You shall tear down their altars, smash their pillars, burn their asherim with fire, cut down the graven images of their gods, and destroy their name from that place.
English: “You shall tear down…” — “Tear down their altars and smash their pillars.” I only know tearing down for an altar and smashing for a pillar. From where do we apply the language of each to the other? R’ Bun bar Chiyya said: It was stated with respect to alternatives — either smash or cut down or tear down for each one of them.
On the daf / in context: The specific verbs are interchangeable; any effective form of destruction may be used for any of the objects.
Type of Learning
Derash on the verse (Yerushalmi / Sifrei) — interchangeability of the destructive actions.
What Is Learned
Any of the destructive methods (tearing down, smashing, cutting) may be applied to altar, pillar, or image alike.