Commentary for Avodah Zarah 115:7
רבי יוחנן בן ארזא ור' יוסי בן נהוראי הוו יתבו וקא שתו חמרא אתא ההוא גברא אמרו ליה תא אשקינן לבתר דרמא לכסא איגלאי מילתא דעובד כוכבים הוא חד אסר אפי' בהנאה וחד שרי אפי' בשתייה אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי מאן דאסר שפיר אסר ומאן דשרי שפיר שרי מאן דאסר
R. Yohanan b. Arza and R. Yose b. Nehorai were once sitting and drinking wine. A man came. They said to him, “Come, pour some for us.” After he had poured it into the glass, it became known that he was a non-Jew. One of them prohibited it even for benefit, while the other permitted it even for drinking. R. Joshua b. Levi said: He who prohibited it acted rightly and he who permitted it acted rightly. The one who prohibited would have said: [The non-Jew] must have said to himself
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
The story is fascinating—we can see that the rabbis didn’t always know who was Jewish and who was not. After having poured the wine, the rabbis debate whether Jews may drink the wine, meaning it is totally permissible, or whether they may not even sell it, meaning it is totally forbidden.
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