משנה: קָרַחַת הַכֶּרֶם בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה. מָחוֹל הַכֶּרֶם בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה. וְאֵי זוּ הִיא קָרַחַת הַכֶּרֶם כֶּרֶם שֶׁחָרֵב מֵאֶמְצָעוֹ אִם אֵין שָׁם שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה לֹא יָבִיא זֶרַע לְשָׁם. הָיוּ שָׁם שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה נוֹתְנִין לָהּ עֲבוֹדָתָהּ וְזוֹרֵעַ אֶת הַמּוֹתָר. וְאֵי זֶהוּ מָחוֹל הַכֶּרֶם בֵּין כֶּרֶם לְגֶדֶר. אִם אֵין שָׁם שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה אָמַּה לֹא יָבִיא זֶרַע לְשָׁם. הָיוּ שָׁם שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה אָמַּה נוֹתְנִים לָהּ עֲבוֹדָתוֹ וְזוֹרֵעַ אֶת הַמּוֹתָר. רִבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר אֵין זֶה אֶלָּא גֶדֶר הַכֶּרֶם וְאֵי זֶהוּ מָחוֹל הַכֶּרֶם הַכֶּרֶם בֵּין שְׁנֵי כְרָמִים. וְאֵי זֶהוּ גֶדֶר שֶׁהוּא גָּבוֹהַּ עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים. וְחָרִיץ שֶׁהוּא עָמוֹק עֲשָׂרָה וְרָחַב אַרְבָּעָה. MISHNAH: A bald spot in a vineyard1Here start the rules for kilaim in a vineyard, where the rules have to be more strict than for fields since other crops in a vineyard make everything “sanctified”. For a biblical basis of the treatment of a partially dead vineyard, cf. Chapter 7, Note 44.
A dried-up vineyard cannot be successfully replanted unless lupines and other nitrogen-enriching plants grow there for a few years. The vintner will want to sow these plants as soon as possible.
Instead of interpreting קרחת הכרם as “bald spot in a vineyard” one might think of “agricultural area in a vineyard”, cf. Chapter 2, Note 150.: the House of Shammai say 24 cubits2The cubit used to measure vessels can be determined from Mishnah Kelim 17:11 which states that some authorities define liquid measures as Roman. The Roman quartarius, equivalent to the Jewish reviït, is 133 cm3. The Yerushalmi states in Pesaḥim10:1 (fol. 37c) that the reviït is 7⅓ cubic digits [the Babli (Pesaḥim 109a) defines it as 10.8 cubic digits.] The Yerushalmi digit is therefore the cube root of (133/7.3333)cm3 or 2.63 cm. Then the cubit of 24 digits is 63 cm. (The corresponding Babylonian cubit would be only 55.5 cm.) On the other hand, Rashi (Erubin 60b) defines the cubit used for measuring terrain as half a pace, 2000 cubits being 1000 paces or one mile. If one uses the Roman mile (1000 passus) of 1473 m, one obtains 73.7 cm for the cubit. If Rashi would define the half-step as two Parisian feet, one would obtain 65 cm, in reasonable correspondence with the Yerushalmi cubit derived earlier, but if he would refer to half an aune, his cubit would be 59 cm, closer to the Babylonian standard.
In Tosephta Kelim Baba Meẓi‘a 6:13, R. Meïr states that all cubits referred to in the laws of a vineyard are cubits of five hand-breadths. This makes the Palestinian vineyard cubit 20 digits or 52.6 cm, close to the standard Babylonian cubit. but the House of Hillel say 16 cubits. The circumference3From the root חול “to turn in a circle,” from which also the Biblical homonym מחול “fife.” The rules of bald spots at the outer edge of a vineyard are given in Mishnah 2. of a vineyard: the House of Shammai say 16 cubits but the House of Hillel say 12 cubits. What is a bald spot in a vineyard? A vineyard that dried up in the middle; if there are less than 16 cubits one should not bring seeds there4The rules given here apply if the bald spot contains a circle of 16 cubits diameter (for the House of Hillel), i. e., if there is a point in the bald spot from which the minimal distance to any living vine is at least 8 cubits.. If there are 16 cubits, one allows it space to be tended5The space needed to tend a vineyard is a path 4 cubits wide so that the ox-drawn cart of the vintner may move there. Even though the House of Hillel forbid sowing if the minimal width is less than eight cubits, if somebody sowed illegally on a smaller patch neither the seeds nor the vines become “sanctified” as long as a minimal distance of 4 cubits is observed everywhere (Mishnah 7:3). and the rest one may sow.
