Mishnah 1
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1)

(a)The Mishnah lists pairs that are not Kil'ayim, even though they have different names (see Tiferes Yisrael). The first of these is wheat and a species of wheat called Zunin, which is subject to Kil'ayim, despite the fact that it is not a human food (see Mishnah Rishonah) - because they take it around from place to place (see Tos. Yom-Tov) to feed the doves.

(b)In spite of the fact that it is quite different than wheat, it is nevertheless considered a species of wheat - because at the time of the Great Flood, when the people indulged in pervert activities, Hash-m 'perverted' the earth, so to speak, and made it produce Zunin, when they planted wheat.

2)

(a)The Tana continues with barley and Shibo'les Shu'al - oats (also known as desert barley [see also Tos. Yom-Tov]), spelt and rye, beans and Sapir (see Tiferes Yisrael), P'rukdan and Tofach and white beans and beans (ha'She'u'im [see Tos. Yom-Tov]).

(b)If someone plants one from one group of the species listed in the Mishnah with any of those in another group - they are Kil'ayim.

(c)To reconcile this with the Mishnah in Menachos, which describes spelt as a species of wheat, and oats, a species of barley - we confine that Mishnah to the Din of Chalah, where species combine to form a dough, even though they would be classified as Kil'ayim if they were planted together.

Mishnah 2
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3)

(a)According to the Tana Kama, cucumbers and Melafafon (a species of cucumber) are not Kil'ayim. R. Yehudah rules that - they are.

(b)Chazeres (lettuce) - grows in a garden, Chazeres Galim - on a mountain.

(c)If Chazeres and Chazeres Galim, garden Ulshin (andives) and Ulshin that grow in a field, are planted together - they are not Kil'ayim.

4)

(a)And the Mishnah issues the same ruling with regard to the remaining items on the list (see Tiferes Yisrael, note 12), including garden K'risin - (leeks) and K'risin that grow in a field, garden coriander and coriander that grows in a field, mustard and Egyptian mustard.

(b)The last two pairs on the list are Dala'as ha'Mitzri ve'ha'Remutzah and Pul ha'Mitzri ve'he'Charuv. Dala'as ...

1. ... is - a pumpkin/gourd).

2. ... ha'Remutzah' - (the acronym of (the acronym of 'Remetz Cham')is a bitter gourd that one sweetens by placing it in hot ashes (see also Tos. Yom-Tov).

3. ... ha'Charuv - is a species of bean which resembles a carab (Charuv), inasmuch as it is bent, and its actual beans are small.

Mishnah 3
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5)

(a)The list continues 'ha'Lefes - (turnip) ve'ha'Nafutz (see Tos. Yom-Tov), ve'ha'Keruv ve'ha'Teravsar, ha'Teradin ve'ha'Le'onin.

(b)Despite the fact that Nafutz' is a species of radish, it is not Kil'ayim when planted together with turnips - because its leaves are similar to those of turnips.

(c)T'ravsar is a species of cabbage - with thin stalks.

(d)Le'onin are a species of T'radin - (beets).

6)

(a)R. Akiva adds three pairs to the list that are not Kil'ayim with each other. The first of them is ...

1. ... Shum - (garlic) and ...

2. ... Shumanis - (a species of wild garlic that is smaller than the regular one).

(b)And he concludes the list with Batzal and Betzaltzul - (a species of wild onion that is smaller than the regular one) and Turmus and P'laslus.

(c)A ...

1. ... Turmus is - a bitter species of bean, which becomes sweet after being cooked seven times, and ...

2. ... P'laslus - a wild species of Turmus (Tiferes Yisrael).

(d)Turmus is eaten - as a dessert.

Mishnah 4
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7)

(a)The last two pairs cited by the Tana that are not Kil'ayim are Agasim and K'rustumlin, and Parishim and Uzradin - which grow on trees, as opposed to the previous ones, which grow from the ground.

(b)'Agasim' are pears. 'K'rustumlin' - a species of small pears that resemble gall-apples.

(c)'Uzradin' are crab (or sorb) apples (see also Tos. Yom-Tov). 'Parishim' are - quinces.

8)

(a)The Mishnah considers apples and 'Chazrar' (a species of wild apple), peaches and almonds, Shizafin and Rimin - Kila'yim.

(b)We might have thought that peaches and almonds are not Kil'ayim - because whn they are still young, peaches resemble almonds.

(c)We translate 'Shizafin' as plums. They might also be - a cross between olives and pomeganates.

Mishnah 5
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9)

(a)The Mishnah rules that a radish and a Nafutz (see Mishnah 3), mustard-seed and Lafsan (a species of beet), a Greek pumpkin with an Egyptian pumpkin or with a Remutzah (see Mishnah 2) - are Kil'ayim ...

(b)... even though the items in each pair are similar to each other regarding their shape and their leaves.

(c)They are nevertheless Kil'ayim - since their tastes differ (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

Mishnah 6
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10)

(a)The Tana now discusses Kil'ayim of animals, starting with a dog and a wolf, a Kelev Kufri - (a small fox-like dog, that is raised in he villages) and a fox, goats and deer ...

(b)... declaring them all Kil'ayim (in spite of their similarities).

