MISHNAH: In earlier times they said a person may collect wood, stones, and grasses on his own property in the way he may collect on somebody else’s property, but only large pieces¹. But after transgressors became numerous² they decreed that everybody only collect from somebody else’s without reciprocity³ and it goes without saying that he does not have to allot him food⁴.

footnotes: ¹ Since agricultural land is accessible to everybody in the Sabbatical year, one may collect not only food but also weeds, etc. But it is forbidden to weed and to improve one’s property in the Sabbatical; therefore, the owner only is permitted to remove large pieces from his field, not small weeds and small stones whose removal requires the most effort. ² They said that they were taking large pieces when in effect they were weeding and clearing their fields from stones. ³ He arranges to clear a friend’s field and the friend will clear his. ⁴ The last clause is unnecessary. If a person removing weeds and pebbles from another person’s field cannot expect that the other person will do the same for him, he cannot expect the other person to feed him while he is cleaning his field.

HALAKHAH: “In earlier times they said,” etc. Rebbi Jonah said, the Mishnah has to be stated as follows⁵: In earlier times they said, a person may collect wood, stones, and grasses on his own property, but only large pieces, in the way he may collect on somebody else’s property both large and small pieces. When they suspected that people were collecting but were saying, we took only large pieces, they decreed that everybody only collect from somebody else’s property without reciprocity. When they suspected that people were collecting in reciprocity but saying, we collected without reciprocity, they decreed that one may collect only from close by and from what is in ample supply⁶.

footnotes: ⁵ A much shortened version of this is in Tosephta 3:8. ⁶ The commentators, from R. Eliahu Fulda to R. Saul Lieberman, translate המצוי by “ownerless property”, but this acceptation is not supported by any parallels.

Rebbi Zeїra said, first and first are supported⁷.

footnotes: ⁷ Of the three restrictions indicated by R. Jonah and the Tosephta, only the first two, that one may not collect from one’s own other than coarse matter and that one may not collect in reciprocity, are valid. The third one, not mentioned in the Mishnah, is not practice.

If his animal was there, his animal is proof for him⁸. If his cooking stove was there, his cooking stove proves for him⁹. If he collected the coarse pieces, may he come back and collect the coarsest of the smaller ones? If you say so, he will collect his entire field.

footnotes: ⁸ He collects weeds as animal fodder, not to weed his field. ⁹ He collects fallen wood as fuel, not to clean his field. A Genizah fragment has כוורתו “his basket” instead of כירתו “his cooking stove”; this might be the better reading.

If his field was full of coarse pieces¹⁰, there are two Mishnaiot; one said, it is permitted, one said, it is forbidden. (Mishnah 3:7) “He who clears his field from stones takes the upper ones and leaves those which touch the ground¹¹;” that means it is permitted. (Mishnah 4:4) “Who is the one who thins out? He takes one or two;¹²” that means it is forbidden.

footnotes: ¹⁰ If he takes all the coarse pieces, his field is weeded and cleaned. ¹¹ There is no limit on the number of stones he may remove; even if his entire property is covered with stones he may remove them. Since the Mishnah here does not indicate any limit on what one may take, there is no limit. ¹² The Mishnah deals with a person pruning olive trees. One may thin but one may not clean out. The one who thins cuts one or two branches; more is cleaning. This Mishnah stipulates that one may not clean his olive tree completely; by analogy one may not clean out his field.

Is it the same on the intermediate days of a holiday? A Tanna was found who stated: “A person may collect wood, stones, and grasses on his own property, but only large pieces, in the way he may collect on somebody else’s property both large and small pieces, in a Sabbatical year but not during he intermediate days of a holiday.” Is it the same for stones¹³, the question seems to be out of place. One has to assume that the baraita before the editors of the Yerushalmi did not mention stones. Tosephta 3:8 in all sources has “olives” instead of “wood, stones, and grasses”; this must be an old corruption.? It was found stated “including stones”. “The heart knows whether it is straight or crooked.¹⁴” Rebbi Yosah in the name of Menaḥem: Rebbi Aqiba followed his own rule. He saw a person pruning his vineyard. He said to him, is that not forbidden? He said to him, I need it to make basket weave. The heart knows whether it is for basket weave or for crookedness.

footnotes: ¹³ Since stones were mentioned in the preceding baraita ¹⁴ Tosephta 3:8. R. S. Lieberman notes that the saying, traced to R. Aqiba in the next sentences, is an untranslatable pun on עקל (noun) “basket weave” and עקל (verb) “to straighten what is curved”. As a hint, both meanings are used in the translation, one here and one at the end of the paragraph.

MISHNAH: A field that had been cleared of thistles may be sown at the end of the Sabbatical year. [A field] improved or fertilized should not be sown at the end of the Sabbatical year. A field that was improved, the House of Shammai say one does not eat its produce in the Sabbatical year, but the House of Hillel say one does. The House of Shammai say one does not eat Sabbatical produce in reciprocity³, but the House of Hillel say in reciprocity and without reciprocity. Rebbi Jehudah says it the other way around; this is one of the leniencies of the House of Shammai and stringencies of the House of Hillel¹⁵.

footnotes: ³ He arranges to clear a friend’s field and the friend will clear his. ¹⁵ This is the position of the anonymous Tanna of Tosephta 3:10 who reports that Shammai himself wanted to forbid eating in reciprocity but only a later Court really forbade it.

