When
it comes to studying Torah, I rarely believe in coincidences. Over the two day
holiday of Shavuot which not only celebrates the Revelation Mount Sinai but
also rejoices in the harvest of the first fruits, בִּכּוּרִים, my daf yomi journey took me to the laws of planting
a garden. According to Leviticus 19:19 we are forbidden to sow our fields with
two different kinds of seeds. This is just one aspect of forbidden mixtures kil’ayim,
כלאים. The very end of TB Shabbat
84b and all of TB Shabbat 85 tries to figure out how one can maximize the
number of produce a 6 x 6 handbreadths garden bed without violating the
prohibition of kil’ayim.
MISHNA: The
Gemara continues to discuss an additional halakha based on a biblical
allusion. From where is it derived that in a garden bed that
is six by six handbreadths, that one may plant five different types of seeds
in it? He may do so without violating the prohibition of sowing a mixture
of diverse kinds of seeds in the following manner. One sows four types
of plants on each of the four sides of the garden bed and one in the
middle. There is an allusion to this in the text, as it is stated: “For
as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden causes its seeds to grow,
so will the Lord God cause justice and praise to spring forth before all the
nations” (Isaiah 61:11). Its
seed, in the singular, is not stated; rather, its seeds, written in
the plural. Apparently, it is possible that several seeds may be planted in a
small garden.
God commands us to be
holy for He is holy as is written, “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your
God, and holy.” (Leviticus 19:2) The law of kil’ayim focuses on the idea of
holiness of God which human beings must create in their own lives. The noted
anthropologist Mary Douglas in her book Purity and Danger defines holiness
for the Israelites in chapter 3 “The Abominations of Leviticus.” Although the
root of kadosh, קדוש, means separateness, what
emerges from a close study of the texts is “To be holy is to be whole, to be
one; holiness in unity, integrity, perfection of the individual and of the
kind.” (Page 54)
The laws of kil’ayim would have been like a sign which at every planting
inspired meditation on the oneness, purity and completeness of God.
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