Yesterday we learned that it is permissible to benefit from a mountain that is an object of idol worship, though any objects of worship placed on the mountain are forbidden. While this distinction may seem straightforward, today the Gemara wonders about a borderline case: What is the status of large boulders that fall off a mountain?
This turns out to be a subject of a dispute between the sons of Rabbi Hiyya and Rabbi Yohanan, although we do not know which party holds which opinion. What is the reasoning of the one who says that they are permitted?
The status of the dislodged stones is still like the status of the mountain itself. Just as in the case of a mountain, it is not the product of human involvement, and therefore it is permitted, so too, these boulders, which are not the product of human involvement, are permitted.
The boulders, like the mountain itself, are natural geological features, not shaped or erected by human hands. As such, though perhaps worshipped by some, they are permitted to Jews.
And what is the reasoning of the one who deems worshipped boulders forbidden?
It is written: “And you shall not bring an abomination into your house, and be accursed like it; you shall detest it, and you shall abhor it; for it is a proscribed item.” (Deuteronomy 7:26) This verse teaches that although one may theoretically rule, by logical inference, that the boulders are permitted, nonetheless do not derive that law.
The strong language of Deuteronomy 7:26 cautions us against using logic to extend the mountain exemption to the boulders which have become objects of idolatry. Although we might have legal tools that would allow us to permit them, we should not.
It is interesting to note that both sides agree we could treat boulders as we do the mountains from which they dislodged. Yet, just because we can does not mean that we should.
The Gemara does not choose a side in this matter. It spends more time trying to ascertain which view belongs to the sons of Rabbi Hiyya and which to Rabbi Yohanan than it does on resolving the disagreement between them, evincing more concern for attribution than a firm answer.
The major law codes, which are more interested in answers, rule leniently, permitting the boulders, as Moses Maimonides explains:
“When a person bows down to water which was lifted up by a wave, he does not cause the water to become forbidden. If, however, he picked water up with his hands and bowed down to it, it becomes forbidden. If rocks which had slid down from a mountain were worshiped in the place where they landed, they are permitted, since they were not manipulated by man.”
But this view is not without its detractors, like Yosef Karo in the Kessef Mishnah who argues that regarding idolatry, a biblical prohibition and cardinal sin, we should act stringently, especially given the fact that the Talmud left the matter undecided.
Read all of Avodah Zarah 46 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on August 3, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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