HALAKHAH: “A field that had been cleared of thistles”, etc. There¹⁶ they say, when its thistles were removed, but the rabbis here say, when they were ploughed under¹⁷. What is improvement in the opinion of the rabbis here? Everybody ploughs once and he ploughs twice¹⁸. How can that be? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, there the government does not oppress, but here the government oppresses¹⁹.

footnotes: ¹⁶ In Babylonia, in the Persian empire. ¹⁷ This implies that ploughing one’s field in the Sabbatical year is permitted, against all principles stated in Mishnaiot 1:1, 2:1. ¹⁸ In Tosephta 3:10, “if everybody ploughs five and he ploughs six”, meaning he ploughs narrower furrows to turn the earth over more thoroughly. ¹⁹ Start of an extensive description of the oppression by the Roman government and its legal consequences.

When the government was oppressing the first time²²) to the army during the Sabbatical year. R. Yannai can be dated to the early military anarchy in the third Century. In the Babli (Sanhedrin 26a) it is stated that R. Yannai proclaimed: Go and sow in the Sabbatical year because of the annona. Rebbi Yannai instructed to plough a single ploughing. An apostate was passing by, he saw them putting up the harrow. He said to them, hey you²³; cf. Levy’s dictionary, vol. 4, p. 241; E. and H. Guggen-heimer, Notes on the Talmudic Vocabulary 12–15, לשוֹננוּ 39 (1975), pp. 62–69.! Is it permitted for you to plough? Is it permitted for you to put up the harrow?

footnotes: ²² One has to assume that under the Severan dynasty, Jewish farmers did not have to deliver provisions (annona ²³ Latin heus tu

Rebbi Jacob bar Zabdi said before Rebbi Abbahu: Did not Rebbi Zeїra and Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Yannai, Rebbi Jeremiah, Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Yoẓadaq, say that they voted on the upper floor of the Libzah house²⁴ 74a, this is called the Nitzah house. in Lydda: About all the Torah, if a Gentile tells a Jew to transgress any commandment of the Torah except those concerning idolatry, incest and adultery, and murder he should transgress and not be killed. That is in private, but in public he should not follow him even for the slightest commandment, as exemplified by Julianus and his brother Pappos whom they gave water in a colored glass²⁵(“month of July”) from Latin Julius. and they did not accept. He said, they do not intend to lead you to apostasy, they only want to collect annona. What means “in public”? The rabbis of Caesarea say ten, as it is written²⁶74b, it is noted that the verse in itself does not prove anything but that one has to compare the wording “I shall be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel,” with Num. 16:21 “separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation”, where Qoraḥ and his adherents were 10. The main inference from the verse is that the public has to be Jewish; a single Jew with many Gentiles is not in public. (Lev. 22:32): “I shall be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel.”

footnotes: ²⁴ In the Babli, Sanhedrin ²⁵ Julianus and Pappos were famous martyrs from the time of Trajan. It is not clear which commandment they were ordered to transgress. (A change of consonant from J to L also occurs in Italian Luglio ²⁶ In the Babli, Sanhedrin

They saw the young Rebbi Abuna²⁷ collecting donkey’s dung on the Sabbath. Rebbi Jonah and Rebbi Yose permitted baking for Ursicinus²⁸ 74b) comes to the same conclusion in the case of fire worshippers who take fire for their temple where everybody comes to warm themselves. on the Sabbath. Rebbi Mana said, I asked before my father Rebbi Jonah, did not Rebbi Zeїra and Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Yannai, Rebbi Jeremiah, Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Yoẓadaq, say that they voted on the upper floor of the Libzah house in Lydda: About all the Torah, if a Gentile tells a Jew to transgress any commandment of the Torah except those concerning idolatry, incest and adultery, and murder he should transgress and not be killed. That is in private, but in public he should not follow him even for the slightest commandment, as exemplified by Julianus and his brother Pappos whom they gave water in a colored glass and they did not accept. He said, he does not intend to lead you to apostasy, he only wants to eat warm bread. What means “in public”? The rabbis of Caesarea say ten, as it is written (Lev. 22:32): “I shall be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel.”

footnotes: ²⁷ Nothing is known about him and about the circumstances under which he was forced to collect dung. ²⁸ Legate in Syria (351–354) of the emperor Gallus. At that time, the Roman government already was Christian and, while they did not yet try to convert the Jews by force, they certainly welcomed an opportunity to force the Jews to break their law. The argument of the rabbis implies that martyrdom is required only if the Gentile wants to force his religion on the Jew, not if he wants to force him to transgress the laws of the Torah. The Babli (Sanhedrin

