Commentary for Avodah Zarah 103:21
והכי קמיבעיא ליה כי הדרא טומאה ה"מ לטומאה דאורייתא אבל טומאה דרבנן לא או דלמא ל"ש ותיבעי ליה שאר טומאות דרבנן
R. Hamnuna asked the question that way because of the issue of earlier defilement; for we have learned: Metal vessels: those which are flat and those which have receptacles are susceptible to impurity; if they are broken they become pure, but if they are repaired they return to their former impurity. But if that were his intention, let him ask about other forms of rabbinical impurity!
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
If R. Hamnuna was asking about rabbinic impurity, why did he ask about this specific form, impurity that comes from an idol? Why not ask about other forms of impurity considered to be of only rabbinic status such as the impurity conveyed to vessels by liquids?
The answer is that R. Hamnuna was asking a question and a follow-up question. 1) Does rabbinic impurity return when a metal vessel is repaired, the way that biblical impurity does? 2) If we answer that it does not, is the impurity that the rabbis accord to idols the same as other rabbinic forms of impurity? Or is the rule more stringent here because of the severity with which idolatry is treated.
After all that work trying to figure out what R. Hamnuna was asking, there is no answer. I bet you could have seen that one coming a mile away.
The answer is that R. Hamnuna was asking a question and a follow-up question. 1) Does rabbinic impurity return when a metal vessel is repaired, the way that biblical impurity does? 2) If we answer that it does not, is the impurity that the rabbis accord to idols the same as other rabbinic forms of impurity? Or is the rule more stringent here because of the severity with which idolatry is treated.
After all that work trying to figure out what R. Hamnuna was asking, there is no answer. I bet you could have seen that one coming a mile away.
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