Zevachim 10

On today’s daf, the Gemara raises the following dispute between Rabbi Yohanan and Reish Lakish:

One who slaughters an animal in order to sprinkle its blood for idol worship, or to burn its fat for idol worship, Rabbi Yohanan says it’s prohibited because one can have intention from one rite to another rite. And we derive laws outside (the Temple) from laws inside (the Temple).

Reish Lakish says it’s permitted. One cannot have intention from one rite to another rite and we do not derive laws outside (the Temple) from laws inside (the Temple).

Rabbi Yohanan and Reish Lakish’s disagreement is twofold. First, they disagree about the law itself — namely, whether one’s intention to use part of an animal for idol worship in the future prohibits a person from benefitting from the use of the entire animal. Second, they disagree about the process by which the law is determined — that is, if we can rely on the rules in a similar case involving a Temple ritual. In the Temple, an animal was considered unfit for sacrifice if the person offering it intended to eat the permitted portion of its meat at the wrong time. Although the person planned to do something improper later, it rendered the animal unfit in the present.

Rabbi Yohanan believes that a ruling connected to a Temple matter can be applied to other contexts, so he prohibits deriving benefit from the animal in our case from the time of its slaughter. Reish Lakish does not believe that a non-Temple matter can be resolved based upon the precedent of a Temple ritual, so he permits deriving benefit from the animal regardless of the slaughterer’s idolatrous intentions. But that doesn’t mean that Reish Lakish does not hold the person accountable for their idolatrous intentions. 

In a parallel discussion in Tractate Sanhedrin, we find this:

Reish Lakish permits (one to derive benefit from) the animal; but the person is liable for the death penalty. 

According to Reish Lakish, a person who slaughters an animal with the intention to use it for idol worship can benefit from the animal, but they are liable to be killed for the idol worship. Which begs the question: The person has not yet performed the idolatrous act, so why are they punished? 

In addressing this question, Tosafot points our attention to a different case in which a person is enticed to perform idolatry and makes a verbal statement of their intent to do so. In that scenario, they are not held liable because they have not yet done anything wrong and might yet change their mind. One might then conclude that one who slaughters an animal with the intent of later using some of the parts of the animal for idolatrous purposes might reconsider as well. Shouldn’t they receive the same opportunity to change their mind before being held accountable?

Maybe not. As the Tosafot proceed to explain, in the case of slaughter, it is a near certainty they will follow through as the slaughter is a precursor to the sprinkling of blood and the burning of fat. True, they are two separate acts, but one leads directly to the other. If someone slaughtered the animal with the intention of performing an idolatrous act, we can assume they will.

Even if the person changes their mind, continue the Tosafot, they are already guilty of idolatry. While the rabbis debate whether one’s intention regarding one rite affects another, they agree that slaughtering an animal with the intent to use some of its parts for idolatrous purposes is in and of itself idolatry and they become liable for capital punishment from the moment of slaughter.

And so, while Rabbi Yohanan and Reish Lakish disagree about whether one can benefit from the animal, the difference makes little practical difference. Both agree the person is guilty of idolatry. A person might rely upon the ruling of Reish Lakish to enjoy a steak dinner or to earn a few dollars from the sale of the meat in the immediate term, but this is of little consolation given the ultimate consequences they face.

Read all of Zevachim 10 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on September 24, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.