Yerushalmi Kilayim 7:1 ירושלמי כלאים ז׳:א׳

MISHNAH: If one sinks¹He takes a branch of a vine, bends it down into a ditch, covers the ditch with earth, and lets it come out again. Then the branch will grow roots in the earth and one has a new vine. a vine into the ground he should not bring seeds over it unless there are three hand-breadths of earth above it, even if he sank it in a gourd²A dried-up gourd used as ditch. or in a pipe³A wooden or clay pipe.. If he sank it in a rock⁴It cannot really be a rock but must be ground hard as rock. it is permitted to bring seeds there even if it is covered only by three fingers’⁵A finger is one fourth of a hand-breadth. depth of earth. For a knee-shaped vine one measures only from the second stem⁶If a vine is bent back while growing and enters the ground again in a kind of natural sinking, the six hand-breadths for its working space are measured only from the point where it reappears above ground. (R. Simson explains: “a grafted vine” but this does not fit either language or context.).

HALAKHAH: “He should not bring seeds over it,” therefore it is permitted on the side⁷In the Babli, Baba Batra 19b, this is stated as a baraita.. What are we dealing with? If it is because of seeds in a tree, why are we dealing with a vine and not any tree? If it is because of working space, they should mention six⁸The Mishnah should state that six hand-breadths on each side of the buried shoot are forbidden as working space, or at least three handbreadths following Rebbi Aqiba (Mishnah 6:1).. It might follow Rebbi Aqiba since Rebbi Aqiba says three. If it were following Rebbi Aqiba, it should mention three on the side. Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: It is because of seeds on top of a vine⁹This confirms the original statement that the only forbidden space is on top of the buried shoot..

There¹⁰Mishnah Baba Batra 2:1. The adobe wall is either common property of the landlord and his neighbor or totally the neighbor’s; the landlord is required to take all necessary precautions to avoid damage to his fellow man’s property., we have stated: “One keeps seeds, the plough, and urine three hand-breadths away from a wall.” Rebbi Jeremiah said that Rebbi Ḥama bar Uqba raised a question: There¹¹“There” means Kilaim and “here” refers to Baba Batra. It is possible that this paragraph is copied here from a Tiberian version of Baba Batra that has not come down to us. In the transmitted Caesarean version of Baba Batra (2:1, fol. 13b), the statement of R. Yose refers to the prohibition of storing salt or quick lime near somebody else’s wall. R. Simson reads “here” for “there” but it is not clear whether this is a genuine reading or an adaptation for the purposes of his commentary.
The argument is that crop plants are allowed to be grown near a buried vine; their roots are not supposed to expand over the buried shoot, but since they are not allowed to be grown near a wall, one expects their roots to expand sideways and damage the wall., you say that the roots do not expand sideways and here you say, the roots do expand sideways! Rebbi Yose said, in both cases the roots do not expand sideways but they create soft earth and undermine the base of the wall¹²In Babli Baba Batra 19b, the printed editions quote the statement of R. Yose as “R. Ḥaga in the name of R. Yose.” This version is impossible since R. Ḥaga (Ḥaggai) was older than R. Yose and a greater authority in his lifetime. One has to prefer the reading of all mss. (Diqduqe Soferim Baba Bathra p. מה) “R. Ḥana”. In that case, “R. Yose” would probably be R. Yasa (Assi).. You can see that because we also stated “urine”. Does urine expand sideways? Rebbi Yose the son of Rebbi Abun explained, did we not also state “the plough”? Does the plough expand sideways?

“Even if he sank it in a gourd or in a pipe.” That means, in a clay pipe; but in a lead pipe it does not need three hand-breadths of earth on top.

“If he sank it in a rock.” That means, in hard [earth], but in soft [earth] it cleaves¹³R. Simson reads מתפתחת “it [the root] can develop”. it.

That is¹⁴Here starts the discussion of the last part of the Mishnah, regarding the knee-shaped vine. only if the first stem is not visible, but if the first stem is visible one allows six hand-breadths from either stem. You can see that because we also stated afterwards¹⁵Mishnah 7:2.: “If one sinks three vines and their stems are visible,” and we have stated on this: When has this been said? For a vineyard¹⁶Regarding the conditions under which three vines can be extended to form a legal vineyard. If they are too close to or too far from one another, each one of the six vines so created is given its own working space.. But concerning the working space one allows six hand-breadths for either one.