Kil'ayim (, lit. "Mixed Kinds") is the fourth
tractate
Tractate, a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject, may refer to:
* Masekhet, an organizational element of Talmudic literature
* Minor tractate, a group of essays on Jewish religious laws
* Treatise, a formal and systemati ...
of ''
Seder Zeraim
Seder Zeraim (, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud, and, apart from the first tractate which concerns the rules for prayers and blessings, primarily deals with the laws ...
'' ("Order of Seeds") of the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
, dealing with several biblical
prohibitions of mixed species, namely, planting certain mixtures of
seeds
In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...
,
grafting
Grafting or graftage is a horticulture, horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the roots ...
different species of trees together, growing plants other than grapevines in
vineyard
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
s,
crossbreeding
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...
animals, working a team of different kinds of animals together, and
mixing wool and linen in garments.
The prohibitions are derived from the
Torah
The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
in and .
Like most tractates in the order of ''Zeraim'', it appears in the Mishnah, the
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...
and the
Tosefta
The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''.
Background
Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
only; there is no
Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...
for this tractate.
Subject matter
This tractate concerns the laws regarding various types of mixtures of agricultural products that are forbidden according to the
Torah
The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
, in accordance with and . Specifically, the Mishnah deals with the exact definition of the following categories of prohibitions:
* planting different kinds of seeds together
*
grafting
Grafting or graftage is a horticulture, horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the roots ...
trees of different types
* planting grain, vegetables or herbs in a vineyard
*
cross-breeding
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...
different species of animals
* ploughing or doing other work with two different kinds of animal teamed together
*
mixing wool and linen threads in garments
The types of seeds determined to be included within this category are the
five species of grain of the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
, (wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt), legumes, and greens whose roots or stalks are consumed by humans. Since the vineyard is particularly specified in the Deuteronomy passage, it is treated specifically. The prohibitions concern domestic animals; wild animals and birds are not mentioned in this tractate, but the Mishnah in
Bava Kamma
Bava Kamma () is the first of a series of three Talmudic tractates in the order Nezikin ("Damages") that deal with civil matters such as damages and torts. The other two of these tractates are Bava Metzia ('The Middle Gate') and Bava Batra ('Th ...
(5, 7) notes these cases.
[
The laws are derived from a relatively straightforward reading of the Torah, and the details discussed in the tractate are deduced through logic, analogies with other areas of law, or by application of the general rules to specific objects and situations.][
Because the prohibitions only apply to the mixing of distinct species, but not to variants of a single species, the tractate contends with the botanical or biological classifications of seeds, trees or animals, from the standpoint of establishing which are or are not separate species.][
Since the prohibition in the vineyard is spelled out in the Torah, along with an explicit warning “lest the fruit of your seed which you have sown, and the fruit of your vineyard, be defiled,” it is treated more stringently, and the produce of such a mixture does not become permitted after the fact, as would occur in the case of mixed seeds.][
The Jerusalem Talmud, in addition to its commentary on the laws cited in the Mishnah and Tosefta, contains ]Aggadah
Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...
, with biographical stories about Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi
Judah ha-Nasi (, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince or Judah the President) or Judah I, known simply as Rebbi or Rabbi, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of ...
(135 – 217 CE) and his contemporaries, another version of which also appears in the Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...
(tractate Bava Metzia
Bava Metzia (, "The Middle Gate") is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin ("Damages"), the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a single tractate called ''Nezikin'' (torts or ...
83b).[
]
Structure
The tractate comprises nine chapters and 77 paragraphs (''mishnayot''). It has a Gemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...
– rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah – in the Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...
; there is also a Tosefta
The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''.
Background
Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
for this tractate.[
Kil’ayim is the fourth tractate in the order Zera'im, after Demai and before ]Shevi'it
The sabbath year (''shmita''; , literally "release"), also called the sabbatical year or ''shǝvi'it'' (, literally "seventh"), or "Sabbath of The Land", is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah in the Lan ...
. In medieval genizah
A genizah (; , also ''geniza''; plural: ''genizot'' 'h''or ''genizahs'') is a storage area in a Judaism, Jewish synagogue or cemetery designated for the temporary storage of worn-out Hebrew-language books and papers on religious topics prior t ...
fragments of the Mishnah, in the Vienna manuscript (late 13th century), and in printed editions of the Tosefta, however, it is sixth, coming after Terumot
Terumot (, lit. "Priestly dues" and often, "heave-offering") is the sixth tractate of '' Seder Zeraim'' ("Order of Seeds") of the Mishnah and of the Jerusalem Talmud. This tractate discusses the laws of teruma, a gift of produce that an Israe ...
and Shevi'it and this position follows the general principle that the tractates are arranged in descending order according to the number of their chapters.
