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 pieces [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.] . But after transgressors became numerous [They said that they were taking large pieces when in effect they were weeding and clearing their fields from stones.] they decreed that everybody only collect from somebody else’s without reciprocity [He arranges to clear a friend’s field and the friend will clear his.] and it goes without saying that he does not have to allot him food [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 follows [A much shortened version of this is in Tosephta 3:8.] : 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 supply [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 supported [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 him [He collects weeds as animal fodder, not to weed his field.] . If his cooking stove was there, his cooking stove proves for him [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 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.
If his field was full of coarse pieces [If he takes all the coarse pieces, his field is weeded and cleaned.] , 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 ground [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.] ;” that means it is permitted. (Mishnah 4:4) “Who is the one who thins out? He takes one or two; [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.] ” that means it is forbidden.
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 stones [Since stones were mentioned in the preceding baraita, 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. [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.] ” 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.
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 reciprocity [He arranges to clear a friend’s field and the friend will clear his.] , 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 Hillel [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. There [In Babylonia, in the Persian empire.] they say, when its thistles were removed, but the rabbis here say, when they were ploughed under [This implies that ploughing one’s field in the Sabbatical year is permitted, against all principles stated in Mishnaiot 1:1, 2:1.] . What is improvement in the opinion of the rabbis here? Everybody ploughs once and he ploughs twice [In Tosephta 3:10, “if everybody ploughs five and he ploughs six”, meaning he ploughs narrower furrows to turn the earth over more thoroughly.] . How can that be? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, there the government does not oppress, but here the government oppresses [Start of an extensive description of the oppression by the Roman government and its legal consequences.] .
When the government was oppressing the first time [One has to assume that under the Severan dynasty, Jewish farmers did not have to deliver provisions (annona) 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 you [Latin heus tu; 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?
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 house [In the Babli, Sanhedrin 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 glass [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(“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 written [In the Babli, Sanhedrin74b, 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.”
They saw the young Rebbi Abuna [Nothing is known about him and about the circumstances under which he was forced to collect dung.] collecting donkey’s dung on the Sabbath. Rebbi Jonah and Rebbi Yose permitted baking for Ursicinus [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 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.”
Rebbi Abuna asked before Rebbi Ammi: Are Gentiles required to sanctify the Name [“To sanctify the Name” means to suffer martyrdom for one’s faith (under the conditions spelled out before.)] ? 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 this [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 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.
Rebbi Abba bar Zemina was working as a tailor in Rome at the place of an Aramean [An Aramaic speaking Gentile.] . He [The Gentile.] brought him [R. Abba bar Zemina.] meat of a carcass and told him [R. Abba bar Zemina.] to eat. He [R. Abba bar Zemina.] said to him, I will not eat. He said to him [R. Abba bar Zemina.] eat! Otherwise I shall kill you. He [R. Abba bar Zemina.] said to him, if you have to kill, kill, for I shall not eat meat of a carcass. He said to him [R. Abba bar Zemina.] , 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 eaten [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 fence [The "fence" around the Law which is the basis of all rabbinic decrees, Mishnah Avot 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.
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 testimony [Both whipping and the exclusion from being a witness are rabbinic decrees since only activities mentioned in the verse are biblical prohibitions.] ? 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 disestablished [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.] ! The force of Rebbi Jeremiah is from the following [Terumot11:10. “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 woman [The wife or unmarried daughter of a Cohen.] 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 packs [A time of emergency when people tried to be out on the street as little as possible.] ; there was no court which disestablished [The short-cut described was never endorsed by a court but was tolerated by the rabbis of the time. Since the baraita 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 disestablished [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 his [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.] . Compare the following [Different versions of the story are in Massekhet Kallah; BabliNedarim 62a.] : Rebbi Tarphon went to eat single figs from somebody’s property without reciprocity, following the House of Shammai. The watchmen [Jastrow takes the word as saf‘el 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' [Berakhot, Mishnah 1:7.] . 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 Torah [MishnahAvot 1:13: “He who uses the Crown disappears.”] .
MISHNAH: One rents ploughed fields [Fields ploughed after the harvest, to sow them after the end of the Sabbatical year.] from Gentiles in the Sabbatical year but not from Jews. One encourages [A Gentile working his field in the Sabbatical year may be praised for his work, but not a Jew in the same situation.] Gentiles in the Sabbatical year but not Jews. One greets them for communal peace.
HALAKHAH: “One rents ploughed fields,” etc. Rebbi Ḥiyya, Rebbi Ammi [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 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”. [Short for אישר חילך "may your effort be lucky."] 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.”
Explanation: Rebbi Ḥinena bar Pappa [It seems that he is the R. Ḥinena who usually is quoted without patronymic.] and Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman passed by one of the ploughmen [A Jew.] 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 world [In contrast to Israel, these nations have only a limited life span.] , 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 us [The material blessing given by God because the Jews keep the laws of the Torah. [Cf. H. Guggenheimer, The Scholar’s Haggadah (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 fines [Greek ζημία, ἥ.] , head taxes and annonae [One has to assume that under the Severan dynasty, Jewish farmers did not have to deliver provisions (annona) 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 Ammi taught that one may not take out together with him.
MISHNAH: If somebody thins out olive trees [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.] , 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 trunk [“Levelling” in the Mishnah is permitted (under the restrictions given there) if one removes not more than nine trees.] , 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.
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.
