Avodah Zara 23: Gentiles, Hostages, Red Heifers, Offerings, Mitzvot

A few brief thoughts from today's daf:

• A woman taken hostage and secluded with a Gentile is not assumed to have been raped if the captor wanted money
• One reason is because the husband might not pay for her release, believing she was raped, and thus the captor would get less money
• A red heifer cannot have laboured under a burden (just standing under the burden is not a problem) to be eligible for sacrifice
• A Gentile would only get mild pleasure from bestiality but much money to sell it to a Jew as an animal that is eligible for sacrifice
• Offerings are less valuable than red heifers, but offerings may still be assumed to be eligible for sacrifice if bought from Gentiles 
• the red heifer and other offerings may be considered sin-offerings if a blemish is discovered after they have been consecrated
• being born through a cesarian section does not disqualify a red heifer from sacrifice because the same type of birth does not taint a human child
• other offerings might be required to have been born vaginally
• the story of one Gentile's exemplary behaviour toward his parents teaches us that if Gentiles can uphold a mitzvah without the requirement to do so, we Jews should be able to honour our parents even more spectacularly