Yesterday, we read a mishnah describing how statues of the Roman god Mercury were typically displayed, with three stones placed adjacent to the idol. The mishnah ruled that Jews are prohibited from utilizing those three stones for another purpose. But what if there were only two stones? Rabbi Yishmael says they’re permitted, but the rabbis limit that permission to stones that are not found next to the idol. If the stones were close enough that they could have fallen from the statue of Mercury, they’re not allowed.
This brings us to today’s topic: Assuming that all conditions are met — there are only two stones, and they’re not found adjacent to the idol — can they be repurposed as paving stones?
The house of King Yannai was destroyed, and gentiles came and placed stones to Mercury in it. Later, other gentiles who did not worship Mercury came and took those stones and paved paths and streets with them. There were rabbis who withdrew, and there were other rabbis who did not withdraw.
King Yannai was Alexander Jannaeus, the Hasmonean king who ruled Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. His reign was one of brutality toward the scholarly class. His wife, Queen Salome Alexandra, ruled Judea after his death and was more favorable to the rabbis (her brother, Shimon ben Shetach, was one of them). This detail places the story squarely in the early mishnaic period when the Romans were beginning to gain more power over Judea. In the Gemara’s telling, the stones used in the shrine to Mercury on the ruins of Yannai’s palace were removed for use as paving stones by gentiles who did not worship that particular deity. Some rabbis would walk on them and some would not. Who is right?
Rabbi Yohanan said: The son of holy ones walks on them. Should we withdraw from them? Who is the son of holy ones? Rabbi Menahem, son of Rabbi Simai. And why did they call him the son of holy ones? Because he would not even gaze at the form on a coin.
Rabbi Yohanan points to the lenient position of Rabbi Menahem, who is so pious that he doesn’t even look at coins, which in ancient times may have been inscribed with images associated with idolatry. And yet, Rabbi Menahem walks on paving stones that were formerly associated with Mercury. Score one point for permissiveness. Because this is the Talmud, we now have an example that proves the opposite point:
What is the reason of the one who withdraws? He holds in accordance with that which Rav Giddel says that Rav Hiyya bar Yosef says that Rav says: From where is it derived that with regard to an offering brought in idolatrous worship, there can never be any nullification? As it is stated: “They joined themselves to Baal of Peor and ate the offerings to the dead” (Psalms 106:28). Just as a corpse has no nullification forever, so too an offering brought in idolatrous worship has no nullification ever.
Those that refuse to walk on the paving stones ground their reasoning in a passage from Psalms vilifying those that honor the Canaanite god Baal Peor by eating offerings to the dead. Just as one is forbidden to benefit from a corpse forever (whether in honor of a god or not), so too one is forbidden to benefit from the accoutrements of idolatry for all time. Score one point for the other side. As strong as it seems, this argument doesn’t win, because:
And the one who does not withdraw from those paths says: In order for idol worship to prohibit an offering I require the offering to be like those offerings sacrificed inside the Temple, and there is no parallel to this offering in the Temple service, as stones are not brought as offerings.
In order for idolatrous stones to be prohibited for use as pavers, there would have to be a corollary item offered in the Temple to worship God. And since stones weren’t brought as Temple sacrifices, their use is permitted.
Finally, the Gemara brings one more argument in favor of walking on the stones: When gentiles moved them from the shrine of Mercury and repurposed them as pavers, they nullified their idolatrous status.
Read all of Avodah Zarah 50 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on August 7, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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