Commentary for Avodah Zarah 69:8
מ"ט אמר עולא ואיתימא רב שמואל בר אבא גזרה חדשה היא ואין מפקפקין בה מאי גזירתא אר"ש בן פזי אמר ריב"ל משום ניקור
What is the reason? Ulla (and if you want, R. Shmuel b. Aba): This is a new ordinance, and one should not doubt it. What [then] is the reason for this decree? R. Shimon b. Pazi said in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi: Because it may have been bitten by a snake.
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
According to R. Joshua ben Levi, the rabbis prohibited Gentile cheese because Gentiles do not make sure that snakes do not bite their cheese and thereby emit their poison. In other words, Gentile cheese may be poisonous! But we do not tell people that this is the reason for the prohibition because it’s a new prohibition and people may not treat it with all due severity. [One wonders if people would have believed this. If Gentile cheese was frequently enough poisonous, wouldn’t they stop eating it?]
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