Commentary for Avodah Zarah 69:10
מגדף בה ר' ירמיה אלא מעתה יבשה תשתרי ישן תשתרי דא"ר חנינא יבש מותר אין מניחו ליבש ישן מותר אין מניחו לישן
This was ridiculed by R. Yirmiyah: If that be so, then hard [cheese] should be permitted, and old [cheese], too, should be permitted for R. Hanina said: [When it becomes] dry, it is permitted, because the [snake’s venom] would not let it get dry; [so also] when matured it is permitted, as it would not have allowed it to mature!
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
R. Yirmiyah notes that R. Joshua ben Levi’s interpretation does not make sense. According to R. Hanina, snake poison renders it impossible for the cheese to harden or to dry out properly. Thus any cheese that was hardened or dried out properly would be permitted. But we know that all Gentile cheese is prohibited, and thus R. Joshua ben Levi’s interpretation does not make sense.
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