משנה: עֶשֶׂר נְטִיעוֹת מְפוּזָּרוֹת לְתוֹךְ בֵּית סְאָה חוֹרְשִׁין כָּל־בֵּית סְאָה בִּשְׁבִילָן עַד רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה. הָיוּ עֲשׂוּיוֹת שׁוּרָה וּמוּקָּפוֹת עֲטָרָה אֵין חוֹרְשִׁין לָהֶן אֶלָּא צוֹרְכָן. MISHNAH: Ten saplings46Ten saplings have the same status as three fully grown trees. As R. Simson points out, all these rules became moot with the elimination of the first two periods. distributed on a bet seah, one ploughs the entire bet seah for them until the new year. If they formed a row or were surrounded by a grate47This is the interpretation of R. Simson, based on the similar meaning of עטרה in Mishnah Ahilut 14:1, Middot3:8. Maimonides explains “planted in an arc of circle”, but the expression מוקף in Mishnaic Hebrew only means “surrounded by”. one ploughs only what is necessary for them.
הלכה: עֶשֶׂר נְטִיעוֹת כו׳. רִבִּי זְעִירָא רִבִּי לָא רִבִּי יָסָא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן עֲרָבָה הֲלָכָה לְמֹשֶׁה מִסִּינַי וּדְלֹא כְאַבָּא שָׁאוּל דְּאַבָּא שָׁאוּל אָמַר עֲרָבָה דְּבַר תּוֹרָה. וְעַרְבֵי נַחַל שְׁתַּיִם. חַד עֲרָבָה לְלוּלָב וַעֲרָבָה לְמִקְדָּשׁ. רִבִּי בָּא רִבִּי חִייָא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן עֲרָבָה וְנִיסּוּךְ הַמַּיִם הֲלָכָה לְמֹשֶׁה מִסִּינַי וּדְלֹא כְרִבִּי עֲקִיבָה דְּרִבִּי עֲקִיבָה אָמַר נִיסּוּךְ הַמַּיִם דְּבַר תּוֹרָה. בְּשֵׁינִי וְנִסְכֵּיהֶם. בְּשִׁישִׁי וּנְסָכֵיהָ. בִּשְׁבִיעִי כְּמִשְפָּטָם. מֵ״ם יוֹ״ד מֵ״ם מַיִם. רִבִּי חִייָא בַּר אַבָּא בָּעָא קוֹמֵי רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן וְעַכְשָׁיו לָמָּה הֵן חוֹרְשִׁין בִּזְקֵינוֹת. אָמַר לֵיהּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁנִּיתְּנָה הֲלָכָה נִיתְּנָה שֶׁאִם בִּקְּשׁוּ לַחֲרוֹשׁ יַחֲרוֹשׁוּ. HALAKHAH: “Ten saplings, etc.“Rebbi Zeïra, Rebbi La, Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan48This paragraph (from Sukkah4:1, fol. 54b) is an introduction to the next one which will mention the ten saplings. It deals with the laws of the feast of Tabernacles when in addition to the ceremonies prescribed by the Torah the altar was adorned by long willow twigs and water was poured as libation on the altar, against the opposition of the Sadducees.: The “willow” is practice going back to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is against Abba Shaul, since Abba Shaul said the willow is a word of the Torah (Leviticus.23.40">Lev. 23:40): “Brook willows,” two49Sukkah.34a">Babli Sukkah 34a. In the Babli, it is not implied that taking the willows in the Temple is a separate biblical commandment. (In the opinion of I. Löw, ערבה denotes not the willow but the Euphrates poplar but in Arabic ע̇דב means “willow”.). One willow for the lulab50The three kinds of branches taken together on Tabernacles, Leviticus.23.40">Lev. 23:40., the other willow for the Temple. Rebbi Abba, Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan, willow and pouring of water are practice going back to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is against Rebbi Aqiba, since Rebbi Aqiba said the pouring of water is a word of the Torah51Zevachim.110b">Babli Zebaḥim 110b. There, the derivation of R. Aqiba parallels the argument of Abba Shaul here, that (Numbers.29.31">Num. 29:31) “and its libations” implies two libations, one of wine and one of water.. On the second day, (Numbers.29.19">Num. 29:19) “and their libations.” On the sixth day, (Numbers.29.31">Num. 29:31) “and its libations.” On the seventh day, (Numbers.29.33">Num. 29:33) “and its rules.” מ י מ spells “water”52In Sifry Num. 150, the argument is given in the name of R. Jehudah ben Batyra. In Numbers.29.17-34">Num. 29:17–34, the sacrifices for the intermediate days of Tabernacles are given in identical language after the mention of the number of animals required. The only deviations from the identical patterns are ונסכיה ,ונסכיהם instead of ונסכה and כמשפטם instead of כמשפט. The additional letters are taken to form the word for “water.” Rabbenu Hillel notes in his commentary that ונסכיהם has two letters in excess over ונסכה so that the word to be formed would be מיים, in the time of the Yerushalmi the standard spelling of מים.. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba asked before Rebbi Joḥanan, why does one now plough because of old trees? He said to him, when the practice was established it was given so that when they desired to plough they might plough7Since the institution of the Sabbatical year is interwoven with that of the Jubilee year and the Jubilee is possible only if the Twelve Tribes are living on their ancestral lands, the Sabbatical in the times of the Second Commonwealth is not a biblical but a rabbinic institution. It is a general rule in dealing with institutions of the Men of the Great Assembly that one is restrictive in interpretation while the Temple exists and lenient when the Temple does not exist. Since one hopes that the Temple will be re-established, the rules have to be stated in the Mishnah for future generations (Interpretation of Rav Ashi in Babli Mo‘ed Qaṭan 4a)..
