Moed Katan 6b

מועד קטן ו׳ ע״ב

Learn Moed Katan 6b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Moed Katan 6b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Farm work on חול המועד and in שביעית: כלאים, watering fields, and dealing with pests

Overview

The amud opens with the last line of a ruling about seed mixtures, then asks why the משנה has agents uproot כלאים when a ברייתא says the whole field is declared הפקר. The answer is that the two sources describe different times, and a ברייתא tells how the תקנה grew stricter in three stages. A new משנה brings a מחלוקת about watering on חול המועד. רבי אליעזר בן יעקב allows leading water from tree to tree but not watering a whole field, and חכמים are more lenient. רב יהודה and a ברייתא say that a field that was moist before the מועד may be watered. רבינא learns from this that a garden may be sprinkled, because watering makes a late crop come early. Two ברייתות about sprinkling a שדה לבן seem to clash, and רב הונא assigns each to a different side of the מחלוקת. Another משנה allows trapping moles and mice, patching a broken wall on the מועד, and building it normally in שביעית. The גמרא explains what an אישות is and how to destroy ant nests.

Opening lines

The steps (22)

1. StatementA seed mixture with a quarter of another kind must be reduced
2. ChallengeA ברייתא says the whole field is declared ownerless
3. ResolutionBefore the new rule and after it
4. ProofStage one: uprooting and feeding the animals
5. ProofStages two and three: throwing on the roads, then הפקר
6. StatementThe new משנה: limits on watering during the festival
7. Statementרב יהודה: a field that was moist may be watered
8. ProofA ברייתא supports רב יהודה and spells out the full rule
9. Statementרבינא: a person may sprinkle a garden on חול המועד
10. StatementA ברייתא: sprinkling is allowed in שביעית but not on the מועד
11. ChallengeA different ברייתא allows sprinkling on the מועד too
12. Resolutionרב הונא: each ברייתא follows a different opinion
13. StatementAnother ברייתא: sprinkling before and during שביעית
14. StatementNew משנה: trapping moles and mice in fields
15. StatementPatching a broken wall on the מועד, building in שביעית
16. QuestionWhat is an אישות?
17. Responseרב יהודה: a creature with no eyes
18. ProofA פסוק showing the אישות never sees the sun
19. Statementברייתא: trapping moles and mice, and destroying ant holes
20. QuestionHow are ant holes destroyed?
21. Responseרבן שמעון בן גמליאל: mix soil between nests
22. Statementאביי: the trick works only when the nests are fully separated