R’ Yehudah said: R’ Yishmael posed a question to R’ Yehoshua while they were traveling. He said to him: Why did they prohibit the cheeses of the idolaters? He answered him: Because they curdle it with the rennet of an unslaughtered carcass. He said to him: Is not the rennet of a burnt-offering more strictly forbidden than the rennet of an unslaughtered carcass? Yet they said: A Kohen who is not fastidious may gulp it raw! And [though] they did not agree with him, nevertheless, [even] they said: One may not benefit, but one does not commit me’ilah. He then answered him: Because they curdle it with the rennet of calves sacrificed to idols. He said to him: If so, why did they not prohibit it for all benefit? He [then] diverted him to another matter. He said to him: Yishmael, my brother, how do you read [the verse]: “ki tovim dodecha miyayin,” or “ki tovim dodayich . . .”? He replied: “ki tovim dodayich . . .” Said he to him: It is not so, as its fellow verse demonstrates regarding it —- “le’re’ach shemanecha tovim.”

These items of idolaters are prohibited, but their prohibition is not a prohibition against all benefit: milk that a gentile milked without a Jew watching him (lit., and a Jew does not see him), and [their] bread, and oil —- Rabbi and his court permitted the oil —- and cooked foods, and preserves into which they are accustomed to put wine and vinegar, and minced taris, and brine which does not have kilbis-fish floating in it, and the chilak, and a grain of chiltis, and salkontis-salt; these are prohibited, but their prohibition is not a prohibition against all benefit.

These are permitted to be eaten: milk that an idolater milked while a Jew was watching him, and honey, and honeycombs even though they are dripping —- [and] they do not qualify as a beverage in regard to susceptibility [to tumah]; and preserves into which they are not accustomed to put wine and vinegar, and taris which is not minced, and brine which has in it [kilbis-] fish, and a leaf of chiltis, and cakes of softened olives. R’ Yose says: Those with pits ready to fall out are prohibited.  Locusts which come from the [shopkeeper’s] basket are prohibited, [while those] from the storage area are permitted; and the same applies to terumah.

All images are prohibited, because they are worshiped once a year; [these are] the words of R’ Meir. But the Sages say: None is prohibited, except one that has in its hand a staff, or a bird, or a sphere. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Any one that has anything in its hand.

[If] one finds fragments of images, these are permitted. [If] he found the figure of a hand or the figure of a foot, these are prohibited, because such [objects] are worshiped.

[If] one finds utensils upon which there is a figure of the sun, [or] a figure of the moon, [or] a figure of a dragon, he should cast them into the Dead Sea. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Those which are on prominent [utensils] are prohibited; those which are on common [utensils] are permitted. R’ Yose says: He may grind [it] and scatter it to the wind, or cast it into the sea. They said to him: Even so it becomes fertilizer, [which is prohibited,] as it says: Nothing of that which is banned shall cleave to your hand.

Proclos the son of Pilosphos asked of Rabban Gamliel in Acco, while he (lit., who was) was bathing in the bathhouse of Aph-rodite. He said to him, “It is written in your Torah: Nothing of that which is banned shall cleave to your hand. Why then do you bathe in the bathhouse of Aphrodite?” He replied, “One may not answer in the bathhouse.” And when he went out he said to him, “I did not come into her domain; she came into my domain. We do not say: The bathhouse is made as an adornment to Aphrodite, but we say: Aphrodite is made as an adornment to the bathhouse. Another reason: [Even] if they would pay you a large sum of money, you would [still] not enter before your idol naked, or with a seminal emission, or uri-nate before it. Yet this one stands by the opening of the sewer pipe, and all the people urinate in front of her! It is stated on-ly their gods —- that which is treated as a god is prohibited, but that which is not treated as a god is permitted.”

[If] gentiles worship mountains and hills —-they are permitted, but what is upon them is prohibited; as it says: You shall not covet the silver and gold that is upon them and take [it]. R’ Yose HaGlili says: Their gods upon the mountains, but not that the mountains are their gods; their gods upon the hills, but not that the hills are their gods. Then why is an asherah prohibited? Because it has been affected by human involvement, and anything which has been affected by human involvement becomes prohibited. Said R’ Akiva: I will expound and deliberate before you. Every place that you find a high mountain or a raised hill or a green tree, know that an idolatrous object is there.

[If] one’s house adjoined an idolatrous shrine and it collapsed, he is forbidden to rebuild it. How shall he do [it]? He with-draws four cubits into his own [property] and builds. [If] it belonged both to him and the idolatrous shrine, it is judged to be half and half. Its stones, timber, and mortar contaminate with tumah as does the sheretz, as it says: You shall utterly detest it. R’ Akiva says: As does the menstruant, as it says: You shall scatter them afar as the menstruant, “Get out!” you shall say to it. Just as a menstruant contaminates with tumah by being carried, so too an idolatrous object contaminates with tumah by being carried.

There are three [categories of idolatrous] buildings: A building which was constructed from the very beginning for idolatrous worship is prohibited; [if] he whitewashed it and decorated it for idolatrous worship or made renovations, one removes what he renovated; [if] he brought an idol into it and took it out, it is permitted.  There are three [categories of idol-atrous] stones: A stone which he hewed from the very beginning for a pedestal is prohibited; [if] he whitewashed it and dec-orated it for idolatrous worship or he made renovations, one removes what he renovated; [if] he mounted an idol upon it and removed it, it is permitted. There are three [categories of] asheros: A tree which he planted from the very beginning for the purpose of idolatrous worship is prohibited; [if] he lopped it or trimmed it for the purpose of idolatrous worship and it sprouted, one removes whatever sprouted; [if] he set an idol underneath it and nullified it, it is permitted.  Which is the asherah? Any one be-neath which there is an idol. R’ Shimon says: Any one that they worship. And it happened in Sidon regarding a tree which they worshiped, that they found beneath it a mound. R’ Shimon said to them, “Inspect this mound.” They inspected it, and found an image in it. He said to them, “Since they worship the image, we will permit the tree to them.”