Commentary for Avodah Zarah 95:13
<big><strong>מתני׳</strong></big> איזו אשרה כל שיש תחתיה עבודת כוכבים ר"ש אומר כל שעובדין אותה ומעשה בצידן באילן שהיו עובדין אותו ומצאו תחתיו גל אמר להן ר"ש בדקו את הגל הזה ובדקוהו ומצאו בו צורה אמר להן הואיל ולצורה הן עובדין נתיר להן את האילן:
What is an asherah? Any [tree] beneath which there is an idol. Rabbi Shimon says: any [tree] which is worshipped. It happened at Sidon that there was a tree which was worshipped and they found a heap of stones beneath it. Rabbi Shimon said to them, “examine this heap.” They examined it and discovered an image in it. He said to them, “since it is the image that they worship, we permit the tree for you.”
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
This section teaches the definition of the asherah, the idolatrous tree mentioned on several occasions in the Torah. According to the first opinion in the mishnah an asherah has idols underneath it, but it itself is not worshipped. According to Rabbi Shimon the tree itself is an idolatrous object. The mishnah now tells a story that happened in Sidon, where there was a suspicion that idolaters were worshipping a certain tree. Underneath the tree was a heap of stones. Rabbi Shimon instructed the other rabbis to examine the heap of stones and when they did they found an image. From here Rabbi Shimon concluded that the tree itself was not worshipped, but rather the image underneath the tree. Therefore the tree was permitted for Jews to use.
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