Comentário sobre Baba Metzia 7:3

עד שיעשה בידיו ורגליו – Just as the ox with his hands and with its feet, so also the worker with his hands and with his feet, just as there is a juxtaposition between the one who muzzles and the muzzled [animal]. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yosi B’Rabbi Yehuda.

If one was working with his hands but not with his feet, with his feet but not with his hands, or even with his shoulders only, he still may eat. Rabbi Yose bar Rabbi Judah says, “Only if he works with both his hands and his feet.” According to the Talmud, the two opinions in this mishnah are based upon differing interpretations of Biblical verses. Rabbi Yose bar Rabbi Judah’s is based on the verse in Deuteronomy 25:4, “Do not muzzle and ox while he is threshing”. According to his interpretation of this verse just as an ox works with both its hands and his feet and therefore may eat from that with which it is working, so too a worker must work with both his hands and his feet. The anonymous opinion in section one is based upon the verse in Deuteronomy 23:25. There it states “When you come into your neighbor’s field…”. Since the verse does not specify that he was working with both hands and feet it implies that all workers may eat from the field.

Questions for Further Thought:
The issue of a person eating from things that belong to his employer is still an issue in modern society. How do our customs or laws compare to those in the time of the Talmud? Keep this question in mind as we learn the next several mishnayoth as well.