Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 3:3 ירושלמי עבודה זרה ג׳:ג׳

MISHNAH: If somebody finds vessels and on them the form of the sun, the form of the moon⁷⁹According to Maimonides, not circles representing sun and moon but their astrological representation., the form of a dragon⁸⁰Greek δράκων, -οντος, ὁ, also “dragon-shaped jewellery”., he should bring them to the Dead Sea⁸¹Made from precious metals. All others fall under the category of “contemptible”.. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, on honored ones⁸²Deut. 13:18. it is forbidden, on contemptible ones permitted. Rebbi Yose said, he grinds them and disperses them into the wind or throws them into the Sea. They told him, but then it becomes fertilizer and it was said, nothing of the ban should cling to your hand⁸³While they are divinities, they are not actively worshipped..

HALAKHAH: “If somebody finds vessels,” etc. They stated only “vessels and on them the form of the sun, the form of the moon,” therefore not any of the other planets⁸³While they are divinities, they are not actively worshipped.. They only stated “dragon”, therefore not any snakes. What is a dragon? Any which has spikes on its neck. It was stated thus⁸⁴Tosephta 5:2.: “Rebbi Simeon ben (Azzai) [Eleazar]⁸⁵The reading of Tosephta, G, and the Leiden ms. before correction is “Eleazar”. In addition, while ben Azzai’s name was Simeon, he was not ordained and never is called “rabbi”. The correction is a corruption. says, what is a dragon? Any which has spikes on its neck. “If it⁸⁶The neck on the snake-shaped vessel. is smooth it is permitted. If one finds a dragon in the form of a something crawling⁸⁷The word may mean either snake, or worm, or even a small rodent. it is forbidden. Something crawling and on it a dragon, he takes the crawling thing and throws away the dragon.

Samuel said, a cup which serves as base for a dragon is forbidden, a dragon which serves as base for a cup is permitted⁸⁸In the first case it may be an object of worship, in the second the dragon is a decoration.. Rebbi Abba in the name of Rav: Fragments of a dragon are permitted. If it was a whole dragon and broke, it is forbidden⁸⁹Since a forbidden idol can become permitted only if a Gentile, not a Jew, breaks it (Note 76)..But did the fragments not come from a whole one? Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rav: So it is: If one saw them bowing down before a whole dragon and then it was broken, it is forbidden⁹⁰Then there is an indication that the idol broke by accident, not by intention, and the shards remain forbidden..

Where do we hold? If it is certain that they are worshipped, even the contemptible ones are forbidden. If it is certain that they are not worshipped, even the honored ones are permitted. But we must deal with the indeterminate case. Rebbi Crispus said, those cups⁹¹In G: “garment”. The following sentences show that the text of L is correct even though Gen.r. 81(3) quotes R. Joḥanan to the effect that garments may be forbidden as pagan (based on Gen. 35:2). belong to the contemptible category, for Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba had a pitcher⁹²A Syriac word as identified in Sokoloff’s Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic. and the (worth) [fortune]⁹³The reading of G, τύχη “fortune, destiny” is preferable over the reading of L, τιμή “worth, value”. of Rome⁹⁴The vocalization is from G referring to Romae. was pictured on it. He came to ask Rebbi Joḥanan who told him, since water swims on top of it, it is a contemptible one. A drinking cup⁹⁵Greek κῶθων, “Laconian drinking vessel used by soldiers; drinking bout; religious banquet”. is contemptible since one immerses it in water. In the days of Rebbi Joḥanan they started painting on walls⁹⁶Since the paintings are flat, they are not prohibited by the Second Commandment. and he did not protest against it. [In the days of Rebbi Abun they started depicting by mosaics and he did not protest against it.⁹⁷Text of G, missing in L. As J. N. Epstein notes, any synagogue mosaic floor which shows figures (as opposed to text) must be dated after R. Abun’s time (about the year 300).]

⁹⁸Babli 43b/44a, Tosephta 3:19. The speaker is R. Yose the Tanna who objects to the statement that the idol has to be dumped into the Dead Sea; he brings examples of disposition of pagan idols in other ways. Rebbi Yose objected to the rabbis, is it not written: your sin which you had made, the calf⁹⁹Deut. 9:21.? They told him, this teaches that he intended to examine them in the way one examines deviant wives: he strewed it on the surface of the water¹⁰⁰Ex. 32:20. As usual, the argument is from the part of the verse which is not quoted, viz., he let the Children of Israel drink. The deviant wife has to drink water mixed with dust from the floor of the Sanctaury, Num. 5:11–31..He said to them, is it not written, and also Maacah, king Asa’s mother, he removed from power¹⁰¹1K. 15:13.? They told him, is there proof from there? Asa cut down¹⁰²Since Asa burned his mother’s Ashera, there is no doubt that burning a wooden statue is as good as bringing it to the Dead Sea. etc. He told them, he beat the bronze serpent to pieces¹⁰³2K. 18:4.. Was this an object of worship? Did not Moses make it? This teaches that Israel was erring after it until Hezekias came and removed it¹⁰⁴Here ends the Genizah fragment G edited by Epstein; on the next line starts one (ג) edited by Ginzberg (pp. 278–279) of which, however, not very much is legible..

One verse says, they abandoned their idols; David and his men carried them away¹⁰⁵2S. 5:21. The verse implies that the idols were a valuable part of the booty. According to the Mishnah the idols should have been brought to the Dead Sea, not to Hebron.. But another verse says, David gave orders and they were burned in the.fire¹⁰⁶1Chr. 14:12, another report about the same event.. Rebbi Yose [ben Rebbi] Ḥalafta¹⁰⁷This is the reading of ג, which agrees with the name of the Tanna in other sources. and the rabbis. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥalafta says, what was of metal, David and his men carried them away. And what was of wood, David gave orders and they were burned in the fire. But the rabbis say, what Itai from Gat¹⁰⁸They assume that he was a Gentile and therefore able to break the idols to remove the prohibition and turn them into valuable metal scrap. Babli 44a annulled, David and his men carried them away. And what he did not annul, David gave orders and they were burned in fire. How does Rebbi Yose [ben Rebbi] Ḥalafta confirm David and his men carried them away? They took them by their rims¹⁰⁹To grind them down as R. Yose prescribes in the Mishnah..