Talmud do Kelim 17:3

MISHNAH: If somebody trains a vine over part of a papyrus³⁸Definition of the Gaonic commentary to Kelim 17.3. Some sources here and in Kelim have אפפיריו, a medieval commentator writes הפיפיריות. The latter reading, seeing in the prothetic א the definite article ה, is supported by the Halakhah which uses פיפור, פיפר and the similar reading of most commentaries in Kelim. Most moderns see in the word a form of Greek πάπυρος (but this fits better with Tosephta Kelim b.m. 5:15, כלי פפיר “paper vessels”.) According to the Geonim, one takes rope from papyrus leaves (according to Maimonides, the reeds themselves) and puts them crosswise into a frame in order to form a platform that will be supported by posts. Sources confirming the use of papyrus rope in Antiquity are adduced by Loew in Krauss’s Dictionary, s. v. פיפור.
{In view of the formal parallelism between “part of a papyrus” and “part of a futile tree”, “part of a fig tree”, one might also take papyrus as a living plant, rather than a rope or mat of papyrus fibers.
Papyrus antiquorum, mostly perennial grassy plants cultivated throughout the ancient world, had multiple commercial uses: e. g., Cyperus esculentus with edible, oil-rich bulbs (Bulbuli Trasi,Dulcinia), Cyperus officinalis, used medically, Cyperus textilis, used in basket-weaving and paper manufacture. A papyrus plant growing near a vine would therefore also make sense in a discussion of kilaim. (E. G.)}, he should not sow under the rest, but if he did, it does not become sanctified³⁹It is clear from the last sentence in the Mishnah that one speaks here of a single vine, not a vineyard or a trellis of five vines. Therefore, only a minimal distance has to be kept from the stem of the vine. Since the vine will expand, and the area below the part of the papyrus not covered by the branches and leaves of the vine is certainly more than a cubit away from the stem and can be used for other crops. However, if either the sown plants or the vine expand so that now parts of the plants are directly under the vine, the plants become forbidden. A prudent farmer, therefore, will not even start sowing close to the vine.. If the new growth expands it becomes forbidden. The same applies to one who trains over parts of a futile tree⁴⁰In modern Hebrew, the term means “non-fruit-bearing tree” and סרק (2) has the general connotation of “useless, abortive”. [סרק (1) means “to comb”.] The word may be derived from the root that appears as Arabic סרק, Assyrian שרק, “to rob” (as in Saracen), a tree which robs the farmer of his labor if he would tend it. It is clear from the next Mishnah that a tree bearing cheap fruit is also אילן סרק. Because it does not bear high quality fruit, it has the same status as a rope or a beam..
If somebody trains a vine over part of a fruit tree he may sow under the rest. If new grows expands, he must move it⁴¹He must move the vine to reestablish the required separation..
It happened that Rebbi Joshua visited Rebbi Ismael from Kefar Aziz⁴²This is the reading of the Leyden ms. and the texts dependent on it. All other Mishnah texts have: “Rebbi Joshua visited Rebbi Ismael at Kefar Aziz”, לכפר instead of מכפר. In that case, the host is R. Ismael (ben Elisha), the student of R. Joshua, who should have known his teacher’s opinion. It therefore seems likely that the Yerushalmi version is superior and the host is a minor figure mentioned only here. The paragraph establishes the previous Mishnah as R. Joshua’s.. He showed him a vine trained over parts of a fig tree and asked, may I sow under the rest? He told him, it is permitted. He took him from there to the armory and showed him a vine trained over part of a beam and a sycamore stump on which were many beams. He said to him, under that one beam it is forbidden, the rest is permitted.
What is a futile tree? One which does not bear fruit. Rebbi Meïr says, every tree is futile except olive and fig trees. Rebbi Yose says, a futile tree is one of which one does not plant entire orchards.