Yayin nesech is forbidden, and forbids by any amount. Wine [yayin nesech, which became intermixed] with [permitted] wine, and water [used for idolatrous libations or which was itself worshipped, which became intermixed] with [permitted] water [forbids] by any amount. [There is no difference whether the permitted fall into the forbidden or the forbidden into the permitted — it forbids its own kind by any amount, so long as the forbidden that falls into the permitted falls from a wide-mouthed vessel, so that a large amount of wine leaves the vessel at one time. But if one pours yayin nesech from a small vessel, which emerges only drop by drop, and it falls into permitted wine even the whole day, we say of it "the first drop that falls is cancelled" (by what it falls into, etc.) And if he pours permitted into forbidden, everything that he pours into the forbidden is forbidden, even a full jug onto one drop.] Wine [which became intermixed] with water, and water [which became intermixed with wine — the criterion is] the producing of a flavor. This is the rule: kind into kind (forbids) by any amount; and kind into what is not its kind, by the producing of a flavor. The conclusion, according to the halachah: All that is forbidden by the Torah, whether (it became intermixed) with its kind or not with its kind (forbids) by producing its flavor — except for tevel (untithed produce) and yayin nesech, which (if intermixed) with its kind (forbids) by any amount; and, if not with its kind, by (producing) its flavor — yayin nesech, because of the stringency of idolatry, and tevel, "As its permitting, so is its forbidding," i.e., Just as one grain (of tithe) permits the entire pile, so one (untithed) grain renders the entire pile tevel. And if an issur (something forbidden) of other types of issurin becomes intermixed with heter (something permitted) — if kind became intermixed with not its kind, so that it can be determined by taste whether it is terumah (tithe) which has become intermixed with chullin (untithed produce), let a Cohein taste it, and if it is a (generic) issur, let a gentile baker taste it. If he says that there is not in the intermixture, the flavor of terumah or the flavor of issur (respectively), all is permitted. And if kind became intermixed with kind, so that it is not possible to rule by flavor, or a kind (which became intermixed) with not its kind and no Cohein or reliable gentile (respectively) is available — then, if the issur is forbidden fats or blood, carrion or treifah, unclean animals or creeping things, and the like — the criterion for the mixture is sixty, i.e., If there are sixty parts of heter to one part of issur, all is permitted, and if not, all is forbidden. And if the issur is terumah, or challah, or bikkurim, the criterion (for permitting the mixture) is one hundred parts of heter; and if arlah and klai hakerem, the criterion is two hundred parts.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
ומים במים – water that was offered as a libation to idolatry or was worshipped, with permitted water
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
Introduction
This mishnah deals with the halachic topic of a forbidden substance becoming mixed with a permitted substance. The question is how much of the forbidden substance must be in the mixture for the entire mixture to become forbidden.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
בכל שהוא – in any [miniscule] amount it makes no difference whether something declared valid because one part of it was indisputably valid to something prohibited or something that was absolutely prohibited that fell to something permitted, It prohibits its own kind in any [miniscule amount], as long as the prohibited thing that falls into something permitted falls from a utensil whose rim is wide and that the wine that leaves the utensil is a large measure at one time. But when one empties libation wine from a small utensil that does not produce other than a drop at a time, and it fell into permitted wine, even all day long, we say that which comes out first is annulled. But if he emptied something permitted into something prohibited, all that which he emptied from it into the prohibited substance is prohibited, and even from a full cask into one drop. But the conclusion of the matter according to the Halakha regarding all the prohibitions in the Torah whether of their own kind or not of their own kind is concerned with the imparting of a taste except for the cases of eatables forbidden pending the separation of sacred gifts and libation wine with their own kind with any [miniscule amount] and not of their own kind with the imparting of a taste. Libation wine is because of the stringency regarding idolatry. Cases of eatables forbidden pending the separation of sacred gifts because as it is made permitted, so is its prohibition, like the case of one [sheaf of] wheat exempts the pile, so too, one [sheaf of] wheat makes the entire pile forbidden pending the separation of sacred gifts. But if a prohibition from the rest of the prohibitions was mixed with something permitted- if something of one species was mixed with something that was not of its species for one could establish by taste if it is priest’s due/Terumah that was combined with non-holy produce/Hullin, a Kohen could taste it, and if it is a prohibited substance, a non-Jewish baker can taste it and if he says that in this mixture there isn’t the taste of Terumah or the taste of something prohibited, it is all permitted. But if something of one species was mixed with something of the same species where one cannot establish the taste, or something of one species [being mixed] with something of a different species and there is no Kohen or non-Jew present that we can rely upon him, if it is something prohibited from forbidden fats, from the blood of something that died of itself or torn, forbidden animals or reptiles (i.e., all kinds of forbidden foods) and similar things, we estimate it with sixty [parts], for if there are sixty parts of permitted substance in opposition to the prohibited substance, it is all permissible, but if not, it is all prohibited. But, if the prohibition is Terumah/priest’s due, Hallah and First Fruits/Bikkurim, we estimate/calculate it with one hundred [parts] of something permitted. But if we are dealing with Orlah/fourth year fruit, and mixed seeds in the vineyard, we calculate it with two-hundred parts.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
Yen nesekh is prohibited and renders [other wine] prohibited by the smallest quantity. As we saw demonstrated in the previous mishnah, if even a drop of yen nesekh falls into a large container of permitted wine, the entire container of permitted wine is forbidden.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
Wine [mixed] with wine and water with water [prohibits] by the smallest quantity. ( Wine [mixed] with water and water with wine [disqualifies when the prohibited element] imparts a flavor. If forbidden wine (yen nesekh) should become mixed with permitted (as we learned in section one) or forbidden water (that was used for idolatrous purposes) should be mixed with permitted water, the entire mixture is forbidden, even if the forbidden substance was only a drop. However, if forbidden wine should become mixed with permitted water, or forbidden water with permitted wine, as long as the forbidden substance does not impart a flavor to the mixture, the entire mixture is permitted. If the forbidden substance imparts flavor, the entire mixture is forbidden
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
This is the general rule: with the same type [the mixture is disqualified] by the smallest quantity, but with a different type [it is disqualified when the prohibited element] imparts a flavor. This section teaches a general rule from which the specific rule taught in the previous section may be extrapolated.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
Questions for Further Thought: • Why does the beginning of section two repeat that which was stated in section one? • Why do you think there is a halachic difference between a type of substance mixed with the same type, versus two different types being mixed together?
