משנה: לֹא יִפְתַּח אָדָם מַחְצֵב בִּתְחִילָּה לְתוֹךְ שָׂדֵהוּ עַד שֶׁיְּהוּ שָׁם שָׁלֹשׁ מוֹרְבִיּוֹת שֶׁהֵן שָׁלֹשׁ עַל שָׁלֹשׁ עַל רוּם שָׁלֹשׁ שִׁיעוּרִין עֶשְׂרִים וְשֶׁבַע אֲבָנִים. גֶּדֶר שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ עֶשֶׂר אֲבָנִים שֶׁל מַשּׂוּי שְׁנַיִם שְׁנַיִם הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ יִנָּֽטְלוּ. שִׁיעוּר גֶּדֶר עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים פָּחוֹת מִכֵּן מַחְצֵב וְגוֹמְמוֹ עַד פָּחוֹת מִן הָאָרֶץ טֶפַח. בְּמַה דְבָרִים אֲמוּרִים מִתּוֹךְ שֶׁלּוֹ אֲבָל מִתּוֹךְ שֶׁל חֲבֵירוֹ מַה שֶׁהוּא רוֹצֶה יִטּוֹל. בְּמַה דְבָרִים אֲמוּרִים בִּזְמָן שֶׁלֹּא הִתְחִיל בּוֹ מֵעֶרֶב שְׁבִיעִית. אֲבָל אִם הִתְחִיל בּוֹ מֵעֶרֶב שְׁבִיעִית מַה שֶׁהוּא רוֹצֶה יִטּוֹל. MISHNAH: Nobody should start a quarry inside his field55If he has rock inside his field and wants to quarry it to level it so its place can be covered with earth and used for agriculture the next year, he should not do it in the Sabbatical year unless he started to quarry in the preceding year. A heap consists of three rows of three stones each. unless there were three heaps of three by three standard stones56The Halakhah will explain that a standard building stone is four hand-breadths wide., 27 stones in all.
A stone wall containing ten stones, each a load for two carriers, may be taken away. The measure of a stone wall is ten hand-breadths. Less than that is a quarry; he may cut it down to a distance of less than a hand-breadth from the soil.
That is, from his own68In the Mishnah codices, this is part of Mishnah 5 and refers to it. Stones are not abandoned in the Sabbatical, and one must pay for the stones he takes from another’s property.. But from another person’s, he may take what he wants. That is, if he did not start it69Dismantling the stone wall. before the Sabbatical year. But if he started it before the Sabbatical year, he may take what he wants.
הלכה: הֵיךְ עֲבִידָא תְּלָתָא זִימְנִין מִן תֵּשַׁע תִּשְׁעָה זִימְנִין מִן תְּלָת עֶשְׂרִין וְשֶׁבַע. HALAKHAH: How is this? Three times nine, nine times three, 27.
תַּנֵי מַחְצֵב שֶׁבֵּינוֹ לְבֵין חֲבֵירוֹ וּפָתַח בּוֹ חֲבֵירוֹ בְּהֵיתֵר מוּתָּר. וְאִם הָֽיְתָה רֵיקָה אָסוּר. It was stated: If there was a quarry between him and his neighbor and the neighbor had started to quarry it when it was permitted, this is permitted. But if it was empty of stones57If the neighbor already had flattened his part of the rock and cleaned out his part, there is no preexisting quarry. it is forbidden.
תַּמָּן תַּנִינָן הַזִּיז מֵבִיא אֶת הַטּוּמְאָה בְּכָל־שֶׁהוּא הַגִּזְרָה וְהַגּוֹבְלִית בְּפוֹתֵחַ טֶפַח. אָמַר רִבִּי חִייָה בַּר בָּא הָדָא אָֽמְרָה זֶה שֶׁהוּא מְקַבֵּל נִדְבָּךְ מֵחֲבֵירוֹ צָרִיךְ לַעֲשׂוֹת לוֹ אַרְבָּעָה טְפָחִים כְּדֵי מָקוֹם. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי מַתְנִיתָא אָֽמְרָה כֵן וּבְמָה אָֽמְרוּ הַזִּיז מֵבִיא אֶת הַטּוּמְאָה בְּכָל־שֶׁהוּא בְּזִיז שֶׁהוּא גָבוֹהַּ מִן הַפֶּתַח שְׁלֹֹשָׁה נִדְבָּכִין שֶׁהֵן שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר טֶפַח. וְלָמָּה תַנִינָן נִדְבָּכִין לְמִדַּת הַדִּין. There58Mishnah Ahilut 14:1. Tractate Ahilut deals with the impurity brought on anything in a “tent” by a corpse in that tent (Numbers.19">Num. 19). Any person or vessel under one roof with the corpse becomes impure; cf. Kilayim 6:2:2" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Kilayim.6.2.2">Kilaim Chapter 6, Note 25., we have stated: “Any moulding59A moulding is defined as a frieze along the outer wall of a house which is u-shaped downwards. The outer rim of the frieze points downward; its prolongation is considered a virtual wall closing off the house; anything between this virtual wall and the house itself is considered as part of the “tent”. brings impurity, the frieze60The “frieze” is u-shaped upwards; the bottom of the frieze contributes to the “tent” only if it is substantial, if it extends at least one hand-breadth outside the wall of the house. [and] the Giblean frieze61In the style of the city of Byblos, Hebrew גבל Arabic جبايل. The Tosephta Ahilut defines this as a frieze u-shaped upwards at its ends and flat in the middle; this definition is accepted by the Gaonic commentary to Ahilut. [only] when they are open one hand-breadth.” Rebbi Ḥiyya sayd, that means that anybody who receives a row of building stones from another person must prepare for it a space of four hand-breadths62The proof is from the part of the Mishnah quoted by R. Yose. The 12 hand-breadths mentioned are a maximum height; friezes higher than 12hand-breadths above the door (according to Maimonides, above the doorstep) are disregarded.. Rebbi Yose said, the Mishnah says so: “When did they say that any moulding brings impurity? For a moulding higher than the door by three rows of stones which is twelve hand-breadths.” Why did they state “rows of stones?” For the legal standard63For the rules of impurity, the mention of the rows of stones is superfluous..
