A person shouldn’t dig a pit close to the pit of his fellow, unless he distances the pit three Tefachim (handbreadths) from the wall of his friend and applies lime to the walls of the pit. Rabbi Yehudah says, with soil that comes away when held, one person can dig his pit on one side while the other digs on the other side as long as they both distance three Tefachim from the border and apply lime to the walls of their pits. A person must distance the launderer’s pool

They distance seeds and the plough and urine three tefachim from the wall. They distance the hand mill stone three from the lower millstone which is four from the upper. And of a donkey’s [millstone], three from the istarbil which is four from the hopper. Rabbi Yehudah says, drive a nail in the earth and rest on it the beam, only if he does not drive [it] into [the property] of his fellow. They distance the oven three tefachim from the belly which is four from the rim. A stove, a tefach. A person should not urinate on the wall of his fellow unless at a distance of three tefachim from stones but against granite it is permitted.

In truth, for wine they permitted it but not for a cattle stall. And even though he limits it, it is only to improve it. And if the a shop or cattle-shed preceded the storehouse, he cannot strike his hand to say, “I cannot sleep for the sound of the hammer or the sound of the millstone or the bad smell or the sound of the children.”

For one’s neighbor, they cannot force him. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says, for his neighbor, they can force him. If he has a store in the public domain and wants to open it to the courtyard, the partners can prevent him because he increases [the traffic on] the path for them. If he has a house in the shared courtyard and wants to divide it and teach children in it, they can prevent him because he increases [the traffic on] the path for them. If he has a roof in the public domain and he wants to build an upper story on it to open into the courtyard, the partners can prevent him because he increases [the traffic on] the path for them. What should he do? He makes a staircase and opens it into his house.

They distance the wall four amot from the windows from above. And from the sides, so that [no one] should see. Below, so no one should peek. Across, so [a shadow] does not fall [on the window]. They distance a ladder four amot from the dovecote so they can erect the ladder and a wall four amot from the gutter so he has space to plaster.

They distance the dovecote fifty amot from the city. The one who buys a dovecote from his fellow and it fell, even in a quarter-kav, he build in its place. A fallen [bird[ found between two dovecotes, fifty amot from this one and fifty amot from this one, it belongs to its finder. Rabbi Akiva says, to any side he makes [it] and he distances it fifty amot except for the west because it is steady.

They distance a pool for steeping from vegetables and leeks from onions and mustard from bees. Rabbi Yosei permits the mustard, as he says to him, just as your will act in yours, so I will act in mine. And Rabbi Yosei says they distance the bees fifty amot from the city because they sting people. Rabbi Natan says, the one who raises up bees is like the one who raises up dogs. Rabbi Natan says, they distance furnaces fifty amot from the city and a tree twenty-five amot from the city. And just as they distance these from the city, they distance theym from cisterns, ditches, and caves. And just as they distasnce from these, so they distance them from graves. A grave which the city surrounded, whether from four sides of from three sides, or on two sides opposite one another, if it is more than fifty amot on this side and fifty amot on that side, they do not empty it. If the distance is less, they empty the graves. They empty all graves except the grave of a kind or the grave of a prophet. Rabbi Akiva says, even the grave of a kind or a prophet they may empty. They said to him, weren’t the graves of the house of David and the grave of the prophetess Hulda in Jerusalem and no one ever touched them? He said to them, is there proof from this? Rather they had caves and they would remove impurity to nahal Qidron.

They distance the tree twenty-five amot from a cistern and in the case of a carob or sycamore, fifty amot, whether above or to the side. Rabbi Shimon says, just as they distance them above, thus they distance them below. But rabbi Yosei permits, because they gave the fields for planting. A person may not plant a tree near his fellow’s field unless he distances it four amot and if he wants he may build a divider or a wall. All vines and all trees [are the same]—they distance them four amot and plant them so cattle can pass through with its implements. If there were roots extending into his fellow’s [property], he may cut them three tefachim so that they do not prevent the plow. A tree that grows whether from the trunk or from the roots, these belong to the owner of the house. An irrigated field or a tree by the plumb line, Abba Shaul says, all shade trees to the plumb line, because the shade is bad for the irrigated field.