172. Idolatrous Stores and Real Estate Transactions

Avodas Kochavim 9:12

Let’s say a certain city has an idol and in that city some shops are decorated and others are not. One is not permitted to derive benefit from the decorated shops or anything they contain, since the presumption is that they were decorated for idolatrous purposes. It is permitted to benefit from the undecorated shops. One may not conduct business with a store owned by an idolatrous temple because doing so benefits idolatry.

Avodas Kochavim 9:13

If someone sells his house to a temple of idolatry, he is not permitted to derive benefit from the proceeds of the sale; they must be taken to the Dead Sea (i.e., destroyed). If an idolator takes a Jew’s house by force and places an idol in it, the Jew is allowed to accept any money the idolator might give him for it. The Jew may write up a contract for such a sale in accordance with local secular laws.