Rebbi Abuna asked before Rebbi Ammi: Are Gentiles required to sanctify the Name²⁹? He said to him (Lev. 22:32): “I shall be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel.” Israel are required to sanctify the Name; the Gentiles are not required to sanctify the Name. Rebbi Nasa in the name of Rebbi Lazar understood it from the following (2K. 5:18): “May the Eternal forgive His servant for this³⁰ 74b, in the name of the school of Rav., etc.” Israel are required to sanctify the Name; the Gentiles are not required to sanctify the Name.

footnotes: ²⁹ “To sanctify the Name” means to suffer martyrdom for one’s faith (under the conditions spelled out before.) ³⁰ Elisha permitted Naaman to accompany his king to a pagan temple and to bow down there; for a Jew that would be unthinkable. Same argument in Babli Sanhedrin

Rebbi Abba bar Zemina was working as a tailor in Rome at the place of an Aramean³¹. He³² brought him³³ meat of a carcass and told him³³ to eat. He³³ said to him, I will not eat. He said to him³³ eat! Otherwise I shall kill you. He³³ said to him, if you have to kill, kill, for I shall not eat meat of a carcass. He said to him³³, certainly you should know that I would have killed you, had you eaten. Either one is a Jewish Jew or an Aramean Aramean. Rebbi Mana said, if Rebbi Abba bar Zemina had understood the words of the rabbis, he would have eaten³⁴.

footnotes: ³¹ An Aramaic speaking Gentile. ³² The Gentile. ³³ R. Abba bar Zemina. ³³ R. Abba bar Zemina. ³³ R. Abba bar Zemina. ³³ R. Abba bar Zemina. ³³ R. Abba bar Zemina. ³³ R. Abba bar Zemina. ³⁴ Since R. Abba then would have been killed, it follows that the statement from the Libzah house must be modified according to circumstances.

If somebody improved [his field] and died, may his son sow? Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Rebbi Immi in the name of Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina: If somebody improved [his field] and died, his son may sow; if he improved [his field] and sold it, it is forbidden to be sown. If [the buyer] transgressed and sowed, it is permitted since they did decide only on a fence³⁵ 1:1. In many cases, it would be impossible for the buyer to verify that the field had been improved during the Sabbatical year. The expression גזרו instead of גדרו is Babylonian spelling; in a series of parallel Tosephtot (3:13) the language is שלא גדרו אלא גדר שיכול לעמוד. that one may live with.

footnotes: ³⁵ The "fence" around the Law which is the basis of all rabbinic decrees, Mishnah Avot

What are the rules if somebody improved today? Rebbi Jeremiah wanted to say, it is permitted. Rebbi Yose said, did Rebbi Jeremiah not hear that he would be whipped? Did he not hear that he would be unacceptable for testimony³⁶? He turned around and said, certainly he had heard! But he is like someone who hears a statement and questiones it. Rebbi Ḥizqiah said, it was objected before Rebbi Jeremiah, there seems not to have been a court which disestablished³⁷! The force of Rebbi Jeremiah is from the following³⁸11:10. “Oil to burn” is olive oil of the heave that became impure and can no longer be consumed. It is the Cohen’s property and must be burned either for heat or for light. By rabbinic decree, the burning also must be for the benefit of the Cohen or his family. The baraita permits some use of the oil by non-Cohanim.: “An Israel woman who comes to a priestly woman³⁹ to get fire dips the wick into oil to burn and lights.” Rebbi Ḥuna in the name of the house of Rebbi Yannai: It was a time of wolf packs⁴⁰; there was no court which disestablished⁴¹ is an unconditional statement, it follows that a rabbinic decree that fell into general disuse because of special circumstances remains in disuse even in normal times; no court is needed to lift the decree. In this case, the power of the people is greater than the power of the court.. As you say there, there was no court which disestablished, so here there was no court which disestablished⁴²!

footnotes: ³⁶ Both whipping and the exclusion from being a witness are rabbinic decrees since only activities mentioned in the verse are biblical prohibitions. ³⁷ A rabbinic decree passed by a competent court can only be lifted by a court of higher standing. Since the rabbinic restrictions of the Sabbatical year go back to the Men of the Great Assembly, the minimum standing such a court would have to have is that of Rabban Gamliel who disestablished the prohibition of the first two terms (Halakhah 1:1). No court of later times has that standing. ³⁸ Terumot ³⁹ The wife or unmarried daughter of a Cohen. ⁴⁰ A time of emergency when people tried to be out on the street as little as possible. ⁴¹ The short-cut described was never endorsed by a court but was tolerated by the rabbis of the time. Since the baraita ⁴² No court was needed once permission was given to work for the Roman government.

