Commentary for Avodah Zarah 100:11
א"ל רב סמא בריה דרב אשי לרבינא בר ירמיה סיכה דמועד אזיהום דמועד קא קשיא ליה מכדי האי אוקומי והאי אוקומי מאי שנא האי דשרי ומאי שנא האי דאסור היינו דקא"ל לית נגר ולא בר נגר דיפרקינה
R. Sama the son of R. Ashi said to Ravina: The son of Yirmiyah’s difficulty was comparing placing oil on the festival with placing manure on the festival. Since the purpose of both is to preserve the tree, why is one permitted and the other prohibited? That is why he said, “There was no carpenter or carpenter’s son who could explain it.”
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
Finally we get an answer as to what the difficulty is. It is forbidden to place manure on the tree on the festival while it is permitted to smear oil. But both actions are for preserving the tree—so why is one permitted and the other forbidden?
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