What is the circumference of a vineyard? Between the vineyard and the fence. If less than 12 cubits are there, one should not introduce seeds there. If 12 cubits are there, one gives it24The vineyard. One leaves four cubits near the vines empty. space for tending and sows the remaining area.
Rebbi Jehudah says, that is only the fence of a vineyard29In his opinion, one may sow at a distance of four cubits from any vine between the vineyard and the fence.. What is the circumference of a vineyard? A vineyard between two Vineyards. What is a fence30From here to the end of the Mishnah the statement is generally accepted; this is no longer R. Jehudah’s statement. The question is not what is a fence or a ditch materially but what legally counts as fence or ditch.? If it is ten hand-breadths high, and a ditch is ten deep and four wide31In the interpretation of Maimonides (Kilaim 7:14), “four handbreadths wide” applies equally to the fence (presumably, a stone fence) and a ditch..
הלכה: קָרַחַת הַכֶּרֶם כול'. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן קָרַחַת הַכֶּרֶם הוּא כֶּרֶם שֶׁחָרֵב. קָרַחַת הַכֶּרֶם מַקְרִיחִין אוֹתוֹ מֵאֶמְצָעוֹ. כֶּרֶם שֶׁחָרֵב מַקְרִיחִין אוֹתוֹ מִכָּל־צְדָדָיו. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי וְהוּא שֶׁבָּא מִמַּטַּע כֶּרֶם גָּדוֹל. אֲבָל אִם בָּא מִמַּטַּע כֶּרֶם קָטוֹן אֵין זֶה קָרַחַת הַכֶּרֶם. וְתַנִּינָן אֵי זֶהוּ קָרַחַת הַכֶּרֶם כֶּרֶם שֶׁחָרֵב מֵאֶמְצָעוֹ וְנִשְׁתַּייֵר בּוֹ כְדֵי כֶרֶם. בֵּין מֵאַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת בֵּין מִשָּׁלֹשׁ בֵּין מִשְׁתַיִם זוֹ כְנֶגֶד זוֹ. הֵיךְ עֲבִידָא חָמֵשׁ שׁוּרִין מִן שׁוּבַע שׁוּבַע נְסַב חַד כַּרְמוֹן. כִּי אִית אַרְבָּעָה כְּרָמִין וּתְלָתָה בֵּינַייִן נְסַב חַד חוֹרָן אִית תַּמָּן תְּלָתָה כְרָמִין וּתְרֵין בֵּנַייִן. נְסַב חַד חוֹרָן אִית תַּמָּן תְּרֵין כְּרָמִין וְחַד בֵּינַייִן. HALAKHAH: “A bald spot in a vineyard.” Rebbi Joḥanan said that the rules for a bald spot in a vineyard and a dried-up vineyard7The rules of the dried spot are explained in Mishnah 5:1. are the same. A bald spot is cleared in its middle, a dried-up vineyard is cleared on all four sides8The dry spot reaches the border of the vineyard at 1, 2, 3, or 4 sides.. Rebbi Yose said, this applies to a large vineyard but if it comes from the plants of a small vineyard9As explained in Mishnah 4:6, a minimal vineyard is formed by two rows, one with two, the other one with three vines in two parallel rows. A small vineyard here is one of which a circle of 16 cubits diameter has been cleared and no two minimal vineyards are still standing., the rules of a bald spot in a vineyard do not apply. Also, we have stated10A similar statement is Tosephta Kilaim 3:1: “What is a bald spot in a vineyard? A vineyard that dried up in its middle but four or five vines remained, whether it be from all four sides, or from three, or from two opposite sides.” [R. Saul Lieberman has an ingenious explanation to harmonize Mishnah, Tosephta, and Yerushalmi, (תוספתא כפשוטה, p. 621) which, however, contradicts both the definition of קרחת הכדם (loc. cit., a few lines earlier) and the fact that in all sources of the Tosephta the numerals are spelled out and not abbreviated. Similarly, R. Moses Margalit presents an extremely elegant solution but it seems contradicted by Rebbi Joḥanan in the next paragraph.]: “What is a bald spot in a vineyard? A vineyard that dried up in its middle but enough for a vineyard remained, whether it be from all four sides, or from three, or from two opposite sides.” How is that? Five rows of seven each11The commentators want to change “7” into “5” but this is not warranted. The large vineyard of five rows of seven vines each contains 35 vines. A minimal vineyard has five vines. If three minimal vineyards are removed, 