Avodah Zarah 53 – Idol Nullification

A non-Jewish idol worshipper can nullify his own idol and that of his fellow. He needs to be an adult and of sound mind. A Jew cannot nullify the idol of a non-Jewish idol-worshipper. If a Jew comes into actual possession of an idol, it cannot be nullified but has to be hidden. That law is from the Torah, derived from the phrase “And place it in secret.”  However, the Sages have additionally prohibited any idol nullification by a Jew, since he might accidentally pick up it, thus acquiring it, and then his nullification would be invalid.

How does an idol-worshipper nullify an idol? If he cut off the tip of its ear, the tip of its nose, or the tip of finger, or flattened its face – he has nullified it. But if he spit before it, or urinated before it, or dragged it through the mud, or threw excrement at it – the idol is not nullified. If he sold it or gave it as a pledge for a loan, Rabbi Yehudah the Prince says that his nullification is effective, but the Sages say that it is not.

Art: John William Waterhouse - The Household Gods 1880