Introduction In this mishnah Rabbi Yose lists six cases in which Beth Shammai ruled more leniently than did Beth Hillel.
Rabbi Yose says: there are six instances of lenient rulings by Beth Shammai and stringent rulings by Beth Hillel.
A fowl may be put on a table [together] with cheese but may not be eaten [with it], according to the opinion of Beth Shammai. But Beth Hillel says: it may neither be put on [the table together with it] nor eaten [with it]. It is forbidden to place on one table both meat and cheese, lest by accident one come to eat them together. According to Beth Shammai this prohibition is with regards to meat (cow, lamb, sheep) only. Since eating fowl together with dairy is not forbidden according to the Torah, as is eating milk and meat, but rather fowl and dairy are forbidden only by Rabbinic law, the Rabbis were not so strict as to prevent one from putting them together on the same table. Beth Hillel says that even chicken and cheese are forbidden to be put on one table.
Olives may be given as terumah for oil and grapes for wine, according to the opinion of Beth Shammai. But Beth Hillel says: they may not be given. According to Beth Shammai, if a person has olive oil and raw olives, or wine and grapes from which he needs to separate terumah (which goes to the priest), he may give from the raw fruits (olives or grapes) and have that count as the terumah for the finished products (olive oil or wine). Although these things are in different form, since they are of the same type, one may give terumah from one for the other. Beth Hillel says that one may not do so.
One who sows seed [within] four cubits of a vineyard: Beth Shammai says: he has caused one row [of vines] to be prohibited. But Beth Hillel says: he has caused two rows to be prohibited. According to Deuteronomy 22:9 it is forbidden to plant a vineyard with other types of seed. If one does neither may be used. The Rabbis stated that one must leave four cubits between the vineyard and the planting of the seed. If one plants within this four cubits, according to Beth Shammai the fruit of the first row of the vineyard, the one next to the planted seeds, is forbidden to eat. According to Beth Hillel two rows are forbidden.
Flour paste [flour that had been mixed with boiling water]: Beth Shammai exempts [from the law of hallah]; But Beth Hillel pronounces it liable. According to Numbers 15:19 the first yield of bread baking must be given to the priests. This is called “hallah”, and it is observed by separating some of the dough and giving it to the priests. Our mishnah discusses flour that has been mixed with boiling water and thereby cooked with water instead of being baked. According to Beth Shammai since it was not baked it is exempt from the laws of hallah. Beth Hillel says that it is subject to these laws, and therefore one must give part of it to the priest.
One may immerse oneself in a rain-torrent, according to the opinion of Beth Shammai; But Beth Hillel say: one may not immerse oneself [therein]. Ritual baths are usually taken in a bath of water that is at least 40 seahs large. According to Beth Shammai, one may also bathe in a flow of rainwater, flowing down from the mountains. Although there is not 40 seahs in the specific place where he bathes, since from the beginning of the torrent up in the mountains, until its end in the valley there are certainly 40 seahs, he may make use of it as a ritual bath (mikveh). Beth Hillel says that he may not.
One who became a proselyte on the eve of Passover: Beth Shammai says: he may immerse himself and eat his Passover sacrifice in the evening. But Beth Hillel says: one who separates himself from uncircumcision is as one who separates himself from the grave. This mishnah discusses a new convert’s eating the Passover sacrifice, which cannot be eaten in a state of impurity. If he converted on the eve of Passover, according to Beth Shammai he may immerse and eat of the Passover sacrifice that very evening. According to Beth Shammai the convert is only impure by minor impurities, which dissipate at nightfall if the person took a ritual bath. However, Beth Hillel says that one who has just left the uncircumcised, meaning he was just circumcised, is like one who separates from the grave and is impure like one who came into contact with a dead body. This impurity lasts seven days, and therefore, one who converted on the eve of Passover will not be able to eat his Passover sacrifice that evening.