20 vines remain along the edges., one took out one row of vineyard12כרם is a vineyard, כרמון (a word not recognized by the dictionaries) is not quite a vineyard. It is a row of five vines which according to the Mishnah do not form a vineyard for the House of Hillel, but will form one if the vines are drawn on a trellis as explained in Mishnah 6:1 and at the end of the Halakhah, Note 22. In our case, one takes out one row, given in the figure as o. Then one takes out two more minimal vineyards (see Note 9), indicated by c and e. The vines left standing are indicated by x. One cannot do a similar construction with less than a 5-by-7 vineyard. The distance between two vines usually is four cubits; then between first and last row the empty space is a required 16 cubits.
FIGURE 4–1 HERE, that leaves four vineyards and three intervals. One takes out another one, that leaves three vineyards and two intervals. One takes out another one, that leaves two vineyards and one interval.
כַּהֲנָא אָמַר כִּתְחִילַּת מַטָּעָתוֹ עוֹשִׂין אוֹתוֹ. בֵּית שַׁמַּי אוֹמְרִים תְּחִילַּת מַטָּעָתוֹ עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבַּע. וְחוּרְבָּנוֹ עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבַּע. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֵּית שַׁמַּי מַחְמִרִין בְּחֻרְבָּנוֹ יוֹתֵר מִמַּטָּעָתוֹ. תְּחִילַּת מַטָּעָתוֹ שֵׁש עֶשְׂרֵה וְחוּרְבָּנוֹ עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבַּע. וְכָל־הַדְּבָרִים בֵּית שַׁמַּי מוֹסִיפִין שְׁלִישׁ. מָחוֹל הַכֶּרֶם עַל דַּעְתֵּיהּ דְּבֵית שַׁמַּי שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה עַל דַּעְתֵּיהּ דְּבֵית הִלֵּל שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה. וְהָתַנִּינָן מָחוֹל הַכֶּרֶם בֵּית שַׁמַּי אוֹמְרִים שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אָמָּה וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה. אִית דְּבָעֵי מֵימַר צֵא מֵהֶן אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת לַעֲבוֹדָה נִמְצְאוּ שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה עַל דַּעְתֵּיהּ דְּבֵית שַׁמַּי וּשְׁמֹנֶה עַל דְּבֵית הִלֵּל. Cahana said, they made it like the start of its planting. The House of Shammai say, 24 at the start of planting, 24 at its destruction13It is stated in Mishnah 4:9 that if a vineyard consists of two rows distant 16 cubits, then it is not legally a vineyard and a field may be sown in between, 14 cubits wide for the entire length of the rows of vines. In the opinion of Cahana, that Mishnah belongs only to the House of Hillel, and by analogy we infer that the House of Shammai require 24 cubits between the two rows to permit sowing in between. In the opinion of R. Joḥanan, Mishnah 4:9 is generally accepted, even by the House of Shammai.. Rebbi Joḥanan said, the House of Shammai are more restrictive in its destruction than at the start of its planting. At the start of its planting 16, at its destruction 24. In every case, the House of Shammai add one third14This third is taken from the top, one third of 24, which is one half of 16.: The circumference of a vineyard, according to the House of Shammai 18, according to the House of Hillel 1215This belongs to the statement of R. Joḥanan that in all these measurements, the measure of the House of Shammai relates to that of the House of Hillel as 3 to 2.. But did we not state: “The circumference of a vineyard, the House of Shammai say 16 cubits, the House of Hillel say 12 cubits.16This baraita is not otherwise preserved.” Some want to say, deduct from this four cubits for tending, there remain 12 cubits according to the House of Shammai and 8 following the House of Hillel17And again, 12÷8 = 3÷2. However, there is an inconsistency here because the same argument applied to the bald spot in a vineyard would lead to 20÷12 = 5÷3..