רִבִּי בָּא בַּר זַבְדִּי בְּשֵׁם רִבִּי חוֹנִיָה דִּבִקְעַת חַװְרָן עֲרָבָה וְנִיסּוּךְ הַמַּיִם וְעֶשֶׂר נְטִיעוֹת מִיסוֹד הַנְּבִיאִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים הֶם. מַה וּפְלִיג. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּי רִבִּי בּוּן בְּשֵׁם לֵוִי כָּךְ הָֽיְתָה הֲלָכָה בְּיָדָם וּשְׁכָחוּהָ וְעָֽמְדוּ הַשְּׁנִייִם וְהִסְכִּימוּ עַל דַּעַת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים. לְלַמְּדָךְ שֶׁכָּל־דָּבָר שֶׁבֵּית דִּין נוֹתְנִין נַפְשָׁם עָלָיו סוֹפוֹ לְהִתְקַייֵם בְּיָדָם כְּמַה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר לְמֹשֶׁה מִסִּינַי. וְאַתְיָא כַּיי דָּמַר רִבִּי מָנָא כִּי לֹא דָּבָר רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם. וְאִם רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם. לָמָּה שֶׁאֵין אַתֶּם יְגֵיעִין בּוֹ. כִּי הִיא חַיֵּיכֶם. אֵימָתַי הִיא חַיֵּיכֶם בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאַתֶּם יְגֵיעִין בּוֹ. Rebbi Abba bar Zabdi in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran53In the parallel, Sukkah.44a">Babli Sukkah44a, he is called Neḥoniah from the valley of Bet Ḥoron; the name in the Yerushalmi is correct since he was a first generation Amora from the Golan heights and an authority on thehalakhic boundaries of the Land of Israel in that region.: Willow, water libation, and ten saplings are institutions of the early prophets54Samuel and David.. Do they disagree55Do they assert that these rules were never promulgated by Moses? The rest of the paragraph is also in Peah 1:1:16" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Peah.1.1.16">Peah 1:1, Notes 74–75.? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun in the name of Levi: That was the current practice; they forgot it, but the later ones got up and agreed to the opinion of the earlier ones to teach you that everything the Court insists on will come to be in the end just as Moses was told on Sinai; as Rebbi Mana said (Deuteronomy.32.47">Deut. 32:47): “For it is not an empty word, from you,” if it is empty it is from you because you do not exert yourself about it. “Because it is your life,” when is it your life? At the time that you exert yourself!
רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר לְרִבִּי חִייָה בַּר װָא בַּבְלַייָא תְּרֵין מִילִּין סַלְקוֹן בְּיֶדְכּוֹן מַפְשׁוּטִיתָא דְּתַעֲנִיתָא וַעֲרָֽבְתָא דְיוֹמָא שְׁבִיעִייָא. וְרַבָּנִין דְּקֵיסָרִין אָֽמְרִין אַף הָדָא מַקְזְתָה. Rebbi Joḥanan said to Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: Babylonian, two things came from you, prostrating oneself on fast days56On fast days, the silent prayer after the Amidah was said lying on the floor (Avoda zarah 4:1, fol. 43d). In the parallel in Avodah zarah it is added that in prostrating oneself outside the Temple one may not have one’s face downward but must turn it sideways. From the Yerushalmi it seems that the Sephardic custom to prostrate oneself only on Yom Kippur is the original one; the Ashkenazic custom which permits prostrating also on New Year’s Day is secondary. and the willow of the seventh day57On the seventh day of Tabernacles, one uses willow twigs in the prayers for winter rains. In Sukkah.44a">Babli Sukkah 44a, R. Joḥanan states that this is a Babylonian custom, instituted by the prophets of the exile, in remembrance of the procession in the Temple around the altar surrounded by willow twigs.. The rabbis of Caesarea say, and the moving58According to J. Levy, the word is derived from קזז “to push aside, to move”. The commentaries take the word to be derived from מקיז “to bleed”. Bleeding was no Babylonian medical specialty and Levy’s interpretation is supported by the text in Sukkah which adds that in computing the calendar one may move New Year’s Day to protect the ceremony of the willow (which is impossible on a Sabbath) in preference to enabling the blowing of the shofar on New Year’s day..
