Si quelqu'un a reçu un champ de son voisin pendant quelques années, [moins de sept ans], il ne peut pas le semer avec du lin, [car les graines de lin affaiblissent considérablement le sol et ses racines restent dans le sol pendant sept ans], et il a non (privilèges de coupe) dans le tronc d'un sycomore, [un figuier sauvage, dont les branches sont coupées pour des poutres.] S'il l'a reçu de lui pendant sept ans, la première année il peut le semer avec du lin, et il a ( privilèges de coupe) dans le tronc d'un sycomore. [Le sycomore est un figuier sauvage dont les branches sont coupées en poutres. Une fois coupées, elles repoussent, mais en moins de sept ans, elles ne peuvent pas être transformées en poutres. Par conséquent, s'il l'a reçu pendant moins de sept ans, il ne peut pas le couper pour des poutres, ne l'ayant pas reçu à cet effet. Car dans quelques années, ils ne pourront plus repousser (pour convenir) aux poutres. Mais s'il l'a reçu pendant sept ans, la première année, il peut le semer avec du lin, et il peut couper le sycomore qui y est.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
לשנים מועטות – less than seven years.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia
Introduction
Mishnah nine states some legal differences with regards to the rights of a sharecropper who receives a field for less than seven years versus one who receives the field for more than seven years.
Mishnah ten deals with the issue of including the sabbatical year in the rental agreement.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
לא יזרענה פשתן – for flax weakens the land a great deal and its roots remain in the land until seven years.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia
If one leased a field from his fellow for but a few years he may not sow flax and he has no right to cut beams from the sycamore tree. If he leased it for seven years he may sow flax the first year and he has a right to cut beams from the sycamore tree. When one rents a field he is expected to return the field and everything in it to its owner in a state similar to that that in which he received it. If he were to sow the field with flax which damages the soil and then return the field, the field would still bear the damage of the flax. Therefore, if he wishes to plant flax he must plant it at least seven years before the end of the rental agreement. If he rents the field, therefore, for seven years, he may plant flax during the first year. Similarly, he must return the trees that were on the field in the same condition in which he received them. If he were to cut down the thick branches of the sycamore, they would take a long time to grow back. Therefore, he may only cut down these types of branches if there are seven years left before the end of the rental agreement.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
ואין לו בקורת שקמה – it is the wood of a fig-tree of the forest. And we cut its branches for beans of the building and they continue to grow, but for less than seven years, one does not make beams. Therefore, acceptance [of a lease] for less than seven years, he cannot cut down beams on it, for it is not the intention that beams come down, for in a few years, they do not restore the beams. But if he accepted [a lease] for seven years, the first year, he can sow flax and cut down the sycamore that is in it.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia
Questions for Further Thought: • Mishnah Nine: If one were to rent a field for ten years when could he sow flax and cut down branches of the sycamore tree?
