The rabbis levy a penalty TB Avodah Zarah 62

The Mishnah on today’s daf TB Avodah Zarah 62 differentiates between wages for work solely in conjunction with yayin neskh and work that may include yayin neskh.

“In the case of a gentile who hires a Jewish laborer to work with wine used for an idolatrous libation (yayin neskh -gg) with him, his wage is forbidden, i.e., it is prohibited for the Jew to derive benefit from his wage. If the gentile hired him to do other work with him, even if he said to him while he was working with him: Transport the barrel of wine used for a libation for me from this place to that place, his wage is permitted, i.e., the Jew is permitted to derive benefit from the money. With regard to a gentile who rents a Jew’s donkey to carry wine used for a libation on it, its rental fee is forbidden. If he rented it to sit on it, even if a gentile placed his jug of wine used for a libation on it, its rental fee is permitted.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Gemara challenges this distinction by bringing the case of produce of the Sabbatical year. “perhaps the reason that the wage is forbidden is since the wine used for a libation transfers to the money its status as an object of idol worship. The Gemara challenges: But there is the halakha of Sabbatical-Year produce, which transfers its sanctity to the money with which it is redeemed, and yet we learned in a mishna (Shevi’it 8:4): With regard to one who says to his laborer during the Sabbatical Year: Here is this dinar I give to you; gather for me vegetables for its value today, his wage is forbidden, i.e., the sanctity of the Sabbatical-Year produce is transferred to the wage, since it is as though he has purchased Sabbatical-Year produce in exchange for the dinar. But if the employer says to him: Gather for me vegetables today, without mentioning that it is for the value of the dinar, his wage is permitted, as he merely paid him for his labor. This should apply as well to the case of the wine used for a libation.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rabbi Yokhanan teaches that the rabbis penalized work done solely in conjunction with yayin nesekh. These wages are prohibited. At the end of the sugiyah the Gemara says this penalty is due to the severity of the sin of idolatry, “the stringency of wine used for a libation is different, and it is treated more stringently than Sabbatical-Year produce.” (Sefaria.org translation)

In the next sugiya we learned that the rabbis treat stam yanam exactly like yayin nesekh.