2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day.

Today’s daf opens with a new Mishnah, all about mixing water and wine:

Wine used for a libation is forbidden, and any amount of it renders other wine forbidden if they are mixed together. Wine used for a libation that became mixed with wine, or water that was used for an idolatrous libation that became mixed with ordinary water, renders the mixture forbidden with any amount of the forbidden wine or water; but wine used for a libation that became mixed with water, or water used for a libation that became mixed with wine renders the mixture forbidden only if the forbidden liquid is sufficient to impart flavor to the mixture, i.e., for the wine to flavor the water or for the water to dilute the wine to an extent that can be tasted.

You may recall the mixing of water and wine on previous pages of the Talmud. It got me wondering about mixing water and wine. I went down a rabbit hole and learned that, (According to https://santoriniwinetour.com/) “The ancient Greeks and Romans indeed mixed water and wine – but technically they put wine in their water more than they put water in their wine. At that time, wine was also considered a way to purify and improve the taste of (often stagnant) water, but mainly by mixing wine with water, they could avoid all the unpleasant consequences of still wine.” And opposed to the pictures we often get of wealthy Roman’s drinking wine lounging all day, “Drinking wine that had not been mixed with water (“still wine”) was considered barbaric and was only used by the sick or during travels as a tonic.”

So, maybe these guys weren’t as drunk as we thought they were . . .

Thirsty? Below is a bunch of people in Uganda drinking Malwa, a traditional beer sipped from a calabash pot.

You’ll see why I posted this after you read this snippet from the daf:

Mar Zutra, son of Rav Naḥman, says: For a Jew and a gentile to drink simultaneously from a vessel with tubes for several people to drink from [kenishkanin] is permitted. And this statement applies only in a case where the Jew stops drinking first, before the gentile; but if the gentile stops drinking first, it does not apply and the wine is forbidden, as wine from the gentile’s mouth returns to the vessel and renders all of the wine forbidden. Rabba bar Rav Huna happened to come to the house of the Exilarch, and he permitted them to drink from a kenishkanin together with gentiles. There are those who say that Rabba bar Rav Huna himself drank from a kenishkanin.

So, they don’t want you to drink backwash, but this seems to have been a thing that people did, like Rabba bar Rav Huna. Looks like a party.

Today’s gem is very disturbing. On 70 we read that wine from a city attacked during wartime is still kosher as the soldiers don’t have time to pour libations… but today we learn they have time for something else.

And the Gemara raises a contradiction to the assumption that soldiers during wartime do not have time to commit transgressions from that which is taught in another mishna (Ketubot 27a): With regard to a city that was conquered byan army laying siege, all the women married to priests located in the city are unfit and forbidden to their husbands, due to the concern that they were raped. Rav Mari resolved the contradiction and said: They do not have time to pour wine for libations, as their passion for idolatry is not pressing at that time, but they have time to engage in intercourse,because their lust is great even during wartime.

So, no time for libations but plenty of time for rape! Shows that people always make time for what they want to do. (And maybe when men are raping women they don’t want to think that God or gods are watching.)

It has often felt, reading Avodah Zarah, that the rabbis didn’t want Jews to mingle with non-Jews. On our daf today – we see that we have TONS of regular contact with non-Jews. We eat, sleep, work with, and socialize with non-Jews – even on the daf! On this page alone we see:

Jewish prostitute with gentiles

Gentile prostitute with Jews

Gentile in a Jews wine cellar

Jew living upstairs with a gentile downstairs

Gentile found in inn with wine of a Jew

A Jew leaves gentile they are drinking with to going to pray

Jew leaves ship where he was with gentiles for Shabbat

A gentile is hiding in winepress out of fear of a lion (the Jewish friend is too)

Gentile girl with wine froth in hand

A Jewish woman gives wine-shop key to gentile woman

All to say, just like today, we have always socialized, done business and been in relationships with non-Jews.

May our relationships be strong.

Today’s daf offers a fascinating psychological insight.

Rava explains that wine left in the hands of non-Jews was safe not because of locks or guards, but because the owner might show up at any moment: Rava said: It is a case where he came to them in a roundabout way, such that they would not know from where he might appear, and they would be afraid to tamper with the goods because he might catch them in the act.

The daf pushes this further: And had the mishna taught only the case where the Jew placed his wine in a wagon or on a ship, one might assume that the concern there is because the gentile thinks: Perhaps he will come on a different road or stand on the bank of the river and see me.

It’s not actual supervision that protects the wine—it’s the possibility of being observed. (someone might see me!)

This is so human. Most of us behave better when we sense eyes upon us, even imagined ones. The Talmud knew that accountability doesn’t always require constant oversight—just the awareness that we might be seen.