In the Tosefta
The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''.
Background
Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
, Kil’ayim appears as the sixth tractate, and is divided into five chapters.[
There is no Gemara in the ]Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...
for this tractate, or indeed for any of the tractates of this order of the Mishna, other than tractate Berakhot, as the laws related to agriculture that they mostly discuss generally have no practical application outside of the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
.[
The topics of the chapters are as follows:
*Chapter 1 lists of the various kinds of grain, legumes and other vegetables, herbs and trees which constitute one species and to which, therefore, the prohibition of ''kil'ayim'' does not apply; or which plants and animals, although alike in some way, are two distinct species and would constitute mixed species with one another (in the case of trees, making ]grafting
Grafting or graftage is a horticulture, horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the roots ...
prohibited);[Mishnah ''Kil'ayim'' 1:4 mentions different pairs of trees, such as the peach tree (]Prunus persica
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peach ...
) and the almond tree ( Amygdalus communis; syn. ''Prunus amygdalus''), and the trees known in Hebrew as ''shizǝfīn'' (Ziziphus jujuba
Jujube (UK ; US or ), sometimes jujuba, scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'', and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused wit ...
) and ''rīmmīn'' (Ziziphus spina-christi
''Ziziphus spina-christi'', known as the Christ's thorn jujube, is a thorny and an evergreen tree or plant native to the Levant, East Africa, and Mesopotamia.
Ecology
In the Levant, it grows in valleys up to an elevation of 500 m, and is d ...
), saying that "although they are like each other, they are considered diverse kinds (''kil'ayim'')." On the identification of these species of trees, see: Zohar Amar, ''Flora and Fauna in Maimonides' Teachings'', Kfar Darom (2015), pp. 133, 150, 157, 161. . how the different trees form kil'ayim with one another and with plants, and how plants form ''kil'ayim'' with one another.[
*Chapter 2 discusses methods of sowing and the shape of the plots of land in which it is permissible to sow species that may not be mixed together; what must be done to plant grain in a field already sown with different grain, or to plant trees in a grain field; the distances between the beds to plant different plants in the same field; and what is to be done when different seeds are already sown in a prohibited fashion.][
*Chapter 3 discusses the methods of sowing vegetables of different species and defines the distances between beds of vegetables; the distances between grain and herbs; separation of different species by visible barriers or distances; procedures for changing a field over from one crop to another without leaving forbidden traces of the previous crop; and various ways of planning a field so as to be able grow several species of greens of legumes in a small patch by separating them into distinct geometric patterns.][
*Chapter 4 examines how large a space must be left in the vineyard or between the vineyard and its hedge if other seeds are sown there and how the hedge must be made, so that one may plant outside it.][
*Chapter 5 continues to examine cases regarding vineyards, such when a ruined vineyard may still be used and what plants must be removed from a vineyard when they grow there wild.][
*Chapter 6 continues the issues regarding vineyards, such as leaning a vine against fruit-bearing and non-fruit bearing trees, and when vine-shoots trail over a hedge or a tree.][
*Chapter 7 examines the issues of vines and cuttings, including when seeds are sown over or close to vine-shoots that grow underground and emerge above ground further away; which vines do not affect the grain, although one may not plant them together; and the responsibility of a person whose vines’ growth compromise another person’s plants.][
*Chapter 8 considers the laws governing the crossbreeding of animals, including to what degree the various forms of crossbreeding are forbidden; and animals which may not be harnessed together either to the plow or to pull carts.][
*Chapter 9 examines the prohibition against mixing fibers made from animals (such as wool) and plants (such as linen) in clothing; articles of clothing forbidden because of kil'ayim; issues concerning clothes-dealers, tailors, and imported ready-made clothing; and how fibrous materials must be sewn together to become the forbidden mixture known as shatnez.][
]
Historical context
The sages cited in Mishnah Kil’ayim cover all the generations of tannaitic activity, from Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob who lived during the Second Temple period
The Second Temple period or post-exilic period in Jewish history denotes the approximately 600 years (516 BCE – 70 CE) during which the Second Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It began with the return to Zion and subsequent reconstructio ...
through the second generation of Tannaim including Rabbi Tarfon
Rabbi Tarfon or Tarphon (, from the Greek Τρύφων ''Tryphon'' literally "one who lives in luxury" Trifon), a Kohen, was a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Second Te ...
, Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurcanus
Eliezer ben Hurcanus (or Hyrcanus) () was one of the most prominent Judean ''tannaitic'' Sages of 1st- and 2nd-century Judaism, a disciple of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, Avot of Rabbi Natan 14:5 and a colleague of Gamaliel II (whose sister, ...
, Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah
Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšūaʿ ben Ḥănanyā''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the eighth-most-frequently mentioned sage in t ...
, and Rabbi Ishmael
Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Nachmani (Hebrew: רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע), often known as Rabbi Yishmael and sometimes given the title "Ba'al HaBaraita" (Hebrew: בעל הברייתא, “Master of the Outside Teaching”), was a rabbi of ...
, to the scholars of Yavne
Yavne () is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel. In 2022, it had a population of 56,232.
Modern Yavne was established in 1949. It is located near the ruins of the ancient town of Yibna (known also as Jamnia and Jab ...
, Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Joseph (Mishnaic Hebrew: ; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second. Rabbi Akiva was a leadin ...
and his principal disciples, Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir () was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was one of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139–163), and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. He is the second most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah and is mentioned ...
, Rabbi Judah bar Ilai
Judah beRabbi Ilai (Mishnaic Hebrew: יהודה בר' אלעאי), usually known as Rabbi Judah or Judah bar Ilai, was a rabbi of the 2nd century (fourth generation of Tannaim), and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he ...
, Rabbi Jose ben Halafta
Jose ben Helpetha, commonly known as Jose ben Halafta () was a tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah. Yose Ben Halafta is the one of two rabbis called Rabbi Yose in the Tal ...
, and Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai
Shimon bar Yochai (Zohar#Language, Zoharic Aramaic: , ''Šimʿon bar Yoḥay'') or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: ), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century tannaim, tanna or sage of the period of Judaea (Roman province), Roman ...
.[
More than 60 species of plants are named in this tractate and more are mentioned in the ]Tosefta
The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''.
Background
Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
and the Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...
. Many of the ''mishnayot'' discuss the methods of plowing and sowing and care of field crops, fruit trees, and especially vines. Hence this tractate is an important source for understanding ancient Israelite
Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age.
Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
agriculture, horticulture
Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
and viticulture
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
.[
]
Commentaries
Medieval commentaries on this tractate include the following:
* The ''Ribmatz'', one of the earliest known comprehensive commentaries on ''Seder Zera'im'', written in the early 12th century by Rabbi Isaac ben Melchizedek
Isaac ben Melchizedek (; also known by the acronym Ribmaṣ ; c. 1090–1160), was a rabbinic scholar from Siponto, Italy, and one of the first medieval scholars to have composed a commentary on the Mishnah, of which only his commentary on '' Sede ...
of Siponto
Siponto (, ) was an ancient port town and bishopric of Magna Graecia in Apulia, southern Italy. The town was abandoned after earthquakes in the 13th century; today the area is administered as a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Manfredonia, in t ...
.
* The ''Rash Sirilio'', the earliest known comprehensive commentary on a large portion of the Jerusalem Talmud of Rabbi Shlomo Sirilio (1485-1558), appears in the Mutzal Mi’Eish edition of the Jerusalem Talmud for tractate Kil’ayim (but not in the Vilna edition).
* ''Mahara Fulda'' and its companion, ''Tosefot Maharaf'', are the commentaries of Rabbi Eliyahu of Fulda, published in Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
in 1710. Many later commentators refer to him only as ''HaMefareish'' (''The Commentator'').
* ''Kaftor VaFerach'', by Rabbi Ishtori Haparchi
Ishtori Haparchi (1280–1355), also Estori Haparchi and Ashtori ha-Parhi () is the pen name of the 14th-century Jewish physician, geographer, and traveller, Isaac HaKohen Ben Moses.''Encyclopedia Judaica'' Keter, Jerusalem, 1972, "Estori Ha-Parch ...
, a disciple of the Rosh, one of the few surviving compositions of the Rishonim concerning Seder Zeraim; Ishtori, who was born in Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
in about 1280 emigrated to the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
, where he studied the laws applying to the Land; his work was first published in Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
in 1546.
* ''Pnei Moshe'', the only commentary on all of the Jerusalem Talmud, by Rabbi Moshe Margolies and first published in Amsterdam in 1775.