(c)He includes in the list Ye'eilim and sheep, a horse and a mule, a mule and a donkey and a donkey and an Arod. A ...

1. ... Ya'el is - a mountain-goat (a Chayah which the Torah calls Ako) ...

2. ... a Pered - a mule (a cross between a donkey and a horse), whereas ...

3. ... an Arod is - a wild donkey,

Mishnah 7
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11)

(a)When the Tana says 'Ein Mevi'in Ilan be'Ilan (ve')Yerek be'Yerek', he means - that grafting one species of tree in another or one species of vegetable in another is prohibited (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)It is permitted to graft ...

1. ... a Yerek with a Yerek - if they are of the same species.

2. ... a tree with a tree (even if the two are different species) - provided they are both non-fruit-bearing trees.

(c)The Tana Kama forbids grafting ...

1. ... a tree with a vegetable or ...

2. ... a vegetable with a tree.

(d)R. Yehudah disagrees - with both of the latter rulings (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

Mishnah 8
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12)

(a)'Sadan shel Shikmah' is - the stump of a wild-fig-tree (after the trunk has been cut down to the roots or close to them.

(b)The Tana - forbids planting vegetables into it.

13)

(a)Grafting Peigam into white cassia and planting a branch of a fig-tree into a Chatzuv is prohibited. A ...

1. ... Peigam is - a red cabbage

2. ... Chatzuv is - a shrubby plant whose roots grow directly downwards, and which Yehoshua therefore used to divide Eretz Yisrael (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)The Tana forbid ...

1. ... the former (Peigam on to white cassia) - because it is 'Yerek be'Ilan', and ...

2. ... the latter (planting a branch of a fig-tree in a Chatzuv) - because it is 'Ilan be'Yerek'.

(c)The author of this Mishnah is - the Tana Kama of the previous one.

14)

(a)The reason that one might perform the latter is 'in order to cool it - (the Chatzuv) down'.

(b)It needs cooling - because it is an exceptionally hot plant.

(c)This refers either to a natural cooling process provided by the fig-branch - or - to the fact that its branches will eventually provide it with shade.

15)

(a)A person might stick the branch of a vine into a water-melon - so that the water in the latter flows into the former.

(b)The Tana forbids ...

1. ... it however - because it is 'Ilan be'Yerek' (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

2. ... injecting the seed of a gourd into a Chalamis-plant - because it is 'Yerek be'Yerek'.

(c)A person might otherwise do that - to prevent the former from drying up (Yom-Tov).

Mishnah 9
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16)

(a)The Tana rules that - storing a bunch of turnips or of radishes (see Tos. Yom-Tov) underneath a vine, without having to worry about planting Kil'ayim or planting in the Sh'mitah, is permitted - provided some of the leaves are showing above ground-level (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)When he says that 'one does not need to worry about ...

1. ... Kil'ayim', he might also mean that - even if the mixture increases by one two hundredth, it remains permitted.

2. ... Shevi'is', he means that - even if the vegetables grow larger in the Sh'mitah (see Tos. Yom-Tov DH 'Lo Mishum ... ' & 've'Lo Mishum Ma'asros'), they are not Asur because of Sefichin.

(c)It is permitted - because storing them in this way is not considered planting.

17)

(a)Neither do they become subject to Ma'aser when they are subsequently picked, since the Pasuk in Bechukosai writes "ve'Chol Ma'asar ha'Aretz mi'Zera ha'Aretz" - implying that the obligation to Ma'aser is restricted to produce that is planted, which these are not (as we learned earlier).

(b)The Mishnah finally rules - that one is permitted to pull them out of the ground on Shabbos ...

(c)... which is permitted despite the inevitability of moving the earth in the process - because one's intention is to pull out the vegetable, and it is only indirectly that one moves the earth too. It is called 'Tiltul min ha'Tzad'.

(d)If the turnips or radishes are not visible above ground-level - then the latter leniency (regarding Shabbos) will no longer apply, seeing as there is no way that one will be permitted to move the earth to get to them.

18)

(a)The Tana Kama declares Kil'ayim one wheat seed and one barley seed that are sown together. According to R. Yehudah - one is only Chayav for sowing at least three seeds ...

(b)... either two wheat-seeds and one barley-seed, or vice-versa or one wheat-seed, one barley seed and one spelt-seed.

(c)He learns this from the Pasuk in Kedoshim "Sadcha Lo Tizra Kil'ayim" - which implies that the field should be sown (with at least one seed) when one comes to plant Kil'ayim in it, since otherwise, in his opinion, it would not be called a field (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(d)The Halachah - is like the Tana Kama (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

19)

(a)With regard to the above ruling, the Tana Kama concedes to Rebbi Yehudah - by K'lai ha'Kerem, inasmuch as one is only Chayav for planting Kil'ayim in a vineyard if one plants two different species together with grape-seeds ...

(b)... because the Pasuk in Ki Seitzei "Lo Tizra Karm'cha Kil'ayim" implies - that one is forbidden to plant two species in one vineyard (and the Chachamim concede that a vineyard is not so-called unless it contains at least one grape-seed).

Hadran alach 'ha'Chitim ve'ha'Zunin'