Comentario sobre Avodah Zarah 5:11
גַּת שֶׁל אֶבֶן שֶׁזִּפְּתָהּ גּוֹי, מְנַגְּבָהּ וְהִיא טְהוֹרָה. וְשֶׁל עֵץ, רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, יְנַגֵּב. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, יִקְלֹף אֶת הַזֶּפֶת. וְשֶׁל חֶרֶס, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁקָּלַף אֶת הַזֶּפֶת, הֲרֵי זוֹ אֲסוּרָה:
Un lagar de piedra alquitranado por un gentil [Era la práctica poner un poco de vino y cubrirlo con alquitrán] —él (el judío) lo limpia con agua y tierra y está limpio (es decir, kosher para su uso). (Si el tanque fuera) de madera, [que requiere mucho alquitrán y absorbe mucho vino]—Rabino dice: lo limpia [como uno de piedra]; y los sabios dicen: quita el alquitrán. [La halajá no está de acuerdo con el Rabino.] (Si el tanque fuera) de loza de barro, incluso si quitó el alquitrán, está prohibido, [según el Rabino y los sabios; para la loza, aparte del alquitrán, absorbe el vino.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
But if it was of wood, Rabbi says that it may be scoured and the Sages say that he must peel off the pitch.
If it was of earthenware, even though he peeled off the pitch it is prohibited.
In the time of the mishnah wine presses were sealed with pitch. A little bit of wine was put into the pitch in order to prevent the smell of the pitch from ruining the taste of the wine made in the wine press. Our mishnah discusses a Jew who buys a wine press from a non-Jew. Since the non-Jew used wine, which is yen nesekh, in the pitch in the wine press, the mishnah must teach how to make the wine press “kosher”. In this mishnah and in the next we will learn several rules that are still observed today by those who keep the laws of kashruth.
There are three types of wine presses mentioned by the mishnah: stone, wood and earthenware. Stone is the least absorbent of these materials. Furthermore, stone wine presses do not require much pitch to seal them. Therefore, all the Jew must do is scour the wine press to rid it of any traces of the previous owner’s wine. If the wine press was made of wood, Rabbi [Judah Hanasi] holds that it also may be scoured. However, the Sages hold that he must also peel off all of the pitch. Since wood is more absorbent than stone, and since wood wine presses require more pitch, he must be even more diligent in cleaning before it becomes usable. If the wine press is of earthenware, the Jew may never use it. Since earthenware is very absorbent, there is no way to rid it of the yen nesekh.