וַעֲבוֹדוֹת הַגֶּפֶן אֲדַעְתֵּיהּ דְּבֵית שַׁמַּאי שְׁמוֹנֶה אַמּוֹת וַאֲדַעְתֵּיהּ דְּבֵית הִלֵּל שֵׁשׁ אַמּוֹת. וְהָתַנִּינָן לְפִיכָךְ הַזּוֹרֵעַ אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת שֶׁבְּכֶרֶם בֵּית שַׁמַּי אוֹמְרִים קִידֵּשׁ שׁוּרָה אַחַת וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים קִידֵּשׁ שְׁתֵּי שוּרוֹת. נֵימַר בְּגִין בֵּית הִלֵּל תַּנִּיתָהּ. וְהָתַנִּינָן אֵיזֶהוּ עָרִיס הַנּוֹטֵעַ שׁוּרָה שֶׁל חָמֵשׁ גְּפָנִים. שַׁנְייָא הִיא דְּאָמַר רִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ בֶּעָרִיס הַמְּעוּקָם שָׁנוּ. עַל יְדֵי עֲקִימָה תַּרְתֵּיי מִתְבַּלְּעָן. But for tending a vineyard18This discussion is independent of the previous paragraph, since an inconsistency was shown in the position of R. Joḥanan. Since the Mishnah does not define how much space is needed for tending a vineyard, this has to be established here., according to the House of Shammai 8 cubits, according to the House of Hillel 619This is the mss. text, but it is unacceptable since the following discussion clearly indicates that the reading is “4”. The entire sentence is questionable since the contraction of על דעתיה to אדעתיה is Babylonian Aramaic. cubits. But did we not state20Mishnah 4:5: “If somebody plants five vines in a row, the House of Shammai say it is a vineyard, the House of Hillel say that there is no vineyard unless there are two rows. Therefore, he who sows four cubits in a vineyard, the House of Shammai say that he sanctified one row, but the House of Hillel say he sanctified two rows.” Since the verse declares that sowing (grains or vegetables) in a vineyard sanctifies “the vineyard”, the sown plants sanctify the nearest vineyard; for the House of Hillel this involves two rows. In any case, the House of Shammai is also mentioned in the Mishnah that puts the minimal distance of seeds from vines at slightly greater than 4 cubits.: “Therefore, he who sows four cubits in a vineyard, the House of Shammai say that he sanctified one row, but the House of Hillel say that he sanctified two rows.” Let us say that it21“4 cubits.” was stated because of the House of Hillel. But did we not state22Mishnah 6:1: “What is a trellis? If one plants a row of five vines near a fence 10 hand-breadths high or next to a ditch 10 hand-breadths deep and four wide, one gives it four cubits for tending. The House of Shammai say, one measures four cubits from the stem of the vines into the field, but the house of Hillel say, from the fence towards the field.” The fact that the trellis makes a single row into a vineyard is needed only for the House of Hillel, since Mishnah 4:5 already had stated that five vines in a row are a vineyard for the House of Shammai.: “What is a trellis? He who plants a row of five vines.” There is a difference, since Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, this was taught about a curved trellis. By its curving, two are absorbed23Hence, for the House of Shammai the five vines would not form a vineyard were it not for the trellis; no conclusion can be drawn for the position of the House of Shammai on the measure of space for tending of a vineyard planted in a straight line..