A similar case: When does a man acquire Sabbatical fruit? Rebbi Jeremiah wanted to say, when he puts them in his vessels. Rebbi Yose wanted to say, even if he puts them into his vessels he did not acquire them; he thinks that they are his but they are not his⁴³. Compare the following⁴⁴; BabliNedarim 62a.: Rebbi Tarphon went to eat single figs from somebody’s property without reciprocity, following the House of Shammai. The watchmen⁴⁵ of נטר “to guard”. (In Arabic, the word means “cymbal”.) saw him and started whipping him. When he saw himself in danger, he said to them, by your lives, tell in Tarphon’s house to have his burial shrouds ready. When they heard this, they prostrated themselves before him and said, Rebbi, forgive us. He said to them, so and so should come upon me if I did not forgive you beforehand every stick that was coming down on me. In these two instances did Rebbi Tarphon follow the House of Shammai and endangered himself, in the case here and in the recitation of *Shema'*⁴⁶. Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Ḥanina ben Gamliel: All his life did Rebbi Tarphon repent about this happening and said, woe to me that I used the Crown of the Torah⁴⁷ 1:13: “He who uses the Crown disappears.”.

footnotes: ⁴³ If the fruits had a human owner, they would become property of the person who takes them. If somebody steals fruit from a farmer, once the fruit is in his vessel he is the owner but owes the farmer the value of the fruit he took. However, Sabbatical fruit are God’s property; even after they have been harvested they retain the holiness of the Sabbatical. They may be eaten but not used for industrial purposes. Hence, they cannnot be acquired as property. ⁴⁴ Different versions of the story are in Massekhet Kallah ⁴⁵ Jastrow takes the word as saf‘el ⁴⁶ Berakhot, Mishnah 1:7. ⁴⁷ MishnahAvot

MISHNAH: One rents ploughed fields⁴⁸ from Gentiles in the Sabbatical year but not from Jews. One encourages⁴⁹ Gentiles in the Sabbatical year but not Jews. One greets them for communal peace.

footnotes: ⁴⁸ Fields ploughed after the harvest, to sow them after the end of the Sabbatical year. ⁴⁹ A Gentile working his field in the Sabbatical year may be praised for his work, but not a Jew in the same situation.

HALAKHAH: “One rents ploughed fields,” etc. Rebbi Ḥiyya, Rebbi Ammi⁵⁰ 4:10 (fol. 44b); the parallel in Babli Giṭṭin62a recognizes only the second opinion.. One said: “Plough it well; then I will rent it after the Sabbatical.” The other one said: “May you succed”.⁵¹ For him who says plough it well, then I will rent it after the Sabbatical, what means “one greets them”? “May you succed.” For him who says may you succed, what means “one greets them”? Jewish greeting, “Peace upon you.”

footnotes: ⁵⁰ This does not refer to the quote from the Mishnah but discusses the meaning of the second sentence, one supports Gentiles. The entire Halakhah is also in Avodah Zarah ⁵¹ Short for אישר חילך "may your effort be lucky."

Explanation: Rebbi Ḥinena bar Pappa⁵³ and Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman passed by one of the ploughmen⁵⁴ in the Sabbatical. Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman said to him, may you succed. Rebbi Ḥinena bar Pappa said to him, did not Rebbi teach us (Ps. 129:8): “The passers-by did not say,” this implies that it is forbidden to say “may you succeed” to one who ploughs in the Sabbatical. He told him, you know how to read but you do not know how to make a homily. “The passers-by did not say,” refers to the nations of the world who pass out of the world⁵⁵, they did not say to Israel “the blessing of the Eternal is on you.” What does Israel say to them, “we bless you in the Name of the Eternal.” All blessings that come into the world because of us⁵⁶ (Northvale 1995), pp. 205–208.] are not enough for you, you do not say, come and take from these blessing for yourselves, but you roll over us pro-rated contributions and fines⁵⁷, head taxes and annonae²²) to the army during the Sabbatical year. R. Yannai can be dated to the early military anarchy in the third Century. In the Babli (Sanhedrin 26a) it is stated that R. Yannai proclaimed: Go and sow in the Sabbatical year because of the annona..

footnotes: ⁵³ It seems that he is the R. Ḥinena who usually is quoted without patronymic. ⁵⁴ A Jew. ⁵⁵ In contrast to Israel, these nations have only a limited life span. ⁵⁶ The material blessing given by God because the Jews keep the laws of the Torah. [Cf. H. Guggenheimer, The Scholar’s Haggadah ⁵⁷ Greek ζημία, ἥ. ²² One has to assume that under the Severan dynasty, Jewish farmers did not have to deliver provisions (annona

Rebbi Ammi taught that one may not take out together with him.

MISHNAH: If somebody thins out olive trees⁵⁹, the House of Shammai say he should cut them off, the House of Hillel say he may take out the roots, but they agree that one who levels may only cut off. What is thinning? One or two. Levelling are three adjacent to one another. When has this been said? On his own property. But from another’s property, even one who flattens may take out the roots. If somebody cuts down an olive tree, he should not cover [the stump] with dust but cover it with stones or straw. If somebody cuts down a sycamore trunk⁷¹, he should not cover [the stump] with dust but cover it with stones or straw. One does not cut a virgin sycamore in the Sabbatical year because that is [agricultural] work. Rebbi Jehudah says, in a normal way it is forbidden but he [may] cut higher than ten hand-breadths or cut it down level with the ground.

footnotes: ⁵⁹ He takes out entire trees to give the remaining ones more space to grow. The House of Shammai require him to cut the stems near the ground but to leave the roots in because removing the roots is intensive agricultural work. ⁷¹ “Levelling” in the Mishnah is permitted (under the restrictions given there) if one removes not more than nine trees.