תַּנֵּי נְטִיעָה מֵעֵין עֶשֶׂר וּזְקֵינָה מֵעֵין שָׁלֹשׁ. אִתָא חֲמֵי נְטִיעָה שֶׁהִיא נִרְאֵית כִּזְקֵינָה אַתְּ נוֹתֵן לָהּ כִּזְקֵינָה וְאַתְּ אָמַר נְטִיעָה מֵעֵין עֶשֶׂר. אָמַר רִבִּי חוּנָה מַהוּ מֵעֵין עֶשֶׂר שֶׁאֵין נְטִיעָה מֵעֵין שָׁלֹשׁ. שֶׁלֹּא תֹאמַר שָׁלֹשׁ נְטִיעוֹת שֶׁהֵן עוֹשׂוֹת כְּעֶשֶׂר שֶׁאֵינָן עוֹשׂוֹת. וְדִכְװָתָהּ שָׁלֹשׁ זְקֵינוֹת שֶׁהֵן עוֹשׂוֹת כְּעֶשֶׂר שֶׁאֵינָן עוֹשׂוֹת לְפוּם כֵּן צָרִיךְ מֵימַר נְטִיעָה מֵעֵין עֶשֶׂר. It was stated59Tosephta Ševi‘it 1:2: “An old tree appearing like a sapling is a sapling, a sapling appearing like an old tree is an old tree. What is the difference between a sapling and an old tree? An old tree until Pentecost, a sapling until the New Year. An old tree by the rule of three, a sapling by the rule of ten.” An old tree looking like a sapling is one which was cut down and now new growth rises from the stump. The rule of three is one requiring a talent of yield, the rule of ten requires ten saplings on a bet seah but no yield at all.: “A sapling by the rule of ten and an old tree by the rule of three.” Come and see, a sapling appearing like an old tree60A sapling yielding a third of a talent of fruit. you consider as an old tree; and you say a sapling by the rule of ten? Rebbi Ḥuna said, what means “by the rule of ten”? That a sapling does not follow the rule of three61he next sentence explains what is meant.. That you should not say, three producing saplings are like ten non-producing ones62That one may plough the betseah until New Year’s Day following the rule of saplings. and, similarly, three producing old ones63These “old ones” are the saplings producing adult yield; one should not say that since the entire bet seah may be ploughed because of these three, one applies to them the leniencies of old trees (3 trees per bet seah) and saplings (ploughing until New Year’s day.) Explanation of this paragraph follows R. Eliahu Fulda and R. Saul Lieberman. are like ten non-producing ones. Therefore, it is necessary to say: “A sapling by the rule of ten.”
שְׂדֵה קָנִים נִידּוֹנוֹת כִּשְׂדֵה תְבוּאָה. רִבִּי אַבָּהוּ בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹסֵה בַּר חֲנִינָה בְּסָאתִים שָׁנוּ. “A field of reeds is judged64Probably one should read נידונית instead of נידונות. like a field of grain65In Tosephta 1:2: “A field of reeds is judged like saplings.” For reeds grown as commercial crops, cf. Demay Chapter 6, Notes 100–101. R. Abbahu has to explain the difference between the baraita quoted in the text and the Tosephta by restricting the baraita to a very special case. Fields of grain can be ploughed only until Passover (Mishnah 2:1)..” Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina: This was taught about dispersed ones66The translation (and the vocalization of סאתים) are offered tentatively. The classical commentators read סְאָתַיִם “two seah” which they take unidiomatically to mean “two batte seah” and give widely divergent interpretations, none of which is convincing. R. S. Lieberman recognized that סאתים must describe some special kind of reeds used commercially; R. Abbahu recognizes that in general reeds follow the rules of the Tosephta. Lieberman tentatively suggests to derive the word from Syriac סתא, סאתא “vine, stem, branch” (Payne-Smith p. 2754). I am suggesting, equally tentatively, to derive the word from Arabic שתּ, שתּא “to be dispersed, strewn about”, meaning that the reeds in question do not grow tightly packed..
לֵית הָדָא פְלִיגָא עַל שְׁמוּאֵל דִּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר בַּעֲשׂוּיִין שׁוּרָה. תַּמָּן עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהֵן מְפוּזָּרוֹת בְּתוֹךְ בֵּית סְאָה אַתְּ רוֹאֶה אוֹתָהּ כְּאִילּוּ מְלֵאָה בְּרַם הָכָא כּוּלָּן נְתוּנִין בְּמָקוֹם אֶחָד. Does this not contradict Samuel, since Samuel said, even when they form a line67In Sheviit 2:2:4" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Sheviit.2.2.4">Halakhah 2 (Note 20), Samuel declares that three trees free the entire bet seah if they are planted in a straight line. In Mishnah 7, ten saplings in a straight line do not free the entire bet seah but only four cubits around them. It was shown in Halakhah 2 that the rule of Samuel applies only if the trees are planted in the middle of the field and one has half a bet seah on each side. It is now asserted that Mishnah 7 presupposes that the saplings are not planted in a regular pattern.. There, since they are dispersed in abet seah you consider it as if it were full, but here they are all at one place.