We now begin the third chapter of Maseches Avodah Zarah, chapter 3 mishnah 1, which opens an entirely new topic. The principle underlying the chapter is that avodah zarah - an idol that is worshipped - is forbidden to derive any benefit from. One may not gain anything from it at all, including any financial gain, whether from a full-sized statue or a small figurine. This prohibition extends to everything associated with it: the utensils used in its service and the items offered to it, such as a sacrifice, from which it is likewise entirely forbidden to benefit.
The source of the prohibition:
"V'lo savi so'eivah el beisecha" (Devarim 7) - one may not bring an abominable thing, meaning avodah zarah, into one's house.
"V'lo yidbak b'yadcha me'umah min hacherem" - even a small piece of the forbidden thing, any part connected to avodah zarah, may not cling to a person's hand, meaning that it is absolutely forbidden to derive any benefit from it.
The scope of the prohibition:
To see the full picture we need to distinguish between two situations. When a non-Jew manufactures a statue or figurine for the purpose of avodah zarah, the statue is forbidden from the outset, since from the moment it leaves the shelf it is intended to be sold as an idol to be prayed to. In contrast, an ordinary statue that will not certainly be worshipped, which might sit in a gift shop where one person will take it home to worship it while another will use it to decorate his yard, is not forbidden unless it is actually worshipped.
A statue that is found and whose origin is unknown:
The mishnah addresses the question of the status of a statue or figurine that is found, where it is unknown whether it was used for avodah zarah. Although this is not spelled out in the mishnah itself, the Gemara explains the distinction:
In small villages: any statue found there is presumed to be avodah zarah, since the residents are poor and it is not their way to make figurines for decoration.
In a metropolis, in a large city: the assumption under normal circumstances is that the statues were made for decorative purposes. It is the way of city dwellers to place statues in their homes and around them for ornamentation and not for worship, and therefore when it is unknown whether they were worshipped, they are permitted to benefit from.
The mishnah focuses on a specific case: the entrance to a large city, where images stand whose purpose is unclear. Were they set up to beautify the city, or do they perhaps represent the city's avodah zarah and are actually worshipped? This is the question in which the Tannaim differ.
The view of Rabbi Meir:
Rabbi Meir works from the perspective of his own city, where the custom was to make statues that were worshipped once a year. Even though for most of the year they served purely as decoration, when the calendar reached their special day they were worshipped. Accordingly, in his city every decorative statue was worshipped once a year, and so all of them are forbidden. His concern is for the minority: even in a city where most of the statues were made for decoration, people might err and draw a leniency for somewhere else. For this reason he forbids deriving benefit from all statues whose origin is unknown and where it is not known whether or not they were worshipped.
The view of the Chachamim:
The Sages disagree, and they are consistent with their general approach, just as Rabbi Meir is consistent in his concern for the minority: the Sages always follow the majority. The overwhelming majority of statues that are not made for decoration are not worshipped once a year at all - they are simply not worshipped, because a statue is either made for worship or made for decoration. Their position is therefore far more lenient.
The words of the Mishnah:
"Kol ha'tzelamim asurin mipnei she'hen ne'evadin pa'am achas ba'shanah, divrei Rabbi Meir" - All images are forbidden because they are worshipped once a year, the words of Rabbi Meir. The starting point is that every statue and figurine that is idolatry is forbidden, assuming it was worshipped or was made for the purpose of worship by a non-Jew. According to Rabbi Meir, every image is worshipped once a year, and therefore one must assume that any image found at the entrance to a city was worshipped once during the year. Even if that is not actually the case, people are liable to err if this assumption is not established, and so we rule stringently.
"Va'chachamim omrim: eino asur ela kol she'yesh b'yado makel o tzippor o kadur" - And the Sages say: only one that has in its hand a staff, or a bird, or a sphere is forbidden. According to the Sages, as long as there is no indication that the statue found at the entrance to the city is an object of worship, we assume it was made for decoration. The Mishnah gives three examples, and all of them are symbols of authority and power:
A staff - a rod or scepter, indicating rulership and the power to punish.
A bird - the fragile bird resting in its hand, as one who is able to control the world.
A sphere - a symbol of the world held in its hand.
This is not a closed list. The Gemara adds further items, as the Bartenura brings from the Baraisa: a sword in its hand, a crown in its hand, and all the more so a crown on its head, and likewise a ring. These too indicate that we are dealing with an object of veneration and worship, and therefore we must assume that it is forbidden to derive benefit from it.
The position of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel:
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: "Kol she'yesh b'yado kol davar" - Any one that has anything at all in its hand. If it is holding anything whatsoever, we are stringent. This is a third opinion that disagrees with both of the others. On the one hand he is more lenient than Rabbi Meir, since in his view we do not assume that an ordinary statue that is found is idolatry, whereas Rabbi Meir assumes this about all of them. On the other hand, once a statue is found at the entrance to a city holding something in its hand, it makes no difference whether that item appears on the list of six things; anything in its hand indicates that we are dealing with an object of veneration, and we assume it was worshipped and is therefore forbidden to derive benefit from.
In summary: The halachah follows the Sages. All idols and their accessories are forbidden if they were made in order to be worshipped as idolatry, or if they were actually worshipped by a non-Jew, and even by a Jew. A statue whose origin is unknown that is found in a small town - we assume it is an object of worship, since decorative figurines are not manufactured there; but in the large cities most statues are made for decoration, and therefore one may assume that they are not idols. A statue found at the entrance to a city - if it holds in its hand one of the items on the list: a sword, a scepter, a crown, a ring, a sphere or a bird - one must assume that it is an object of idolatry; and if not, it is permitted to derive benefit from it. Consequently one is permitted to stand in its shade to escape the heat, or to buy it at a public auction in order to resell it.