Shabbat 85a — the Talmud in English

And the Rabbis established that five

types of seeds planted in a garden bed

in six

, meaning in an area six by six handbreadths and in the arrangement described,

do not draw nourishment from one another.

And we discussed this:

And from where do we know that what the Rabbis established

regarding the measure of the area from which a plant draws nourishment

is a valid matter?

That is, does this determination of the measure of nourishment have support in the Written Torah, or is it merely an estimate, so that one could question and remain uncertain whether it is in fact correct?

And we said: It has a source in the Written Torah.

From this

that Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yohanan said: As it is written

[Deuteronomy 19]

“You shall not move your fellow’s boundary,

by planting a tree next to your fellow’s boundary and weakening his land by having your tree draw nourishment from his soil,

which

the inhabitants of the land,

the first inhabitants,”—

The boundary that the first inhabitants established

by recognizing the area from which trees draw nourishment—

you shall not move.

What does “the first inhabitants established” mean?

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yohanan said:

What is the meaning of that which is written

[Genesis 36]

“These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabit the land”?

Is it so

, meaning,

does everyone

not inhabit the land, but rather

“are they inhabitants of the heavens”?

Rather

, the verse comes to teach

that they were experts in settling the land. They would say: Fill

the length of

this measuring reed

with soil

here

in this ground; that is a place suitable for growing, and it is the proper distance

for

the nourishment of an

olive tree.

The measure of this reed—

for vines; the measure of this reed—

for fig trees.

And “Horites”—

those who smelled the land,

and recognized which planting it was suitable for.

And “Hivites”—

Rav Pappa said: They would taste the

soil of

the land like a snake,

like a snake that licks soil, and they recognized its quality by its taste.

Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov said: “Horites”—

because they became “free men” of their property,

for they lost it to the descendants of Esau who conquered it.

Rav Asi said: The garden bed

that we mentioned, in which it is possible to plant five types of seeds, must have

its interior

—the garden bed itself—at least

six

by six handbreadths,

apart from its boundaries

around it. That is, this law of a garden bed applies only when it is arranged in the form of a garden bed, with clearly marked boundaries around it formed by an empty strip of soil. Then it is evident that there is no forbidden mixing of species here, but rather an orderly garden bed arranged with separate divisions for different seeds [see Ritva].

The boundaries of the garden bed must be outside the six handbreadths. If the boundaries are included within it, the garden bed itself will be only four handbreadths wide, and there will not be a space of three handbreadths between the surrounding seeds and the seed in the center.

It was taught in a baraita likewise:

A garden bed—

its interior is six

handbreadths.

Its boundaries—

how wide must they be?

Rashi explains that this refers to the width of the boundaries that gives the garden bed its legal status, in view of what will be explained below concerning the concept of a “head of a row” that projects from a garden bed or enters it and is not considered forbidden mixing of species. This concept will be explained below.

As we learned in the Mishna, Rabbi Yehuda says: The width

of the garden bed’s boundaries must be

the full width of a hoof

of a foot.

Rabbi Zeira said, and some say Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: What is the reason for Rabbi Yehuda’s opinion?

As it is written

[Deuteronomy 11]

“And you shall water it with your foot, like a garden of vegetables.”

Why does the verse say that one waters it with his foot? To tell you:

Just as a foot is one handbreadth,

so too the boundary

along which one walks around the garden bed in order to water it

is also one handbreadth.

Rav said:

This law of a

garden bed

we learned with regard to a ruin,

where there are no other garden beds around it,

we learned.

For if there are additional garden beds, the distance between the outermost seeds of the two adjacent garden beds will be only two handbreadths, corresponding to the width of the boundaries between them.

And they challenge this:

But there is the “place of the corners,”

the corners of these garden beds, which are not planted and separate the rows of the garden beds. One can arrange each row perpendicular to the row in the second garden bed, so that the distinction between them will be clearly visible.

The scholars of Rav’s academy said in Rav’s name: When one fills in the corners,

so that there is no sign at the place where they join.

And they challenge this: Why was Rav forced to establish the case as one in which the corners are filled in, and specifically in a ruin?

Let him plant on the outside,

outside the place of the corners,

and not fill in the inside,

and let him leave them unfilled.