* The Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman''), also known as the Vilna Gaon ( ''Der Vilner Goen''; ; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gr"a ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 172 ...
worked to correct many of the textual errors in the Jerusalem Talmud. His rectifications are contained in marginal glosses published under the title ''Hagahot HaGra''.
* A commentary known as the ''Ridvaz'' on nearly all the tractates of the Jerusalem Talmud was first published in Piotrków in 1898, with its companion commentary, ''Tosefot HaRid'', by Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky of Slutzk
Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450.
Geography
The city is s ...
and later of Safed
Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel.
Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...
(1845-1914).
* The '' Commentary of Rabbi Nathan, President of the Academy'', ''Pirush Rabbeinu Nathan'', an 11th-century Mishnah commentary written in Judeo-Arabic
Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct ...
, and translated into Hebrew by R. Yosef Qafih
Yosef Qafiḥ ( , ), widely known as Rabbi Yosef Kapach (27 November 1917 – 21 July 2000), was a Yemenite-Israeli posek, authority on Jewish religious law (''halakha''), a Dayan (rabbinic judge), dayan of the Judiciary of Israel#Jewish courts, ...
.
In modern times, the following have been published:
* ''Toldot Yitzchak'' and its companion ''Tevunah'', by Rabbi Yitzchok Isaac Krasilschikov
Yitzchok Isaac ben Dov Ber Krasilschikov (; ; 1888 – 13 May 1965), also known as the "Gaon of Poltava," was a Talmudic scholar and author of a monumental commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud. He was one of the last publicly practicing Orthodox r ...
of Poltava
Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...
, who wrote his commentary in the Soviet Union before he died in Moscow in 1965; the Machon Mutzal MeiEish edition of Seder Zeraim of the Jerusalem Talmud includes Krasilschikov's work and all the major commentators published up to that time.
* ''Sha'arei Emunah'', the commentary of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky to the Jerusalem Talmud, has been published on Sedarim Zeraim and Moed, in Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...
, Israel.
* ''Aruch Ha'Shulchan He'Atid'' is a compendium of halachot written by Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein
Yechiel Michel ha-Levi Epstein ()
(24 January 1829 – 25 March 1908), often called "the ''Aruch haShulchan''" after his magnum opus, '' Aruch HaShulchan'', was a Rabbi and ''posek'' (authority in Jewish law) in Lithuania.
Biography
Yechiel Mi ...
of Novaradok (1829-1902), who also composed the standard Aruch HaShulchan
''Arukh HaShulchan'' (Hebrew: עָרוּךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן #Title.html" ;"title="r, arguably, עָרֹךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן; see #Title">§ Title below is a work of halacha written by Yechiel Michel Epstein (1829–1908). The work ...
; it was published posthumously in Jerusalem in 1938 and the first volume deals with the laws of Seder Zeraim.
* ''Torat HaAretz'' is a work on the agricultural laws, authored by Rabbi Moshe Kliers of Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...
, published in Jerusalem in 1928 (with a second edition published in 1972).
* ''Mikdash David'' is the work of Rabbi David HaKohen Rappaport (1890-1942), a Torah scholar who was murdered in the Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
and whose work contains a section pertaining to Seder Zeraim.
* ''Chazon Ish'' is a work by Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz
Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz (; 7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish () after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent ...
covering a good part of the Mishnah and Talmud; his writings on Seder Zeraim, originally published in Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...
in 1958, have influenced contemporary halakha
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...
in Israel regarding agricultural matters.
Works that are of assistance interpreting the many botanical references in the tractate include:
*
* (monograph which identifies the plant names mentioned in the commentaries of the Rishonim).
* (Rabbi Yosef Kafich in his notes to Rambam's Commentary in Arabic identifies numerous species by their Latin equivalents)
See also
* Kil'ayim (prohibition)
Kil'ayim (or Klayim; ) are the prohibitions in Jewish law which proscribe the planting of certain mixtures of seeds, grafting, the mixing of plants in vineyards, the crossbreeding of animals, the formation of a team in which different kinds of ...
References
External links
Full text of the Mishnah for tractate Kil'ayim
on Sefaria
Sefaria is an online open source, free content, digital library of Jewish texts. It was founded in 2011 by former Google project manager Brett Lockspeiser and journalist-author Joshua Foer. Promoted as a "living library of Jewish texts", Sefaria ...
(Hebrew and English)
Full text of the Mishnah for tractate Kil’ayim (Hebrew)
{{Mishnah
Jewish agrarian laws
Jewish ethical law
Land of Israel laws in Judaism
Mishnah
Negative Mitzvoth
Tractates of the Talmud