1)

(a)The Mishnah now discusses 'B'nos Shu'ach' - (a white-fig tree).

(b)When the Tana says that their Sh'mitah is the second year, he means that - the figs that turn into fruit in the Sh'mitah only ripen two years later ...

(c)... because the harvest lasts three years (see Tiferes Yisrael).

2)

(a)R. Yehudah gives the Sh'mitah of another species of fig called 'Parsa'os' (see Tiferes Yisrael) as Motza'ei Shevi'is - because its harvest season lasts two years and the figs that turn into fruit in the Sh'mitah only ripen the following year.

(b)The Chachamim said to him - the sole exception to the rule that Chazal stated was that of 'Bnos-Shu'ach' (see Tos. Yom-Tov & Tiferes Yisrael).

(c)The Halachah is - like the Chachamim.

3)

(a)The Tana now discusses storing 'Luf' - (a species of onion [see Tiferes Yisrael]) in the ground.

(b)The problem with this is - Mar'is ha'Ayin (because it appears as if one is planting them).

(c)To avoid the problem, R. Meir permits a minimum of two Sa'ah (twelve Kabin) of onions buried to a depth of at least three Tefachim. Three Tefachim - in order to minimize the area over which they are spread.

(d)The minimum amount of earth that must cover them is - one Tefach.

4)

(a)The Chachamim agree with the last specification, but are more lenient regarding the total amount of onions that may be stored and the minimum depth. The minimum ...

1. ... amount that may be stored is - four Kabin, to a minimum ...

2. ... depth of - one Tefach.

(b)Both opinions agree that the Luf must be buried in a location where people walk - to prevent it from growing.

(c)The Halachah is - like the Chachamim.

5)

(a)The leaves of Luf that grow in the Sh'mitah - are subject to Biy'ur in the eighth year, whereas the Luf itself (which tends to remain in the ground for a long period of time) is not (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)R. Eliezer now states that if the poor took the leaves of the Luf during the Sh'mitah - then they took them and there is nothing to discuss.

(c)The problem if they did not (and the entire vegetable is still intact) is - that what grew in the Sh'mitah and what grew in the eighth year have now intermingled.

6)

(a)R. Eliezer therefore obligates the owner to make a reckoning with the poor - by which he means that - the owner must assess the amount of leaves that grew in the Sh'mitah (before the time of Biy'ur arrived) and give it to the them.

(b)Specifically with the poor - because R. Eliezer holds like R. Yehudah, who will later rule that the poor are allowed to eat the Sh'mitah after the time of Biy'ur (but not the rich).

(c)R. Yehoshua says - that the poor have no claim on the owner ...

(d)... because he holds like R. Yossi, who maintains that neither the rich nor the poor may eat after ghe time of Biy'ur.

(e)The Halachah is - like R. Yehoshua (and R. Yossi).

7)

(a)The Mishnah now discusses a Luf of the sixth year that entered the S'mitah, Betzalim shel ha'Kitzonim and Pu'ah shel Idis, which all need to be uprooted (see Tos. Yom-Tov). 'Betzalim shel ha'Kitzonim' means either onions that were planted in the summer, or - summer onions (that are extremely dry).

(b)The Tana must be talking about plants that had fully grown in the sixth year - because it would be forbidden to uproot whatever grows in the Sh'mitah (since destroying Sh'mitah produce is prohibited [see Tos. Yom-Tov]).

(c)Beis Shamai require uprooting them with wooden spades; not with metal ones - because people will think that he is tilling his field in the Sh'mitah.

(d)Beis Hillel - permit using even metal spades (see Tos. Yom-Tov), and are not worried what people may think.

8)

(a)'Pu'ah shel Idis' is a red dye that grows in the form of a plant, 'shel Idis' - in good-quality land.

(b)Beis Shamai concede that Pu'ah shel Tzela'os may be uprooted with metal spades. 'Pu'ah shel Tzela'os' might be the equivalent of Idis shel Sala'os', in which case it means - Pu'ah that grows among the rocks.

(c)If it shared the same root as the word 'u'le'Tzela' (in the Pasuk in Terumah "u'le'Tzela ha'Mishkan") it would mean - 'the Pu'ah that grows at the side of the field.

(d)Either way, Beis Shamai's reason is - because it is uncommon to plant there (in which case there is no reason to decree because of 'Mar'is ha'Ayin')

9)

(a)On Motza'ei Shevi'is, R. Yehudah permits taking the Luf immediately. The Chachamim - require waiting the time it takes for what has grown that year to exceed what grew in the Sh'mitah (see Tos. Yom-Tov) ...

(b)... which, according to the Yerushalmi - is from Pesach and onwards.

(c)R. Yehudah will concede that taking other vegetables is only permitted on Motza'ei Shevi'is - from after Pesach ...