HALAKHAH: “If somebody thins out olive trees,” etc. What is thinning? He removes one and leaves two, or removes two and leaves one. It was stated by the House of Rebbi: He removes one and leaves two. But did we not state: If somebody levels among vines, three adjacent to one another. Therefore, thinning must mean that one removes two and leaves one. Rebbi Jonah said, the baraita when he thins out the first time, and what was stated by the House of Rebbi when he already had thinned.

“⁶¹ One does not start a fire in reed thickets⁶² because that is [agricultural] work. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel permits it. Similarly, Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel said, one may plant a useless tree⁶³ in the Sabbatical year. One teaches a cow to plough only in dunes; Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, it is permitted also in somebody else’s field on condition that one not make parallel furrows.⁶⁴”

footnotes: ⁶¹ A similar text in Tosephta 3:14. There, it reads” One does not harvest reeds from a thicket. ⁶² In the Tosephta: .בחישת ⁶³ Cf. Chapter 1, Note 12. ⁶⁴ It should not look like professional work.

It was stated⁶⁶: “Abba Shaul says one clears groves by cutting near the ground on condition that one should not fell with an axe. One does not try out seeds in soil in a flower pot but one tries them out in dung in a flower pot; one puts them in water in the Sabbatical year for the year after the Sabbatical⁶⁷. One keeps aloe on the roof but does not water it. One⁶⁸ I, p. 233. does not put wild figs onto fig trees.” What does one do? One brings a branch of a wild fig, hangs it onto it, and tells it: That one produced and you did not produce! Did we not state⁶⁹ 5:1 (fol. 52d); Babli Šabbat 67a, Ḥulin 77b.: “If a tree sheds its fruits, one colors it red with vermilion, loads it with stones, and frightens it into producing.” They said, there that it should not loosen its fruits, here that it should start to produce.

footnotes: ⁶⁶ Tosephta 3:20; the first sentence only. ⁶⁷ The seeds may be caused to sprout in the water for planting in the next year. ⁶⁸ Tosephta 1:9. תובא is Syriac “wild fig tree”; cf. I. Löw, Die Flora der Juden ⁶⁹ Ma‘aser Šeni

One does not graft date palms because that is [agricultural] work⁷⁰. That you should not say because it could bear it is permitted; therefore it is necessary to say that it is forbidden.

footnotes: ⁷⁰ One cannot graft date palms. The paragraph refers to the technique of putting bunches of male flowers into the crown of a female tree to insure fertilization by the wind. One could think that this is permitted because a similar technique was approved in the preceding paragraph for fig trees (which, however, have both male and female flowers) and because without help the date palm might still produce some fruit. This “grafting” is forbidden in the Sabbatical because it is the standard agricultural technique.

The Mishnah speaks about three to nine⁷¹.

footnotes: ⁷¹ “Levelling” in the Mishnah is permitted (under the restrictions given there) if one removes not more than nine trees.

MISHNAH: If somebody cuts shoots of vines⁷⁶ or cuts reeds, Rebbi Yose the Galilean says he leaves a hand-breadth but Rebbi Aqiba says he cuts as he is used to, with an axe, a sickle, or a saw, or anything he wants. In the Sabbatical year one may bind a tree that was split, not to heal it but to stop [the split] from widening.

footnotes: ⁷⁶ Cutting of the green new shoots that look like tails. This is not counted as forbidden trimming as long as no wood is taken.

HALAKHAH: “If somebody cuts down an olive tree,” etc. It was stated⁷² Chapter 6, Note 100.: “If somebody cuts reeds, Rebbi Jehudah says at a place where one is used to cut, he should tear out; at a place where one is used to tear out, he should cut. In any case, he should cut higher than a hand-breadth⁷³. If somebody cuts down for logs, he should not plane and cut in steps, cut in steps to create joints, but he should try to cut them straight⁷⁴.” It was stated⁷⁵: “Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel said, at a place where one usually planes, he should cut in steps, in steps he should plane and cut down at the ground⁷³, but he should not cut with an axe.”

footnotes: ⁷² Tosephta 3:19, in the name of Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel instead of R. Jehudah. For reeds as a commercial crop, cf. Demay ⁷³ To cut unprofessionally. ⁷⁴ He should not treat the logs in public as objects of trade. Since one may cut wood in the Sabbatical year as fuel, the act of cutting in itself does not create a bad appearance. ⁷⁵ Tosephta 3:19, in the name of Abba Shaul, restrics to cutting in tree groves. ⁷³ To cut unprofessionally.

⁷⁷: Rebbi Yose the Galilean follows the House of Shammai, Rebbi Aqiba follows the House of Hillel⁷⁸. Can we come to state that Rebbi Yose the Galilean follows the House of Shammai, Rebbi Aqiba follows the House of Hillel⁷⁹? But Rebbi Yose the Galilean worries about agricultural work⁸⁰.

footnotes: ⁷⁷ In the Venice print, this is still part of Halakhah 5. ⁷⁸ We have no statements of the Houses of Shammai and Hillel on this point, but in Mishnah 4 the House of Shammai was more restrictive than the House of Hillel as far as cutting for wood is concerned. ⁷⁹ Since R. Yose the Galilean was a student of Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai at Yabneh, when the House of Shammai already was no longer a dominant force in Jewish thought, the hypothesis seems to be illogical. ⁸⁰ Cutting is too close to biblically prohibited trimming.