Maybe that’s why Jewish tradition reminds us that God is “the One who sees.” Maybe it’s also why community matters: living among people who notice us keeps us honest.

So live like someone’s watching. Because God is.

So, the daf has been talking a lot about if something is forbidden or permitted to benefit from, or to be eaten, if a forbidden substance falls into it. We did this with wine, vinegar, even spices and dough! So, get ready for today’s mystery substance:

The Gemara recounts an incident involving a certain mouse that fell into a barrel of beer.

That’s right ladies and gentleman, it’s a mouse! So, can I drink (or sell) that beer?

Rav deemed that barrel of beer forbidden.

Yeah, seems pretty obvious. Of course you couldn’t drink a beer with a mouse in it, it’s gross! That has to be the reason they give. Right?

The Sages said before Rav Sheshet: Shall we say that Rav maintains that even in a case where the forbidden substance imparts flavor to the detriment of the mixture, it is forbidden? Presumably, the mouse imparted flavor to the detriment of the beer.

Wait, they’re saying it’s only forbidden because the mouse makes the beer taste better?!

Rav Sheshet said to them: Rav generally maintains that in a case where the forbidden substance imparts flavor to the detriment of the mixture, it is permitted. But here, in the case of a mouse, it is a novelty that the Torah prohibits the flavor from a mouse at all, as it is repulsive and people distance themselves from consuming it, and even so the Merciful One prohibits it. Therefore, although it imparts flavor to the detriment of the mixture, it is still forbidden.

Phew, thank goodness. But wait, it’s the daf, someone will disagree . . .

Rava said: The halakha is that if the forbidden substance imparts flavor to the detriment of the mixture, it is permitted. But with regard to a mouse that fell into a barrel of beer, I do not know what the reason was that Rav deemed it forbidden. I do not know whether it was because he maintains that if the forbidden substance imparts flavor to the detriment of the mixture it is forbidden, and if so, the halakha is not in accordance with his opinion, or whether it was because although he maintains that if the forbidden substance imparts flavor to the detriment of the mixture it is permitted, a mouse that falls into beer enhances its flavor.

Vomit.

Well, we all know that bugs and other things may make their way into mass prepared food. Ever wonder where the origins of that rule came from?

Rav Shmuel, son of Rav Ika, calculated the amount of beer necessary for nullifying the mouse at sixty times the volume of the mouse.

The Gemara concludes: And the halakha is that this and that, both vinegar and beer, nullify the mouse with sixty times its volume, and so is the ruling for all prohibitions in the Torah.

Yep. So, a long as the beer is 60 times the volume or the mouse – bottoms up!

Are you craving a beer? I’m not.

Today’s daf reminds me of two personal cooking stories. We read:

And if the forbidden food amplified the flavor of the permitted food to its detriment, it is permitted.

One of the examples given is vinegar. This made me think to my first roommate when I was living in Israel. Her name was April. She made the best rice. Her secret? She would add a touch of vinegar.

Second story. I was making pancakes and the recipe called for baking powder (with a dash of baking soda). I didn’t know that difference and only had baking soda (helping the fridge smell clean). So what did I do? I replaced the 4 teaspoons of baking powder with baking soda. I made the pancakes and my kids wouldn’t eat them, but their friend did. I tried a bite and spit it out – it was disgusting! I asked the friend how he could stand it and he said he was trying to be polite!

All to say, the same item might detract or enhance flavor – it’s all about the amount you add. And, follow recipes. Learn from the mistakes of others!

Today’s gem reminded me both of Beavis and Butthead, and a great Jewish story.

With regard to this bunghole [bat tiha], the hole in a barrel through which one can smell the wine, if a gentile smells a Jew’s wine through it, the wine is permitted, but for a Jew to smell a gentile’s wine through it, Abaye says that it is prohibited, whereas Rava says that it is permitted. Abaye says that it is prohibited because he holds that a smell is a substantial matter, a significant form of pleasure, and it is not permitted to derive benefit from a gentile’s wine. Rava says it is permitted because he holds that a smell is nothing; it is insignificant.

Okay, the first time I ever heard “bunghole” was on the MTV show Beavis and Butthead.

Here is the story.

There was a man who was starving and had no Monday to eat. He smelled the aroma of soup cooking and followed his nose into a restaurant’s kitchen and was found standing smelling the soup. The chef was angry. While the man hadn’t tasted the soup, the chef demanded to be paid as only customers get the privilege of even smelling the soup. He brings the man to court and the judge turns to the chef and says. You are right. So here is a proper payment. He takes money and jingles it in his hand so the chef can hear it. “A sound for a smell seems about right.”

That’s about how significant sent is.