Mishnayos Bava Metzia Perek 7 Mishnah 2
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בבא מציעא פרק ז׳ משנה ב׳
This mishna details the halakha that a laborer is permitted to eat from the produce with which he is working. And these laborers may eat by Torah law: A laborer who works with produce attached to the ground at the time of the completion of its work, e.g., harvesting produce; and a laborer who works with produce detached from the ground before the completion of its work, i.e., before it is sufficiently processed and thereby subject to tithes. And this is the halakha provided that they are working with an item whose growth is from the land. And these are laborers who may not eat: A laborer who works with produce attached to the ground not at the time of the completion of its work, i.e., while it is still growing; and a laborer who works with produce detached from the ground after the completion of its work, when it is sufficiently processed and therefore subject to tithes; and a laborer who works with an item whose growth is not from the land.
וְאֵלּוּ אוֹכְלִין מִן הַתּוֹרָה. הָעוֹשֶׂה בִמְחֻבָּר לַקַּרְקַע, בִּשְׁעַת גְּמַר מְלָאכָה, וּבְתָלוּשׁ מִן הַקַּרְקַע, עַד שֶׁלֹּא נִגְמְרָה מְלַאכְתּוֹ, בְּדָבָר שֶׁגִּדּוּלוֹ מִן הָאָרֶץ. וְאֵלּוּ שֶׁאֵין אוֹכְלִין. הָעוֹשֶׂה בִמְחֻבָּר לַקַּרְקַע בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאֵין גְּמַר מְלָאכָה, וּבְתָלוּשׁ מִן הַקַּרְקַע מֵאַחַר שֶׁנִּגְמְרָה מְלַאכְתּוֹ, וּבְדָבָר שֶׁאֵין גִּדּוּלוֹ מִן הָאָרֶץ:
Bartenura
ואלו. פועלים:
אוכלים מן התורה. במה שעוסקין בו:
גמר מלאכה. כשתולשין אותו. דכתיב (דברים כ״ד) ואל כליך לא תתן, בשעה שאתה נותן לכליו של בעל הבית אתה אוכל, דהיינו כשתולשין אותו:
ובתלוש מן הקרקע. ואם מתעסק בדבר התלוש אוכל באותו דבר עד שלא נגמרה מלאכתו למעשר, אם הוא בר מעשר. או עד שלא נגמרה מלאכתו לחלה, אם הוא בר חלה. דאמר קרא (שם כ״ה) לא תחסום שור בדישו, ומדלא קאמר לא תדוש בחסימה, שמע מינה לאקושי חוסם לנחסם ונחסם לחוסם, מה נחסם שהוא שור אוכל בתלוש כשעושה בו מלאכה, כך חוסם שהוא אדם אוכל בתלוש כשעושה בו מלאכה, ומה חוסם וכו׳. ומה דיש מיוחד, דבר שהוא גדולי קרקע ולא נגמרה מלאכתו למעשר ובשעת גמר מלאכה פועל אוכל בו, אף כל דבר שהוא גידולי קרקע ולא נגמרה מלאכתו למעשר כשהוא בשעת גמר מלאכה פועל אוכל בו. יצא החולב והמחבץ והמגבן, שאינן גדולי קרקע. ויצא המבדיל התמרים והגרוגרות המחוברים יחד, שנגמרה מלאכתם למעשר. ויצא המנכש בשומים ובבצלים, שמסיר הקטנים שאינן גדלים לעולם מבין האחרים להרחיב מקום לגדולים, שאין זו שעת גמר מלאכה. שכל אלו וכיוצא בהן אין פועל אוכל בהן:
ואלו – workers.
אוכלים מן התורה – in what they are engaged with.
גמר מלאכה – when they detach it, as it is written (Deuteronomy 23:25): “[When you enter another man’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you want, until you are full,] but you must not put any in your vessel.” At the time when you put [them] into the vessels of the owner, you may eat, which is when you tear/detach them.
ובתלוש מן הקרקע – and if you are engaging in things that are detached, you may eat of that thing as long as you have not completed the work required [to make them liable] for tithing, if it is something that is tithed, or as long as you have not completed the work required [to make them liable] for Hallah, if it is something that is given as Hallah, for as Scripture stated (Deuteronomy 25:4): “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is threshing,” and since it is doesn’t say that you should not thresh while muzzling, we learn from it to make a juxtaposition between one who muzzles and that which is muzzled, and that which is muzzled to the one who muzzles. Just as the muzzled is an ox which eats that which is detached while it is engaged in work, so to the muzzle, who is a person, eats what is detached while engaged in work. And just as the one who muzzles, etc. And just as threshing is special, that which grows in the ground and its work has not been completed [to make it liable] for tithing and at the time when the work is completed , the worker can eat of it, so similarly all things that grow in the ground and whose work has not been completed [to make it liable] for tithing, and when it is at the time when the work is completed, the work eats of it, excluding the milking of animals and the presses thick milk in a bag to let the fluid run out (see Rashi to Shabbat 95a) and who makes cheese, which are not things that grow in the ground, and it excludes [also] one who separates the fruit of the date-palm and the dried figs that are attached together when their labor is completed [to become liable] for tithing , and excluding weeding garlic and onions , where he removes the small ones which have not grown from among the others to widen the space for the larger ones, for this is not the time of the end of the work. For all of these and ones similar to them, the worker does not eat them.