MISHNAH: When does one start to eat tree fruits in the Sabbatical year? Unripe figs when they started to be radiant⁸¹ one eats with his bread in the field; when they became large one takes them into his house and in this state in other years of the Sabbatical cycle they must be tithed⁸². Unripe grapes when they contain fluid one eats them with his bread on the field; when their skin became transparent one takes them into his house and in this state in other years of the Sabbatical cycle they must be tithed.

footnotes: ⁸¹ When their skin becomes smooth enough to reflect sunlight. These unripe figs might be eaten as food acting as a laxative. ⁸² In this state, they are potential commercial product.

HALAKHAH: ⁸³: “If somebody cuts shoots of vines,” etc. What means ביחילו? Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said, if it comes alive, as you say (Zach.11:8): “And their souls were too much for me⁸⁴47a by Rabba bar bar Ḥana for the etymology given here [and in Ma‘serot1:2 (fol. 48d)] by R. Ḥiyya bar Abba. {From the Arabic بخل “to be stingy” one might translate in the Mishnah “If they are barely ripe”.}.”

footnotes: ⁸³ In the Venice print, Halakhah 6. The quote from Mishnah 6 is induced by this error in numeration. ⁸⁴ This incomprehensible Biblical verse is also quoted in Babli Niddah

It is written (Lev. 25:7): “For your domestic animals and the wild animals of your Land shall all its yield be food.” Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said, two kinds of yield, one from the house and one from the field, and it is written (Lev. 25:12): “From the field you shall eat its yield.⁸⁵”

footnotes: ⁸⁵ This explains why the Mishnah has to give two terms for each kind of produce. As will be explained in the following paragraph, the edible produce of the Sabbatical year may be used only as unaltered food to be eaten.

86 Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina asked: May one make a plaster (emollient)⁸⁶ p. 385. Once growth of the Sabbatical year is food, it cannot be used for anything else as stated in Mishnah 8:1. of unripe figs? After he can eat his bread with them in the field it will be forbidden. Or since he may bring them into his house it might be permitted⁸⁷.

footnotes: ⁸⁶ Greek μάλαγμα, cf. Berakhot ⁸⁷ Since unripe figs are not food in the usual sense; it might be permitted to treat unripe figs like, e. g., mint leaves, and use them for medical purposes.

There, we have stated (Mishnah ‘Uqeẓin 3:6): “Unripe figs and grapes, Rebbi Aqiba said they may become impure by the impurity of food; Rebbi Joḥanan ben Nuri said only after they come to the period of tithing⁸⁸.” We have stated here “immediately” but is it “not immediately”⁸⁹? Rebbi Ḥananiah in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: The Mishnah speaks only about unripe figs, but unripe fruit of any other kind may not become impure by the impurity of food until it reaches the period of tithing. Rebbi Yose said, our Mishnah implies this: “Unripe figs⁹⁰ when they started to be radiant one eats them with his bread in the field.” Rebbi Pedat⁹¹ in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Everybody agrees about the Sabbatical year. “Everybody agrees,” the colleagues said that the figs do not become impure by the impurity of food⁹².

footnotes: ⁸⁸ Earlier, they are considered as pieces of wood that cannot become impure. ⁸⁹ R. Aqiba assumes that anything edible under circumstances of need is food; does he hold this as a general principle or only in this special case? ⁹⁰ פג without qualifier means only “unripe fig.” Since the Mishnah gives no qualifier, it can apply only to figs. ⁹¹ Son of the Amora R. Eleazar (ben Pedat). ⁹² Even R. Aqiba will agree that unripe figs and grapes in the Sabbatical year are not yet food since legal restrictions prevent their being used as food except by the worker on the field.

“⁹³ 3:7. The paragraph is a follow-up to the Mishnah ‘Uqeẓin quoted earlier. The palm pith⁹⁴ is wood in every respect except that it may be bought with tithe money⁹⁵. Palm spathe⁹⁶ and Maimonides. Arukh and Rashi explain: Dates which never ripen. I. Löw: The male flower of the date palm. {The Arabic word used by the Gaonim and Maimonides, טַלע, means mainly “spathe” in classical Arabic, but also “palm frond” (meaning chosen by Al-Ḥarizi), and “pollen”; as טִלַּע the latter is the only meaning in Iraqi dialect. It does not seem reasonable to replace “pollen” by “male flower.”} used as food is free from tithes.” Rebbi Judah ben Pazi explained in the study house: Palm pith is not subject to the holiness of the Sabbatical year⁹⁷. But Rebbi Yose commanded about those who were asking⁹⁸; they said that it was said from his part. He made them say that Rebbi Yose told them, a baraita disagrees with Rebbi Judah ben Pazi and supports us, as it was stated⁹⁹: “One may not cook unripe figs of the Sabbatical year but it is permitted for the late ones because that is their treatment.”