לֹא סוֹף דָּבָר גֶּדֶר אֶלָּא אֲפִילוּ עָשָׂה פַסִּין אִם אֵין בֵּין פַּס לַחֲבֵירוֹ שְׁלֹשָׁה טְפָחִים נִידּוֹנִין כְּגֶדֶר. אֲפִילוּ קָמָה וַאֲפִילוּ קַשִּׁין. וָאַתְיָא כַּיי דְּאָמַר רִבִּי חֲנִינָא אֵין הָאָסוּר נַעֲשֶׂה מְחִיצָה לְהַצִּיל. סָֽבְרִין מֵימַר הָאָיסוּר נַעֲשֶׂה מְחִיצָה לֵיאָסֵר. Not only a fence, but even if he puts up laths25The minimal width of a lath (as distinct from a pole) is given in Mishnah Eruvin 2:1., if between one lath and the next there is less that three hand-breadths it is considered a fence26Mishnah 4 explains that an opening less than three hand-breadths wide is still an effective barrier for goats. The Babli (e. g., Sukkah 7a, Šabbat 97a) considers openings of less than three hand-breadths as legally nonexisting. This theory is not found in the Yerushalmi.. Even standing grain and straw27Does a field on which the plants are higher than 10 hand-breadths act as a fence?? Or does it agree with what Rebbi Ḥanina said: Nothing forbidden may form a separation to save28It is forbidden to sow grain in a vineyard, because this “sanctifies” the vineyard. Hence, grain of any kind cannot form a fence. One might think that, therefore, a vineyard surrounded by grain fields has no fence, and one may sow grain four cubits away from the vines. The rabbis infer from the statement of R. Ḥanina that standing grain ten hand-breadths high acts as a fence to forbid, i. e., the domain between vineyard and grain has the status of a bald spot around the vineyard and one needs 12 cubits minimum space to sow there.? They are of the opinion that what is forbidden does form a separation to forbid.
עַל דַּעְתֵּיהּ דְּרִבִּי יְהוּדָה עָשָׂה כִּבְתוֹךְ הַכֶּרֶם. וְיוּסָר בְּשֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹנָה הָדָא דְתֵימַר כְּשֶׁאֵין הַכָּרְתִּים מְכוּוָנִים. אֲבָל אִם הָיוּ הַכָּרְתִּים מְכוּוָנִין אוֹסֵר בְּשֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה. In the opinion of Rebbi Jehudah, it32The status of the circumference of a vineyard. is as in the interior of a vineyard. Then 16 should be forbidden! Rebbi Jonah said, it means that the trunks33In this Chapter, “trunk” is always spelled כרת. In the next Chapter, the spelling is always כורת; in the parallel Tosephta it is כוורת in the Vienna ms., כורת in the Erfurt ms. The Vienna reading is to be rejected, since כוודת (Arabic kuwwara) is a big basket, also used as beehive. Levy compares כורת “trunk” to קורה “log.” But כָּרָתִי means leeks, not trunk. Hence, the vocalization כֹּרֶת is used here. are not aligned. But if the trunks are aligned, they forbid 1634If the rows of the two vineyards are parallel, the space between them is a bald spot in one vineyard and 16 cubits are the minimum distance for sowing there. But if the two vineyards are planted so that the parallel rows of one vineyard are at a fixed non-zero angle to those of the other, then only 12 cubits of separation are needed..
עַד שֶׁיְּהֵא מוּקָּף גֶּדֶר מֵאַרְבַּע רוּחוֹתָיו. מִן מַה דְתַנִּינָן בֵּין שְׁנֵי כְרָמִים. הָדָא אָֽמְרָה אֲפִילוּ מֵרוּחַ אַחַת. עַד שֶׁיְּהֵא מוּקָּף גֶּדֶר כָּל־אוֹתוֹ הָרוּחַ. נִישְׁמְעִינָהּ מִן הָדָא דְּאָמַר רִבִּי זְעִירָא רִבִּי יָסָא בְשֵׁם רַב מַתָּנָה אֵין זָנָב לְכֶרֶם גָּדוֹל וְלֹא מָחוֹל לְכֶרֶם קָטָן. אֵין זָנָב לְכֶרֶם גָּדוֹל. שֶׁאֵי אַתְּ זָקוּק לוֹ. וְלֹא מָחוֹל לְכֶרֶם קָטָן. לוֹסַר חוּצָה לוֹ יוֹתֵר מִתּוֹכוֹ. תּוֹכוֹ שְׁמוֹנֶה וְחוּצָה לוֹ שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה. וְאֵי זֶהוּ כֶּרֶם קָטָן. שָׁלֹשׁ כְּנֶגֶד שָׁלֹשׁ. הָא שָׁלֹשׁ כְּנֶגֶד שָׁלֹשׁ כְּנֶגֶד שָׁלֹשׁ יֵשׁ לוֹ מָחוֹל. אָמַר רִבִּי זְעִירָא הָדָא אָֽמְרָה עָשָׂה פַסִּין כְּנֶגֶד שְׁלֹשׁ גְּפָנִים יֵשׁ לוֹ מָחוֹל. Only if it is surrounded by a fence on all four sides35Since מחול implies turning around in a full circle, does the rule of “circumference” apply only to a vineyard that is totally fenced in?? From what we have stated: “Between two