At the end of yesterday’s daf, we learned that a Jewish merchant is not allowed to sell a white rooster to a non-Jew. Apparently, many non-Jewish rituals made use of white roosters so equipping pagans with them would likely abet idol worship. While this is the majority opinion, Rabbi Yehuda allows for the sale with conditions:
Rabbi Yehuda says: It is permitted to sell a white rooster to a gentile provided that it is sold along with other types of roosters. But when it is sold by itself, one should cut off its toe and sell it to the gentile, because they do not sacrifice a defective animal to their object of idol worship.
If a non-Jew is buying a bunch of roosters, a white one may be included in the group as it is likely that a bulk purchase is intended for something other than idolatry. By itself, a white rooster can only be sold to a non-Jew if it is rendered unfit for ritual use by cutting off a toe.
Is there a way to know for sure what the buyer intends for the animal? On today’s daf, the Gemara tries to game that out, starting with the following suggestion:
Rabbi Yona says that Rabbi Zeira says that Rav Zevid says the following ruling. And there are those who teach merely that Rabbi Yona says that Rabbi Zeira says it. If a gentile says: “Who has a rooster?” without specifying any particular type, it is permitted to sell him a white rooster. But if he says: “Who has a white rooster?” it is prohibited to sell him a white rooster.
If the buyer specifically asks for a white rooster, the sale is prohibited on the assumption that the purpose is idolatrous unless, according to Rabbi Yehuda, the seller first cuts off its toe.
That was relatively straightforward. Next, Rav Ashi wonders what happens if a pagan buyer approaches the merchant with a request for a damaged white rooster. If the buyer is asking for a damaged white rooster, he reasons, they are clearly not looking for an animal that will be put to ritual use. That is, unless they are aware of the laws that govern Jewish merchants and have framed their request craftily in order to trick the Jewish shopkeeper into selling them an unblemished one.
Inspired by Rav Ashi’s question, the Gemara asks: What if the idol worshiping customer asks for a white rooster and the merchant presents them with a black one or a red one and they buy it? Is this enough to suggest that they are not shopping for a ritual rooster and it would be OK to sell them a white one too? Or should we again be suspicious that their purchase was intended to mislead us so that they would be able to secure a white one as well?
All this second-guessing proves increasingly complicated. So let’s go back to the original positions in the mishnah: The anonymous opinion presented in the mishnah bans the sale of white roosters entirely, offering the clearest and the most limiting rule for merchants. Rabbi Yehuda’s opinion opens the door for merchants to sell white roosters to their non-Jewish neighbors when it appears that the animals are being purchased for other purposes. But, as the Gemara suggests, intuiting the intentions of one’s customer is not an exact science, and if artifice is at work, it can be an impossible task.
So what is a merchant to do? While the Gemara doesn’t give a final ruling, in the Mishneh Torah (Foreign Worship and Customs of the Nations, 9:6-7), Maimonides rules that when the customer declares their intent to use that which they are purchasing for idol worship the sale is prohibited. So too, if the merchandise is uniquely known for its use in a ritual — as in the case of an unblemished white rooster. However, in all other cases, a Jewish merchant can sell objects which are used in rituals and for other purposes to a non-Jew and is under no obligation to inquire as to the buyer’s intent.
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