footnotes: ⁹³ Mishnah ‘Uqeẓin ⁹⁴ The new growth on top of the date palm in the spring which may be eaten as a vegetable as long as it is soft. If not removed, it becomes wood. ⁹⁵ Money from the Second Tithe that, in the times of the Temple, must be used for food in Jerusalem. ⁹⁶ Explanation of the Gaonic commentary to Tahorot ⁹⁷ Since it is a kind of wood, it may be used otherwise than as food. ⁹⁸ They were checking with him whether the statement of R. Judah ben Pazi was true. He had them reveal the source of their statement. ⁹⁹ Tosephta 3:21, and there the language is: “One may not split (?) unripe figs of the Sabbatical year but it is permitted for the late ones because that is their treatment; it is permitted for palm pith and palm spathe.” Late figs do not ripen on the tree; if one wants to use them as food one makes them into preserves. Similarly, palm pith and palm spathe are food only if cooked. Since everybody will agree that late figs are food, one also has to agree that palm pith and spathe are food under the rules of the Sabbatical. The argument is valid only if one assumes that R. Yose was quoting the entire Tosephta or an equivalent text. {The commentators of the Tosephta replace “split” by “cook” on the basis of the Yerushalmi but this reading has no support in the Tosephta mss.}

¹⁰⁰“When does one start to eat fruits”, etc. Since we say that palm pith and spathe are like wood, is wood forbidden to be cooked? But because the holiness of the Sabbatical falls on them one has to say that it is forbidden¹⁰¹.

footnotes: ¹⁰⁰ Here, in the middle of R. Yose’s argument, starts Halakhah 7 in the Venice print. The quote from the Mishnah has to be disregarded. ¹⁰¹ Because of the Tosephta quoted in Note 99, the commentators want to change “forbidden” into “permitted” without any manuscript evidence.However, since this paragraph still belongs to R. Yose’s argument against R. Jehudah ben Pazi, “forbidden” here is appropriate since it implies that even for palm pith and spathe, once they have been taken from the tree any use conflicting with the holiness of the Sabbatical is forbidden.

“Unripe grapes when they contain fluid”, etc. What argument can you give for unripe grapes? Rebbi Abun said, because at that stage usually the owls eat it¹⁰².

footnotes: ¹⁰² By Lev. 25:7, food for wild animals is legal food in the Sabbatical year; cf. Mishnah 8:1.

MISHNAH: Olives containing a quarter log [of oil] per seah one may break open and eat in the field. When they contain half a log, one may pound them and [use the oil to] anoint oneself in the field. When they contain a third, one may pound them on the field and bring them to the house; in a similar circumstance in the other years of the Sabbatical cycle they are subject to tithes. For all other tree fruits, as their time for tithes¹⁰³ Chapter 1. so is their time for the Sabbatical year.

footnotes: ¹⁰³ Given in Ma‘serot

HALAKHAH: “Olives containing a quarter log per seah” etc. What is “a third”? Of a log. The Mishnah for those which produce three log per seah¹⁰⁴ therefore simply means that the olives already contain 1/12 of the oil a ripe olive yields on the average. For the definition of log and seah, cf. Berakhot Chapter 3, Note 164..

footnotes: ¹⁰⁴ A quarter log

It is written (Lev. 25:12): “Because it is yovel, holy should it be for you, etc.” Just as [the year] is holy, so its yield is holy¹⁰⁵, holy should it be for you; from the field you should eat its yield.” The yield of Sabbatical and Jubilee years has to be treated as holy and may not be used for industrial purposes. On the other hand, as explained in Note 85, lenient rules are valid for eating in the field..

footnotes: ¹⁰⁵ The full verse reads: “Because it is yovel

Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina¹⁰⁶ 112a. kissed the cliffs of Acco and said, up to here is the Land of Israel. Rebbi Zeїra crossed the Jordan in his clothing¹⁰⁷. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba rolled himself in the step¹⁰⁸ of Tiberias. The elder Rebbi Ḥiyya weighed rocks. Rebbi Ḥananiah weighed earth lumps to fulfill what was said (Ps. 102:19): “For Your servants desired its stones and they loved its dust.”

footnotes: ¹⁰⁶ The parallels are in Babli Ketubot ¹⁰⁷ According to the Babli he did not find a ferry when he came to Israel from Babylonia, only a rope stretched over the ford; he walked along the rope in his garments to enter the Land as quickly as possible. ¹⁰⁸ Cf. Greek ἔλευσις, -εως, ἡ, “coming, arrival”.