vineyards,” that means even from one side only36Otherwise, R. Jehudah would have to say “five vineyards,” one in the middle and four around it.. Only if the fence encloses all of that side37Since we have established that the rule of מחול applies even if there is a fence only along one side, does this fence have to be extended for the entire length of the vineyard?? Let us hear from the following that Rebbi Zeïra, Rebbi Yasa, said in the name of Rav Mattanah: There is no tail for a large vineyard and no circumference for a small vineyard38A minimal vineyard is defined by the House of Hillel in Mishnah 4:6 as five vines, four of which form a rectangle and the fifth is on the prolongation of one of the edges of the rectangle. This fifth vine is the “tail” of that vineyard. Once all rows contain at least three vines, the “tail” no longer has any function. A minimal vineyard which loses some vines is no longer a vineyard; it cannot have a “circumference”.. There is no tail for a large vineyard because one does not need it. Neither a circumference for a small vineyard to forbid more outside than inside; inside eight39In all cases, one may sow at a distance of 4 cubits from any vine. Hence, if two parallel rows in a vineyard are farther apart than 8 cubits, one may sow in the middle, unless he is in the situation of a bald spot or a circumference of a vineyard. and outside twelve. What is a small vineyard? Three parallel three40“Small” means one vine more than the minimal number.. Hence, three parallel three parallel three, [the vineyard] has a circumference41Nine vines grown in three straight rows form a large vineyard.. Rebbi Zeïra said, that means that if he made laths along three vines then [the vineyard] has a circumference42Now one may answer the question asked at the start: Since three rows of three vines each form a large vineyard, if one makes a fence on one side of such a subvineyard of a larger vineyard the rules of circumference apply and he may not sow unless there is a distance of 12 cubits from the last vine to the fence. If the laths accompany only two vines one may sow at a distance of four cubits..
רִבִּי יוּדָן בָּעֵי עָשָׂה גֶדֶר לִפְנִים מִגֶּדֶר וְאָמַר אִם יֵשׁ שְׁלֹשָׁה טְפָחִים מוּתָּר לְהָבִיא זֶרַע לְשָׁם וְאִם לָאו אָסוּר לְהָבִיא זֶרַע לְשָׁם. רִבִּי יַעֲקֹב בַּר אִידִּי בְשֵׁם רִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ הָיָה שָׁם מָקוֹם שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה נִיטָּל הַמָּחוֹל. אָמַר רִבִּי חִזְקִיָּה וּבִלְבַד שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה עַל שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה. אָמַר רִבִּי מָנָא אֲפִילוּ מֵיצַר וְהוֹלֵךְ. Rebbi Judan asked: What if he made a fence inside a fence? He said43He answered his own question. If the outer fence, the one outside of which one sows other kinds, is 12 cubits away from any vine one may sow at a distance of 4 cubits from the vines., if there are three hand-breadths one may sow there, otherwise one may not sow there. Rebbi Jacob bar Idi in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: If there was a place of twelve cubits there, the circumference would be eliminated44That is, the requirement of “circumference” is satisfied and one may sow at a distance of 4 from the vines even where the distance to the fence is less that 12 cubits. The reading of the Rome ms. is בטל “disregarded” instead of ניטל.. Rebbi Ḥizqiah said, only if it is twelve by twelve. Rebbi Mana said, even if it continuously narrows45It is not clear whether R. Mana disagrees with R. Ḥizqiah and accepts that one may sow in a circumference at a distance of 4 cubits if at one spot at least the distance to the fence was 12 cubits, or if he adds to R. Ḥizqiah’s statement that beyond a length of 12 cubits the strip forming the circumference may get narrower. Maimonides does not quote either of these opinions in his Code..