Persino in un posto dove permettevano l'affitto, [(secondo R. Meir, solo in Suria e non a Eretz Yisrael; e, secondo R. Yossi, anche a Eretz Yisrael)], lo fecero, non per abitazione, [ (ma solo per immagazzinare lì paglia, legno e simili)] perché lui (l'idolatore) vi porta l'idolatria (la sua casa), scritta (Deuteronomio 3:27): "Non devi portare l'idolatria nella tua casa. " E in qualsiasi posto, non può affittare lui il suo bagno, perché è chiamato con il suo nome (l'ebreo), [e il gentile lo riscalda su Shabbath, e la gente verrà a dire: "Il bagno di questo ebreo è aperto su Shabbath." Questo non è paragonabile all'istanza di un campo ebraico su cui un locatario gentile (aris) lavora su Shabbath. Perché un campo è fatto per il leasing e il gentile fa il suo lavoro (e non quello dell'ebreo). Ma un bagno non è fatto per il leasing e non tutti sanno che un ebreo lo ha affittato al gentile. Per questo motivo è vietato. E ai nostri giorni, quando è comune affittare un bagno per un anno, un semestre, un terzo o un quarto, come un campo (è in affitto), è permesso affittare un bagno ad un gentile. E anche se il gentile lavora lì su Shabbath, la gente sa che lì il gentile è un locatario e che sta facendo il suo lavoro.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
אף במקום שאמרו להשכיר – for Rabbi Meir in Syria especially, but not in the land of Israel and for Rabbi yosi even in the land of Israel.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
Introduction
This mishnah is a continuation of the previous mishnah, which discussed selling and letting houses to idolaters.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
לא לבית דירה אמרו – but rather to bring into there straw and wood and things like it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
Even in such a place where the letting of a house has been permitted, they did not say [that this was permitted if it was] for the purpose of a residence, since the idolater will bring idols into it; for it says, “you shall not bring an abomination into your house” (Deut. 7:26). Although in the previous mishnah we learned that in certain places it is permitted to let a house to an idolater (in Syria according to Rabbi Meir, and in the land of Israel according to Rabbi Yose), this permission is not granted if the idolater is renting the house as a residence. Since the idolater will bring his idols into the house, this would violate the prohibition of allowing idols into one’s home. The idolater may only rent the house from the Jew to use for storage or other non-residential usage. [The Jerusalem Talmud rules that outside of the land of Israel it is permitted to sell or let houses to idolaters even for the purpose of residence. Although in this case too the idolater will bring idols into the house and seemingly thereby cause the Jew to violate the commandment in Deut. 7:26, the essential meaning of the verse is that it is forbidden for a Jew to bring idols into his own house. The halacha is more strict inside the land of Israel and in bordering areas because it is incumbent upon Jews to cleanse the land of idol worship.]
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
מפני שהיא נקראת על שמו – because the idolater because he warms himself up on the Sabbath and they (i.e., people) will say “this is the bathhouse of so-and-so the Israelite where they wash in it on Shabbat” but it is not similar to a field of an Israelite where the tenant farmer is an idolater who does work on it on the Sabbath, for the field is worked for his tenancy and the idolater is a personal tenant farmer who is doing his own labor ( and not as the Israelite’s employee -see Talmud Avodah Zarah 21b). But a bathhouse is not for working as a tenant, and not everyone knows that he the Israelite leased it to an idolater and therefore, it is prohibited. But at the present time when it is manner to lower the tenant to the bathhouse for a year, for half, or a third or a fourth of the earnings, in the same manner that they bringing him down into the fields, they permitted to lease a bathhouse to an idolater, and even though [the idolater] does work in it on the Sabbath, people [surely] know that the idolater is a tenant there, for he he is doing his own tenancy while using it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
In no place may one let a bath-house to an idolater, as it is called by the name of the owner. In no place, even outside the land of Israel, may one let a bath-house to an idolater. Since the bath-house will continue to be called by the name of the Jewish owner, and the idolater will surely bring idols into the warehouse, this is forbidden.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
Questions for Further Thought: • How is the topic of this mishnah different from the topic of the previous mishnah? • What is different about a bath-house and why is it more prohibited than other types of rentals or sales?