MISHNAH: When may one not cut down a tree in the Sabbatical year¹⁰⁹. 20:19). This is discussed at the end of this Mishnah. In the Sabbatical year, when the fruit is public property, one may not cut down a tree once it has started to bear fruit until all fruit has been harvested from it.? The House of Shammai say, every tree when it starts¹¹⁰ 52b/53a) when it started to grow new leaves. “Forming chains” refers to developing clusters of pods containing seeds.. But the House of Hillel say, carob trees when they form clusters, vines when they produce fluid¹¹¹, olive trees when they have flower buds, all other trees when they start. Any tree may be cut down¹¹² once it[s fruit] has reached the stage of tithes. How much should be on an olive tree so one should not cut it down? A quarter [qab]. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, all according to the olive tree¹¹³.

footnotes: ¹⁰⁹ One may not cut down a fruit tree as long as it is valuable (Deut ¹¹⁰ According to Maimonides, when its fruit has started to develop; according to Rashi (Pesaḥim ¹¹¹ Cf. Arabic جرع “to drink”. ¹¹² After the fruits have been harvested from the tree. ¹¹³ If the value of the olive wood is greater than the value of the olive harvest from the tree.

HALAKHAH: “When may one not cut down”, etc. Rebbi Ḥinena bar Pappa stated, for carob trees their forming clusters means their sprouting. “Vines when they produce fluid,” Rebbi Jonah said when they flow with water, as you say (Job 36:27): “He draws the waterdrops that distill rain from their mist.” “Olive trees when they have flower buds”, Rebbi Jonah said, when they bring a quarter [qab]. A quarter [qab] of flower buds or a quarter [qab] of olives? Rebbi Jonah said, that means, flower buds which will yield a quarter [qab] of olives.

Rebbi Jonah¹¹⁵ said (Deut. 28:40): “Your olives will fall off,” one in 340 were kept¹¹⁶ Rebbi Jonah said (Joel 2:22): “For the tree will bear its fruit” means that the tree is not bearing its fruit in this world¹¹⁷, “and fig tree and vine will give their strength” means that they are not giving their strength in this world.

footnotes: ¹¹⁵ Since R. Jonah was mentioned in the preceding paragraph, his homilies are appended here. ¹¹⁶ The numerical value of י̇ש̇ל̇ is 340. ¹¹⁷ “This world” in the Yerushalmi means the world before the coming of the Messiah. The implication is that in the days of the Messiah produce will be so abundant that the rabbinic rules governing the details of tithing and Sabbatical will have to be changed.

Rebbi Jonah said in the name of Rebbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina: He who dies in the seven years of Gog¹¹⁹. Chapters 38–39. In the opinion of the preacher here, the days of Gog are immediately followed by the coming of the Messiah and the resurrection of the dead. According to this opinion, one who dies immediately before the resurrection has no part in it, otherwise he would not have died. has no part in the Future World. Its sign is, he who ate at the preliminary wedding feast¹²⁰ p. 484. shall eat at the wedding feast. Rebbi Yose heard this and said, is that true? So far there is repentance for the Future World¹²¹! Rebbi Jonah in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Ashi¹²² 64a, his statement is quoted as originating with Rav.: In the future, fellows will exert themselves from synagogues to houses of study. What is the reason? (Ps. 84:8) “They will go from strength to strength, he will see the Power, God, in Zion,” until he will see the Power, God, in Zion¹²³.

footnotes: ¹¹⁹ Described in Ez ¹²⁰ Cf. Demay ¹²¹ Everybody has his chance at the Future World. ¹²² He is Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi. In the Babli, Berakhot ¹²³ This Zion is the Heavenly Zion, place of the resurrection, since in this world, God cannot be seen. This leads to the next paragraph on those who have part in the resurrection.

The rabbis of Caesarea say, Gentile minors¹²⁴ 110b, this is restricted to minor children of evil Gentiles. Cf. Berakhot Chapter Nine, Notes 71 ff. and the armies of Nebucadnezzar will not live and will not be judged; about them it says (Jer. 51:39,57): “They will sleep an eternal sleep and never wake up.” From when do Jewish minors live? The elder Rebbi Ḥiyya and Rebbi Simeon ben Rebbi, one said from when they are born, the other said from when they talk¹²⁵110b.. He who says from when they are born (Ps. 22:32): “they shall come and tell His justice to the born people He made.” He who says from when they talk (Ps. 22:31): “Seed will worship Him, it will by told to the Master by the generation.” It was stated in the name of Rebbi Meïr: From the time [the child] knows to answer Amen in the synagogue. What is the reason? (Is. 26:2) “Open the gates, let the just people come who keep trust¹²⁶ 110b and Sabbath 119b, it is explained that those who keep trust are those who respond Amen, “trustworthy”..” There they say, from when they are circumcised (Ps. 88:16): “I carried your fear, I cease”¹²⁷ But the rabbis from here say, from when they are born (Ps. 87:5): “He will say to Zion¹²⁸, everybody [who] was born [is] in it.” Rebbi Eleazar says, even the still-born, what is the reason? (Is. 49:6) “The watched ones of Israel to return”, the created ones of Israel to return129.

footnotes: ¹²⁴ In the Babli, Sanhedrin ¹²⁵ Also in the Babli, Sanhedrin ¹²⁶ In the Babli, Sanhedrin ¹²⁷ For the translation, cf. Arabic فني "to cease". Once the baby carries the fear of the Eternal, being circumcised, even if it ceases to exist it has part of the salvation expressed in the Psalm. ¹²⁸ The Heavenly Zion.