On ne peut pas attacher un cheval aux côtés d'un chariot [tiré par des bœufs] ou derrière [parce qu'ils aident le long], ni les ânes libyens [être attachés] à des chameaux. Rabbi Yehudah dit: Tous les descendants [d'un cheval] même s'ils sont engendrés par un âne sont autorisés [à être attelés] les uns avec les autres [parce qu'en ce qui concerne les kilayim, les femelles sont le facteur déterminant]. Tous les descendants d'un âne, même s'ils sont engendrés par un cheval, sont autorisés les uns avec les autres. Cependant, la progéniture d'un cheval avec la progéniture d'un âne est interdite entre elles.
English Explanation of Mishnah Kilayim
They may not tie a horse neither to the sides of a wagon [drawn by oxen] nor behind the wagon, nor [may they tie] a Libyan donkey to [a wagon drawn by] camels. There are really two laws in this section. First of all, the prohibition of kilayim includes tying an animal to the opposite side of a wagon drawn by a different species. One might have thought that since only the front animal is drawing the wagon, this does not create a situation of kilayim, therefore the mishnah teaches that it does. The other halakhah is that Libyan donkeys cannot be attached to a wagon drawn by camels. Obviously these are different species, so we might ask what the mishnah is teaching. Albeck explains that we might have thought that when attached to the same wagon these animals don’t really pull together, and hence it is not prohibited. Therefore, the mishnah teaches that even though this is not an effective work arrangement, it is nevertheless prohibited.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kilayim
Rabbi Judah says: all [mules] born from horses, even though their father is a donkey, are permitted one with another. Likewise [mules] born from donkey, even though their father is a horse, are permitted one with another. But [mules] born from a horse with [mules] born from donkeys are prohibited one with another. According to Rabbi Judah, when determining the species of an animal, we follow the mother, just as we do when determining the Jewishness of a human being. Thus the offspring of a female horse is a horse, even if its father was a donkey. Such a mule can be yoked with the offspring of a female horse and male horse. The same holds true in the opposite scenario. However, a mule born to a female horse and a mule born to a female donkey cannot be yoked together because they are of different species.
