R. Elazar b. Azaryah dice: Está prohibido hacer un amah [una zanja de riego (llamada así porque es un codo (amah) de ancho y un codo de alto)] ab initio en Chol Hamoed [(Si nunca estuvo allí, no se hace ab initio en Chol Hamoed, porque hacerlo implica un esfuerzo indebido)], y en shevi'ith, [porque da la impresión de que está cavando la tierra en shevi'ith]. Los sabios dicen: un amah puede hacerse ab initio en shevi'ith, y los defectuosos pueden repararse en Chol Hamoed [Si la tierra cayó e impidió el flujo, esto puede corregirse, pero ellos (el amoth) pueden no ser hecho ab initio en Chol Hamoed. La halajá está de acuerdo con los sabios.], Y las obstrucciones de agua en [bebederos] en el dominio público pueden limpiarse y ellos (los bebederos) pueden limpiarse [de guijarros, astillas y terrones que cayeron allí]. Y está permitido reparar las carreteras, las vías públicas y las mikva'oth, y atender todas las necesidades públicas. Y está permitido marcar tumbas [Desmenuzarían la cal y la derramarían sobre la tumba para servir de señal a los transeúntes de no pasar por un lugar de impureza.], Y también saldrían a buscar kilayim. [Los mensajeros de beth-din saldrían a ver si los campos habían sido sembrados con kilayim (mezclas prohibidas) y los desarraigarían. Porque recibieron su salario de las contribuciones de lishkah, y podrían ser contratados a bajo precio en Chol Hamoed, porque estaban inactivos en ese momento.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
האמה – trenches that they would make in the ground that in the water would travel around the field and from field to field, which are called אמה/river-arms, canals/channels, because they are one cubit wide at a depth of a cubit.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
Introduction
This mishnah continues to discuss irrigation on the festival and sabbatical year. It then proceeds to deal with the more general topic of repairing community property. As we shall see, this is another category that makes something more permitted during the intermediate days of the festival.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
בתחלה – if there never was one [before], we don’t make them ab initio on the Festival because of the trouble/labor.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says: they may not make a new water channel may not during the festival [week] or in the sabbatical year. But the sages say: they may make a new water channel during the sabbatical year, and they may repair broken ones during the festival. Making a new water channel involves digging and it is a considerable amount of work. Since it involves digging, it is similar to plowing and therefore Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah forbids it during the sabbatical year, a time when plowing is forbidden. Since it involves a substantial amount of work, he holds that it is forbidden during the festival. The sages agree that it is forbidden to make a new water channel during the festival, because this involves a lot of work. However, they allow repairing old water channels because this is less work. Also, new water channels should have been dug before the festival, whereas having to fixing broken ones was usually not anticipated. They also disagree with Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah concerning digging new water channels during the sabbatical year. Whereas he held it was similar to plowing they hold that it is different enough such that it is permitted.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
ובשביעית – because it would appear like digging in the ground during the Seventh Year.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
And they may repair impaired water works in the public domain, and clean them out. If water channels have become clogged with debris, they may be cleaned out during the festival, because this is both necessary and not a significant amount of work.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
ומתקנים את המקולקלת – if dirt fell into it and does not bring forth an uninterrupted flow, we repair it, but we don’t make it ab initio on the Festival. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
And they may repair roads, town squares and [ritual] pools, and they may do all public needs may be performed, and mark graves, and [inspectors] may go out to inspect kilayim (mixed. They are also allowed to fix the public roads and ritual baths, because these are significant public needs. In addition they were allowed to perform other public duties. In the time of the Mishnah, they would mark graves with lime so that priests, commanded to avoid becoming impure, could see where the graves were and avoid them. This could also be done on the festival. Finally, public inspectors were allowed to go out to inspect people’s fields that kilayim, forbidden mixtures of seeds were not growing there. This was an immediate need because once kilayim grow in one’s field, all of the crops become forbidden. The final section of the mishnah is contained word for word in Shekalim 1:1. For a fuller explanation, one that is appropriate to a slightly different context, look there.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
ומתקנים קלקולי המים – water that has entered in the indentations/holes to drink from them.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
וחוטטין – clean and dig and remove from inside them rocks and chips and sandy matter in grain that fell in them.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
ומציינין – make markings of graves that they would cleanse with plaster and pour on the grave, and it is a sign to those walking not to pass over a place of ritual uncleanness (see Mishnah Shekalim, Chapter 1, Mishnah 1).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
ויוצאין – agents of the Jewish court would go out to inspect the fields that were sown with mixed seeds and uproot them, because they take their compensation for this from the donations to the Temple treasury for congregational sacrifices, and on the days of the Festival, they are hired cheaply because they are idle [from work].
