OPINIONS: The Mishnah says that one may plant up to five types of seeds in an Arugah (garden patch) which is six Tefachim long and six Tefachim wide, and one does not transgress the prohibition of Kil'ayim. How far apart must the different types of seeds be planted in one Arugah in order to be permissible? Since a discernible division is necessary between each type of seed, what distance serves to create this visible difference?

Moreover, does "Rosh Tor" ("the top of a triangle" which serves to indicate that the rows of seeds are indeed separate from each other, as a result of the contrast that it creates through the angle which appears when it runs into a row of seeds planted in a different direction) serve as an effective discernible division?

(a) RASHI maintains that since the seeds draw nourishment from the ground up to 1 1/2 Tefachim away, and since one plant's nourishment must be kept away from the nourishment of another type of plant, they must therefore be a total of three Tefachim away from each other. If, however, they are planted at angles to each other, the angle serves as a recognizable differentiation (because of "Rosh Tor") and one is permitted to sow two rows close to each other, even if the distance between them is less than three Tefachim.

(b) TOSFOS agrees that plants draw nourishment from the ground up to 1 1/2 Tefachim away, and that different types of plants must be kept three Tefachim away from each other. Tosfos argues with Rashi and maintains that the distinction of "Rosh Tor" is not utilized for rows of seeds within an Arugah (see Gemara, beginning of 85b). Tosfos therefore draws the original five-seed Arugah differently (see previous Insight, and Graphic #2).

(c) The RAMBAM in Perush ha'Mishnayos to Kil'ayim (3:1) and the BARTENURA explain, too, that the seeds draw nourishment from the ground 1 1/2 Tefachim away. However, they argue with Rashi and Tosfos and maintain that it is not necessary to keep two different types of plants from drawing nourishment from the same ground. It is necessary only to keep one plant from drawing nourishment from the other plant. Thus, they need to be separated by only 1 1/2 Tefachim. They also permit "Rosh Tor" within an Arugah (like Rashi, and not like Tosfos), and therefore they draw the Arugah differently (see Graphic #2).

(d) The RASH in Kil'ayim (3:1) also explains that the plant draws nourishment from 1 1/2 Tefachim away and that it must be distanced only from the other plant itself. However, he does not permit "Rosh Tor" within an Arugah (see Grahpic #2).

(e) The VILNA GA'ON says that whenever an Arugah is filled with one type of seed (that covers the entire six-by-six-Tefach area of the Arugah), it is permitted to plant other types of seeds on the outer sides of the Arugah (leaving the corners fallow). A fully-planted Arugah is in itself a distinguishing indication that this patch was planted separate from the rows of seeds around it (because a six-by-six-Tefach tract of land is a separate piece of land that is normally planted by itself). (See Graphic #2)

(NOTE: All of the pictures printed in our edition of the Gemara are slightly in error. See Girsa section of Background to the Daf, and Graphics #2 and #3.)

OPINIONS: The Gemara asks that if one digs a "Telem" through the Arugah and thereby covers the length of the entire Arugah, is it "Mevatel the Shurah" or not? The answer to the question is left as a dispute between Rav Sheshes and Rav Ashi.

What is a "Telem," and what does it mean to be "Mevatel Shurah"?

(a) RASHI explains that a furrow ("Telem") was dug straight through the middle of the Arugah, from one edge to the other. The question of the Gemara is whether this furrow is "Mevatel the Shurah," meaning the laws of Arugah, so that it will no longer be considered an Arugah in order to be permitted to plant five species of seeds there.

Rashi adds that seeds are planted in that furrow. This is problematic. If the furrow is being planted it is certainly forbidden to make the furrow in the first place, because it is forbidden to plant more than five types of seeds in the Arugah! It must be that Rashi understands that the furrow was dug deeply into the ground, and since the seeds there grow on the bottom of the furrow, below the level of the other seeds in the Arugah, it is considered to be apparent that those seeds were planted separately from the other seeds in the Arugah.

A field is land in which furrows are dug, while an Arugah is land which is sown directly, without the need to dig furrows. The question of the Gemara is whether the digging of this furrow converts this piece of land from a garden patch into a field. (It is not clear exactly what it is about the furrow that turns this Arugah into a field. The reason why the Arugah is now considered a field seems to be because the seeds are now placed into a deep cut in the ground, and they are not simply planted in the level ground from one end of the Arugah to the other.)

(b) TOSFOS explains that the discussion of the Gemara is unrelated to a furrow that is dug and sown in the Arugah. Rather, the question of the Gemara involves a furrow that is dug around the Arugah and is a Tefach deep. Does that furrow create a significant distinction to permit planting another Arugah next to this Arugah, without the need for any additional space between the two?

The "Shurah" refers to the "Telem," or the ditch itself. The Gemara asks whether that Shurah is Batel (as if it does not exist) because of the Arugah, or if that Shurah is not Batel and therefore serves to separate the Arugah from an adjacent Arugah.