153. Idols in a Purchase or an Inheritance

Avodas Kochavim 7:5

If one person made an idol for another person, he receives lashes but the money he earned in doing so is permitted. This is so even when he made the idol for a non-Jew, meaning that the idol is prohibited as soon as it has been made. This is because the idol does not become forbidden until it has been completed and that final stroke carries no inherent financial value.

Let’s say that a Jew purchases scrap metal from a non-Jew and finds idols in it. If he has already paid for the scrap but has not yet taken possession of it, he should return it to the non-Jewish vendor; the same is true if he took possession but did not yet pay for it. Even though taking possession effects a transfer of ownership in business dealings with non-Jews, this is considered a transaction made in error. However, if the Jewish purchaser has already paid and taken possession, he has no recourse and the idols must be destroyed.

A similar case is when a convert and his non-Jewish brother divide their late father’s estate. The convert may tell his brother, “I’ll take the money and you take the idols,” and “You take the wine (which is prohibited to Jews) and I’ll take the produce.” If the idols come into the possession of the convert, they are prohibited (and must be destroyed).

Avodas Kochavim 7:6

We are permitted to benefit from images that non-Jews made as decorations but we may not benefit from images that were made for idolatry. A ramification of this is that one may not benefit from images found in villages because there is a presumption that they may have been made for idolatry. Images found in a city are only forbidden when they are found at the city entrance and the images are holding a staff, a bird, a globe, a sword, a crown, or a ring. Barring this, we may assume that the images were made as decorations, and benefit is therefore permitted.