רִבִּי חִייָא בַּר בָּא שָׁאַל אִילֵּין שִׁיעוּרַיָּא כְּאִינּוּן שִׁיעוּרַיָּא. רִבִּי חִזְקִיָּה רִבִּי יַעֲקֹב בַּר אָחָא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן חֲנִינָא אִילֵּין שִׁיעוּרַיָּא כְּאִינּוּן שִׁיעוּרַיָּא. הָכָא אַתְּ אָמַר שִׁיעוּר גֶּדֶר עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים פָּחוֹת מִיכֵּן מַחְצֵב וְכֹא אַתְּ אָמַר הָכֵין. מַה נָן קַייָמִין אִם כְּשֶׁהָיוּ שְׁנֵי נִדְבָּכִין נִיתְנֵי שְׁמוֹנָה טְפָחִים. אִם כְּשֶׁהָיוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה נִיתְנֵי שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר טְפָחִים. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי צֵא חֲצִי טֶפַח לְסִיתּוּת מִיכָּן וַחֲצִי טֶפַח לְסִיתּוּת מִכָּאן וְכֵן לְחַבְרֵיהּ נִמְצָא שְׁלֹשָׁה נִדְבָּכִין שֶׁל עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים. פָּחוֹת מִיכֵּן אֵינוֹ לֹא גֶדֶר וְלֹא מַחְצֵב. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba asked, are these standards like those standards65May the commercial standard of stones indicated in Ahilut14:1 be applied to Ševi‘it?? Rebbi Ḥizqiah, Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina: These standards are like those standards. Here you say “the measure of a stone wall is ten hand-breadths, less than that is a quarry;” and there you say so? Where do we stand? If there were two rows of stones, one should state “eight hand-breadths”; if there were three one should state “twelve hand-breadths!” Rebbi Yose said, deduct half a hand-breadth for hewing top and bottom and so for the next row, one finds three rows of ten hand-breadths66The height of four hand-breadths is required in a standard contract only for unhewn stones.. Less than that is neither a stone wall nor a quarry67Unless the conditions of Mishnah 3 are satisfied..
תַּנֵּי אָמַר רִבִּי יוּדָה בְּמַה דְבָרִים אֲמוּרִים בִּזְמָן שֶׁלֹּא נִתְכַּװֵן לְתִיקּוּן שָׂדֵהוּ. אֲבָל אִם נִתְכַּװֵן לְתִיקּוּן שָׂדֵהוּ אֲפִילוּ יוֹתֵר מִיכֵּן מוּתָּר. אָמַר רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל בְּמַה דְבָרִים אֲמוּרִים בִּזְמָן שֶׁלֹּא נִתְכַּװֵן לְתִיקּוּן שָׂדֵהוּ. אֲבָל אִם נִתְכַּװֵן לְתִיקּוּן שָׂדֵהוּ אֲפִילוּ פָּחוֹת מִיכֵּן אָסוּר. אָמַר רִבִּי בִּיבִי הוֹרֵי רִבִּי יָסָא כְדוֹן תַּנְיָא לְקוּלָּא. We have stated70Tosephta 3:1–2: “Rebbi Jehudah said that is if he intended to improve his field; but if he did not intend to improve his field even more is permitted. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel said, that is if he did not intend to improve his field; but if he intended to improve his field anything is for bidden.” From Maimonides’s Code (Ševi‘it weYovel 2:8) it seems that he read in the Yerushalmi as in the Tosephta; R. Isaac Simponti quotes the Yerushalmi as in the Tosephta. From the silence of all Medieval commentators one may conclude that they all read the text of the Tosephta in the Yerushalmi. In the early Sixteenth Century, R. Joseph Caro had the text of the Yerushalmi as given here, as can be seen from his commentary to Maimonides (loc. cit.) Cf. Tosefta ki-fshtutah p. 512.: “Rebbi Jehudah said that is if he did not intend to improve his field; but if he intended to improve his field even more is permitted. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel said, that is if he did not intend to improve his field; but if he intended to improve his field even less is forbidden.” Rebbi Vivian said, Rebbi Assi taught following the Tanna who is lenient.