“ [A similar text in Tosephta 3:14. There, it reads” One does not harvest reeds from a thicket.] One does not start a fire in reed thickets [In the Tosephta: .בחישת] because that is [agricultural] work. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel permits it. Similarly, Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel said, one may plant a useless tree [Cf. Chapter 1, Note 12.] 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. [It should not look like professional work.] ”
It was stated [Tosephta 3:20; the first sentence only.] : “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 Sabbatical [The seeds may be caused to sprout in the water for planting in the next year.] . One keeps aloe on the roof but does not water it. One [Tosephta 1:9. תובא is Syriac “wild fig tree”; cf. I. Löw, Die Flora der Juden 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 state [Ma‘aser Šeni 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.
One does not graft date palms because that is [agricultural] work [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.] . That you should not say because it could bear it is permitted; therefore it is necessary to say that it is forbidden.
The Mishnah speaks about three to nine [“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 vines [Cutting of the green new shoots that look like tails. This is not counted as forbidden trimming as long as no wood is taken.] 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.
HALAKHAH: “If somebody cuts down an olive tree,” etc. It was stated [Tosephta 3:19, in the name of Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel instead of R. Jehudah. For reeds as a commercial crop, cf. Demay 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-breadth [To cut unprofessionally.] . 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 straight [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.] .” It was stated [Tosephta 3:19, in the name of Abba Shaul, restrics to cutting in tree groves.] : “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 ground [To cut unprofessionally.] , but he should not cut with an axe.”
[In the Venice print, this is still part of Halakhah 5.] : Rebbi Yose the Galilean follows the House of Shammai, Rebbi Aqiba follows the House of Hillel [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.] . Can we come to state that Rebbi Yose the Galilean follows the House of Shammai, Rebbi Aqiba follows the House of Hillel [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.] ? But Rebbi Yose the Galilean worries about agricultural work [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 radiant [When their skin becomes smooth enough to reflect sunlight. These unripe figs might be eaten as food acting as a laxative.] 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 tithed [In this state, they are potential commercial product.] . 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.
HALAKHAH: [In the Venice print, Halakhah 6. The quote from Mishnah 6 is induced by this error in numeration.] : “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 me [This incomprehensible Biblical verse is also quoted in Babli Niddah47a 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”.}] .”
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. [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) [Greek μάλαγμα, cf. Berakhot 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 permitted [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 tithing [Earlier, they are considered as pieces of wood that cannot become impure.] .” We have stated here “immediately” but is it “not immediately” [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?] ? 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 figs [פג without qualifier means only “unripe fig.” Since the Mishnah gives no qualifier, it can apply only to figs.] when they started to be radiant one eats them with his bread in the field.” Rebbi Pedat [Son of the Amora R. Eleazar (ben Pedat).] 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 food [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.] .
“ [Mishnah ‘Uqeẓin 3:7. The paragraph is a follow-up to the Mishnah ‘Uqeẓin quoted earlier.] The palm pith [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.] is wood in every respect except that it may be bought with tithe money [Money from the Second Tithe that, in the times of the Temple, must be used for food in Jerusalem.] . Palm spathe [Explanation of the Gaonic commentary to Tahorot 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 year [Since it is a kind of wood, it may be used otherwise than as food.] . But Rebbi Yose commanded about those who were asking [They were checking with him whether the statement of R. Judah ben Pazi was true. He had them reveal the source of their statement.] ; 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 stated [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.}] : “One may not cook unripe figs of the Sabbatical year but it is permitted for the late ones because that is their treatment.”
[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.] “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 forbidden [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 it [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 tithes [Given in Ma‘serot Chapter 1.] so is their time for the Sabbatical year.
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 seah [A quarter log 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.] .
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 holy [The full verse reads: “Because it is yovel, 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.] .
Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina [The parallels are in Babli Ketubot 112a.] kissed the cliffs of Acco and said, up to here is the Land of Israel. Rebbi Zeїra crossed the Jordan in his clothing [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.] . Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba rolled himself in the step [Cf. Greek ἔλευσις, -εως, ἡ, “coming, arrival”.] 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.”
MISHNAH: When may one not cut down a tree in the Sabbatical year [One may not cut down a fruit tree as long as it is valuable (Deut. 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 starts [According to Maimonides, when its fruit has started to develop; according to Rashi (Pesaḥim 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 fluid [Cf. Arabic جرع “to drink”.] , olive trees when they have flower buds, all other trees when they start. Any tree may be cut down [After the fruits have been harvested from the tree.] 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 tree [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 Jonah [Since R. Jonah was mentioned in the preceding paragraph, his homilies are appended here.] said (Deut. 28:40): “Your olives will fall off,” one in 340 were kept [The numerical value of י̇ש̇ל̇ is 340.] Rebbi Jonah said (Joel 2:22): “For the tree will bear its fruit” means that the tree is not bearing its fruit in this world [“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.] , “and fig tree and vine will give their strength” means that they are not giving their strength in this world.
Rebbi Jonah said in the name of Rebbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina: He who dies in the seven years of Gog [Described in Ez. 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 feast [Cf. Demay 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 World [Everybody has his chance at the Future World.] ! Rebbi Jonah in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Ashi [He is Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi. In the Babli, Berakhot 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 Zion [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 minors [In the Babli, Sanhedrin 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 talk [Also in the Babli, Sanhedrin110b.] . 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 trust [In the Babli, Sanhedrin 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” [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.] But the rabbis from here say, from when they are born (Ps. 87:5): “He will say to Zion [The Heavenly Zion.] , 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.