Commentary for Avodah Zarah 72:11
[דכי אתא רב דימי אמר ב"ד של חשמונאי גזרו] ישראל הבא על העובדת כוכבים חייב משום נשג"א
for when R. Dimi came [from Eretz Yisrael] he declared: The Court of the Hasmoneans decreed that an Israelite who had intercourse with a non-Jewish woman is liable on four counts, viz., she is regarded as niddah, a slave, a non-Jew, and a married woman;
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
This entire section proves the fascinating concept that since most Jews did not observe the oil prohibition, the observance can be nullified by a later court. Telling Jews they cannot use Gentile oil is a decree that people could not live with. Seeing that people were not observing the decree, Rabbi Yehduah Hanasi annulled it altogether.
This is a powerful statement concerning one source of Jewish authority. Jewish authority stems not just from what rabbis tell people to do, or from what the books tell people to do, but also from what practices people accept upon themselves. Put another way, people are obligated to accept certain practices simply because other people are practicing in that way.
This is a powerful statement concerning one source of Jewish authority. Jewish authority stems not just from what rabbis tell people to do, or from what the books tell people to do, but also from what practices people accept upon themselves. Put another way, people are obligated to accept certain practices simply because other people are practicing in that way.
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