Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 5:15 ירושלמי עבודה זרה ה׳:ט״ו

MISHNAH: If somebody buys crockery²⁰⁰Any vessels and utensils used for the preparation or serving of food. from a Gentile, what usually is immersed one immerses²⁰¹The basic source is Num. 31:21–23. If the item has not been used for non-kosher food and is of metal, it is immersed in water., cleansed in boiling water one cleanses in boiling water, making glowing white in fire one makes glowing white²⁰²The rules for cleansing vessels from non-kosher food are identical with those for cleansing kosher vessels from leavened matter for Passover and discussed in Tractate Pesaḥim. As a general principle, what was used only cold simply has to be cleansed, what was used with hot fluids must be cleansed with boiling water, and what was used in the fire must be exposed to fire.. The spit and the grill²⁰³Greek ἐσχάρα, with change of the liquid. one makes glowing white in fire but a knife one rubs clean²⁰⁴As explained in the Halakhah, one pushes it three times into hard soil. This should eliminate all fat particles clinging to the knife. and it is pure.

HALAKHAH: “If somebody buys crockery from a Gentile,” etc. “²⁰⁵Babli 75b, Tosephta 8:2. In these texts, the formulation is much more clear. If a vessel is new, one simply immerses it. If it was used cold like cups, one washes them clean. If it was used hot or for cooking, it has to be cleansed by boiling water. If somebody buys crockery from a Gentile, something of which he knows that it is used for human food, he washes them clean and they are pure. But pots and boiling kettles²⁰⁶Latin cucuma. one cleanses in boiling water. All of these, if he used them even if he did not immerse them, or cleansed them in boiling water, or rubbed them clean, or made them glowing white in fire, they are pure.” Rebbi Hoshaia said, one has to immerse them²⁰⁷One has to immerse any vessel bought from a Gentile to convert it to a Jewish vessel. In the Babli (Note 205) this is one version of the preceding baraita; another version denies the obligation., as by the following. Rebbi Immi and Rebbi Jehudah the Prince went down to the hot springs of Gadara²⁰⁸The place were calendar computations and proclamations were held and all leading scholars of the time came together. The names of persons involved here are probably corrupt. R. Immi cannot ask for instruction from R. Jeremiah, the student of his colleagues R. Yasa’s student R. Ze`ira. and borrowed silverware from the family Osinos²⁰⁹From the context it appears that these were Gentiles.. They asked Rebbi Jeremiah who said, one must immerse them because they left the impurity of Gentiles and entered the holiness of Israel²¹⁰This opinion is not found in any other source.. He went out and we want to learn²¹¹While the meaning of the sentence is clear, the text is corrupt and cannot be vocalized to make sense as it stands. The people who asked R. Jeremiah did not accept his ruling, they decided to look around for other opinions. Possibly then the sentence was נֵצֵא לַחוּץ וְנִלְמַד “let us go out and study.”. They left and heard Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Simeon bar Abba in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: they said only “who buys”, but the borrower is permitted²¹²In the Babli, loc. cit., a statement of R. Naḥman (bar Jacob).. Then even vessels²¹³New earthenware vessels, not covered by reference to Num. 31:21–24.. Rebbi Hoshaia bought vessels and immersed them²¹⁴As a matter of practice, not theoretical obligation..

Here you say, one washes them clean and they are pure. But there you say, one cleanses them in boiling water. One is more stringent with the abominations of Gentiles²¹⁵It is difficult to make sense of this passage. Most probably the explanation of Pene Moshe is correct that the Mishnah here requires that spit and grill be cleansed in fire whereas in Mishnah Zevaḥim 11:7 it is only required that spit and grill used in the Temple be cleaned by boiling water. The answer is that while the cleansing of the utensils in the Temple is a biblical requirement (Lev. 6:21) the rabbinic requirement of cleansing from forbidden cooking follows rules that are more strict..

A knife one sticks into the ground three times and it is enough²¹⁶In the Babli, 76b, ten times in hard ground, and only for a knife without depressions.. Rebbi Abba in the name of Rav Jehudah: That is for a small knife. But a large knife needs to become white hot, and in its being white hot it is necessary that sparks fly from it²¹⁷The Babli, loc. cit., makes a difference between a knife used for cold food which can be cleansed in the ground and one used hot which needs cleansing in boiling water..