Commentary for Avodah Zarah 62:3
מתקיף לה רבי ירמיה מידי הנך דעיר לא בדרך אתו אלא אמר רבי ירמיה בין הגיתות שנינו כיון דכולי עלמא אפכי מירתת אמר השתא אי חזי לי מפסדו לי
R. Yirmiyah raised a difficulty on this: But did not those in the town come by the road? Rather R. Yirmiyah said: They taught this in reference to [casks found in] the vicinity of the wine presses; since all the people are milling around there, he would be afraid [to let a non-Jew touch it] saying, “if they see this, I will lose money.”
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
Yirmiyah notes that those in the town surely got there by the road—after all they were sent on their way from one place to another by the Jew. So how can we really be lenient with wine in the town?
Therefore, R. Yirmiyah offers an entirely different solution. The leniency that a simple closed cask is sufficient applies only to casks found near the wine presses. Since there are many people there, the Samaritan would be afraid to let the non-Jew touch the wine, lest the Jews see and refuse to buy from him. But elsewhere, where not that many people are around, Jews cannot drink Samaritan wine. Not because Samaritans libate, but because Samaritans do not observe the rabbinic stringencies surrounding the prohibition of non-Jews coming into contact with Jewish wine.
Therefore, R. Yirmiyah offers an entirely different solution. The leniency that a simple closed cask is sufficient applies only to casks found near the wine presses. Since there are many people there, the Samaritan would be afraid to let the non-Jew touch the wine, lest the Jews see and refuse to buy from him. But elsewhere, where not that many people are around, Jews cannot drink Samaritan wine. Not because Samaritans libate, but because Samaritans do not observe the rabbinic stringencies surrounding the prohibition of non-Jews coming into contact with Jewish wine.
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