Commentary for Kilayim 2:6
הָרוֹצֶה לַעֲשׂוֹת שָׂדֵהוּ מֵשָׁר מֵשָׁר מִכָּל מִין, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, שְׁלֹשָׁה תְלָמִים שֶׁל פָּתִיחַ. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, מְלֹא הָעֹל הַשָּׁרוֹנִי. וּקְרוֹבִין דִּבְרֵי אֵלּוּ לִהְיוֹת כְּדִבְרֵי אֵלּוּ:
If a man wishes to lay out his field in [straight] beds each sown with a different species, [how much space must he leave between the beds] Beit Shammai says, [the width of] three ridges on the furrowed field and Beit Hillel says, the width of a Sharon yoke [which is a wider than normal yoke]. The words of these and the words of those are very close to each other [there is not much difference between them].
English Explanation of Mishnah Kilayim
Introduction
This mishnah deals with a person who wants to plant his field in long rows, each row containing a different species. The mishnah describes how he might do this while avoiding the problem of kilayim.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Kilayim
One who wants to lay out his field in long straight rows each sown with a different species:
Bet Shammai says: three furrows of newly broken land. According to Bet Shammai he has to separate these rows with a gap the size of three furrows which are dug on newly planted land. When he separates the rows by this amount each row is considered to be its own field, since they are recognizably distinct. Alternatively, others interpret Bet Shammai to mean that each row must be of this width. When the rows are of this size, each is considered a separate field and hence, with even a small separation between the different rows, it will be recognizable that each row is a separate field.
Bet Shammai says: three furrows of newly broken land. According to Bet Shammai he has to separate these rows with a gap the size of three furrows which are dug on newly planted land. When he separates the rows by this amount each row is considered to be its own field, since they are recognizably distinct. Alternatively, others interpret Bet Shammai to mean that each row must be of this width. When the rows are of this size, each is considered a separate field and hence, with even a small separation between the different rows, it will be recognizable that each row is a separate field.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Kilayim
But Bet Hillel says: the width of a Sharon yoke. According to Bet Hillel, the rows must be separated by the width of the size of the yoke used in Sharon, the lowlands inside the coast of Israel. According to the other understanding, the rows must be of this width.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Kilayim
And the words of these are close to the words of these. The anonymous mishnah notes that there is not that great of a difference between the sizes of the furrows separating the rows (or the size of the rows) mentioned by Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy