| פרק ד - משנה ט | |
| הנוטע את כרמו | If one plants his vineyard |
| על שש עשרה שש עשרה אמה | sixteen (אמות), sixteen אמות (i.e. sixteen אמות between each row) |
| מותר להביא זרע לשם | it is permissible to plant seeds there (in the gaps, less a six טפח buffer for each row) |
| אמר רבי יהודה | R' Yehuda said |
| מעשה בצלמין | it happened in Tzalmon |
| באחד שנטע את כרמו | by one who planted his vineyard |
| על שש עשרה שש עשרה אמה | sixteen (אמות), sixteen אמות (between each row) |
| והיה הופך שיער | and he turned the foliage |
| שתי שורות לצד אחד | of two rows to one side |
| וזורע את הניר | and he planted in the plowed area |
| ובשנה האחרת | and in the following year |
| היה הופך את השיער | he turned the foliage |
| למקום אחר | to another place |
| וזורע את הבור | and he planted in the barren area (i.e. the are where the foliage had previously covered) |
| ובא מעשה לפני חכמים והתירו | and the incident came before the Sages and they permitted it |
| רבי מאיר ורבי שמעון אומרים | R' Meir and R' Shimon say |
| אף הנוטע את כרמו | even if one planted his vineyard |
| על שמונה שמונה אמות | eight (אמות), eight אמות |
| מותר | it is permissible |
| פרק ה - משנה א | |
| כרם שחרב | A vineyard that was destroyed |
| אם יש בו ללקט | if there can be collected in it |
| עשר גפנים לבית סאה | ten vines to a בית סאה |
| ונטועות כהלכתן | and they are planted properly |
| הרי זה נקרא כרם דל | this is called a poor vineyard |
| כרם שהוא נטוע ערבוביה | and a vineyard that is planted in a jumble |
| אם יש בו לכוון שתיים כנגד שלוש | if it is possible to align two [vines] opposite three [vines |
| הרי זה כרם | then it is a vineyard |
| ואם לאו אינו כרם | and if not it is not a vineyard |
| רבי מאיר אומר | R' Meir says |
| הואיל והוא נראה כתבנית הכרמים | since it appears like the construction of a vineyard |
| הרי זה כרם | it is a vineyard |
NOTES
פרק ד משנה ט
מותר להביא זרע לשם - Due to the distance between the rows, they do not combine to form a vineyard, and so need not be given the wider berth that a vineyard requires.
והיה הופך שיער - Even if one plants the requisite distance from a vine, it is still forbidden to plant under its foliage; to maximize his available space, this grower would train the vines from two adjacent rows to cover the space between them, and leave the space outside of them free for his other crops; to leave land fallow for a year and keep it from being depleted, he would reverse the direction he trained the vines every year, and plant in the land that had previously been under the vines while resting the land that had previously been planted.
פרק ה משנה א
כרם שחרב - This is a vineyard from which a great amount of vines have been destroyed or removed, it differs from קרחת הכרם in that a כרם שחרב has vines removed from all parts of the vineyard, while by קרחת הכרם vines have been removed from the center only.
ונטועות כהלכתן - According to the רע"ב, רא"ש and ר"ש, this means that they are planted within sixteen, but not less than four, אמות from each other. The רע"ב says that they are שתים כנגד שתים ואחת יוצאה זנב, two pairs opposite each other and one extending like a tail (see פרק ד משנה ו); the רא"ש and ר"ש say that all ten must fit such an arrangement, and provide the following diagram, in which white circles represent uprooted vines, and black circles represent remaining vines:
| ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ● | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ |
| ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ |
| ○ | ○ | ● | ○ | ● | ○ | ● | ○ | ○ |
| ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ |
| ● | ○ | ● | ○ | ● | ○ | ● | ○ | ● |
| ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ |
| ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ● | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ |
The
תפארת ישראל notes that the משנה contains nothing to suggest that the surviving vines must be between sixteen and four אמות from each other, and notes that the רמב"ם and שולחן ערוך do not require it.הרי זה נקרא כרם דל - Although 'poor', it still has the status of a vineyard, and other plants may not be grown within its bounds. The משנה ראשונה points out how this differs from קרחת הכרם where, due to that arrangement's clear and orderly delineations of where the vineyard starts and ends other seeds may be planted in the cleared space, as opposed to the case of our משנה, where even in corners of the vineyard no longer encompassed by vines, foreign seeds may not be planted.
כרם שהוא נטוע ערבוביה - The vines in this arrangement are not planted in rows, but rather in a more random arrangement.
אם יש בו לכוון שתיים כנגד שלוש - This can be done by stretching a string from trunk to trunk (the placement of branches are not relevant for this measure, which follows the trunks of the vines).
נראה כתבנית הכרמים - The תפארת ישראל seems to address the problem of how exactly these appear כתבנית הכרמים by saying that there are multiple rows in a jumble (דהיינו שורות שורות אפ' בערבוביא). One interpretation of this is that the rows run parallel north to south, but their vines are not aligned east to west; it is also possible that the תפארת ישראל meant to say that the vines are arranged in rows, but the rows run in different directions (e.g. due north, north-by-northwest, southeast), or can perhaps even be curved.
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