(d)... and the reason that he is more lenient with regard to Luf is - because, since in the Sh'mitah, one was obligated to uproot it in an unusual manner (as we explained), it was not commonly found in the eighth year, and so Chazal did not extend the decree till then.

(e)The Halachah is - like the Chachamim.

10)

(a)The Mishnah forbids a craftsman to sell various farming implements during the Sh'mitah - to anyone who is Chashud (suspect) of not adhering to the laws of Sh'mitah (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)These implements include a plow and all its accessories, as well as the yoke, the ...

1. ... 'Mizreh' - a winnowing board with which one winnows in the granary (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

2. ... 'Deker' - a kind of sharp metal peg with which one digs a hole in the ground.

11)

(a)The Tana permits however, selling a hand-scythe and a harvest-scythe (see Tos. Yom-Tov) to the same 'Chashud' - because it has uses that are permitted in the Sh'mitah (such as picking corn that is Hefker [see Tiferes Yisrael])

(b)He includes in this list - a wagon.

(c)The reason for this leniency is because it is possible to use all these implements to cut the crops in small amounts from Hefker produce and to transport it from the field to one's house in order to feed one's family (whereas the Torah only forbids collecting the crops in large quantities [see also Tos. Yom-Tov]).

12)

(a)The Mishnah permits a potter to sell five oil jars and fifteen wine-jars - (the amount that people tend to bring back from Hefker) even to someone who is suspect on not adhering to the laws of Sh'mitah.

(b)We are not afraid that he wants all the jars for either oil or wine - because the two kinds of jars are made of different kinds of clay.

(c)If the purchaser brings home more than that - the potter is permitted to sell him more ...

(d)... and we do not suspect him of having brought them from a guarded field.

13)

(a)The Tana permits selling forbidden vessels (see Tos. Yom-Tov) to ...

1. ... a Nochri in Eretz Yisrael, and to ...

2. ... a Yisrael in Chutz la'Aretz.

(b)We might have thought that the latter is forbidden, either because we are afraid that he may take them back to Eretz Yisrael or - because he might fill them with oil and wine that he imported from Eretz Yisrael (see also Tiferes Yisrael).

14)

(a)Beis Shamai forbid selling a person who is Chashud on Shevi'is a cow for plowing in the Sh'mitah. Beis Hillel - permit it ...

(b)... because we rely on the possibility that the cow will be Shechted (even though it is unlikely that it will [see Tos. Yom-Tov]).

(c)Beis Shamai maintain - that since one does not generally Shecht cows that are fit for plowing, one cannot rely on it (to remove the Isur of 'Lifnei Iver').

15)

(a)The Tana - permits selling him fruit that can be seeded in the seeding season.

(b)He permits ...

1. ... lending him a measuring vessel, even though he knows that he possesses a granary, and ...

2. ... changing money into small change, even though he knows that he has laborers.

(c)We might have thought that all of these are forbidden - because we suspect that he will use the fruit, the vessel and the money for the most likely purpose (which is forbidden).

(d)They are nevertheless, permitted - because we rely on the fact that he will eat the fruit, use the measuring vessel to measure corn for grinding, and changing the coins to meet other household needs.

16)

(a)The Mishnah permits a woman to lend her friend who is Chashud on Shevi'is a flour-sieve, because she may assume that she will use it to count money in it. She may also lend her ...

1. ... a sieve for sifting grain - because it can be used for sifting sand, whereas ...

2. ... a hand-mill can be used - for grinding dyes, and ...

3. ... an oven - for drying bundles of wet flax.

(b)However the Tana - forbids helping her to select the grain or grinding together with her (see Tiferes Yisrael).

(c)In connection with Ma'asros, the Tana - permits the wife of a Chaver ...

1. ... to lend her friend who is the wife of an Am ha'Aretz (whose produce is considered D'mai) a flour-sieve or a sieve for sifting grain (see Tos. Yom-Tov), and then ...

2. ... to help her to select the grain, grind and sift (see Tos. Yom-Tov) together with her ...

(d)... because most Amei-ha'Aretz separate Ma'asros.

17)

(a)The latter is forbidden to help her friend however - from the time that she adds water to the dough ...

(b)... because that is when it is ready for kneading, and it is from the kneading and onwards that the dough becomes Tevel for Chalah and becomes Tamei via the Am-ha'Aretz's vessels and - because it is forbidden to cause Chalah to become Tamei (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(c)Chazal permitted lending vessels and helping the Amei-ha'Aretz in the current cases (see Tos. Yom-Tov) - on the basis of Darkei Shalom.

18)

(a)The Mishnah ...

1. ... permits encouraging Nochrim to continue working the land in the Sh'mitah, but ...

2. ... forbids encouraging Yisre'elim to do so (as we learned above in the fourth Perek).

(b)They permitted using the Name of Hash-m to greet ...

1. ... people, and even to greet ...

2. ... the sinners mentioned earlier (see Tiferes Yisrael) ...

(c)... because of Darkei Shalom.