting with his non-Jewish brother may say “take the idols and I the money” — until they enter his domain. |
| ה | A non-Jew who knows the nature of idols nullifies, even another’s, even without worshipping that one, even under compulsion. Those who do not nullify: an undiscerning minor, an imbecile, a ger toshav — and, says the Rama, an Ishmaelite. |
| ו | A leaf taken from the ashera for his own use nullifies the tree; pruning to beautify it does not. In both cases the chips are permitted. |
| ז | Cutting off the tip of the ear, nose or finger, or crushing the face: nullifies, even removing nothing. Spitting, urinating, dragging, defiling: does not. Rama: speech alone nullifies, but not under duress. |
| ח | Selling or pledging does not nullify, even to a Jewish goldsmith; and some permit with him. Rama: the accessories, sold or pledged, are nullified. |
| ט | A landslide left uncleared, a theft left unpursued: this is no nullification. |
| י | Worshippers who left in peacetime: permitted. Who left in wartime: forbidden — unless they could have returned and did not. |
| יא | Broken of itself: the fragments stay forbidden until nullified, and those one finds are forbidden by doubt. Jointed, so that a layman can reassemble it: each piece must be nullified; otherwise one limb suffices for all. |
| יב | A damaged altar: still forbidden, until most of it is torn down by a non-Jew. A damaged bimos: permitted. The bimos is one stone, the altar many. |
| יג | Nullifying the idol nullifies its accessories — even if already with a Jew, adds the Rama. Nullifying the accessories does not nullify the idol. |
| יד | A mitzvah, for whoever finds an idol, to destroy it: grind and scatter to the wind, or cast into the sea. Rama: likewise its accessories and all made for it. |
| טו | One must root out the idol and give it a name of contempt. |
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