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עד אימתי. שדה הלבן – a field of grain and pulse/beans where there is no tree in it.

Introduction After having completed its discussion of the rules governing plowing the orchard in the sixth year, the Mishnah turns its attention to the grain field, called in the mishnah a “white field” probably due to its whitish appearance.

הליחה – moisture of the ground on account of the rains.

Until when may they plow a white field in the sixth year? Until the moisture has dried up in the soil, or as long as men still plow in order to plant cucumbers and gourds. According to the first opinion, one may plow a grain field in the sixth year up until the later of one of two points. Either until the moisture of the ground that the rain produced has been dried up. This would be some time usually after Pesah, when it stops raining in Israel. Alternatively, as long as people are still plowing in order to plant cucumbers or gourds, two plants which require a lot of water. After this point, the plowing is assumed to be for the sabbatical year and it is prohibited.

מקשאות ומדלעות (late vegetables or fruits) – cucumbers and gourds, but from then and onward, it appears like repairing his field for the needs of the Seventh year.

Rabbi Shimon said: in that case you are placing the law in the hands of each man! Rather in the case of a white field until Pesah, and in the case of an orchard until Atzeret (. Rabbi Shimon voices an interesting complaint about the previous opinion. Rabbi Shimon seems to believe that halakhah should not be dependent upon the practices of the individual, which could vary greatly from place to place. Rather they should be dependent on an absolute date, one common to all. They therefore say that the grain field may be plowed only until Pesah and like Bet Hillel in mishnah one above, the orchard may be plowed only until Shavuot. I should note that this seems to be somewhat of a general trend in many areas of halakhah. What were once dependent on variant practices, ages, customs etc., later become standardized so that the halakhah is observed uniformly in all places. As far as why there is a difference between the two fields and why plowing the grain field ends earlier than the plowing of the orchard, the Yerushalmi explains that the grain field needs a lot more irrigation. Since it won’t rain much after Pesah, plowing won’t really help that year’s crop after Pesah. The orchard requires less water and the plowing is only to help convey what little water there is to the tree. Therefore, the deadline for plowing is a little later.

נתת תורת כל אחד בידו – this one says that the moisten was used up within my own, and that one says that the moistness was not used up within my own.

אלא בשדה לבן – for he would ultimately sow it after the plowing and he needs to have most of its moistness existing , they do not plow other than until Passover.

ושדה אילן – which is planted already and there is no need that it most if of its moistness exists, for they don’t plow it other than in order that the rains will fall in the depths of the bground, therefore, they plow it until Shavuot/Atzeret. But all of these Mishnayot are superseded as we stated above in the first chapter, for Rabban Gamaliel and his court resolved about these two periods which are Passover and Atzeret/Shavuot and nullified them, and it is permitted to plow until Rosh Hashanah of the Seventh Year.