Zoroastrian Protection of Sacred Elements

b. Yevamot 63b

[The Zoroastrian priests] decreed regarding three [things] for three [sins]. They decreed regarding meat because of [negligence in tithing] the priestly gifts. They decreed regarding the bathhouses because of [negligence in] immersion. They dig up corpses because [the Jews] are happy on the day of their [Zoroastrian] festivals.

b. Shabbat 45a

They asked Rav, “Is one permitted to remove the Hanukkah lamp on the Sabbath [when moving lamps is normally forbidden] on account of the Zoroastrian priests?” He answered them, “Yes. A time of emergency is different.”

Translated byShai Secunda.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

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