You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations that you are dispossessing served their gods: on the high mountains and on the hills and under every leafy tree.
English: “You shall utterly destroy” — It was taught: From where do you say that if one cut down an asherah and it regrew, even ten times, he is obligated to cut it down again? The verse states “you shall utterly destroy.”
On the daf / in context: Because the obligation is to eradicate idolatry completely, repeated growth of the asherah does not exempt one from further action.
Type of Learning
Derash on the doubled verb (Sifrei) — ongoing obligation against a regenerating asherah.
What Is Learned
One remains obligated to destroy an asherah each time it regrows.