#149: Whose Land? — Rabbi Amy Scheinerman

MISHNAH: Whence [do we know] that [in] a six-by-six handbreadth garden plot one may plant five [species] of seeds, four on the four sides of the garden and one in the middle? Because it is written, For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden causes its seeds to grow… (Isaiah 61:11). It does not say “its seed” but rather “its seeds.”

 GEMARA: Whence [do we know five species are permitted]? Rav Yehudah said: For as the earth brings forth its growth. “Brings forth” is one. “Its vegetation” is one, making two. “Its seeds” is plural, making four. “Cause to grow” is one, [totaling] five. The Sages have a substantial tradition that five [species] in a six-[by-six square garden] do not draw sustenance from one another. How do we know the Sages’ view is reliable? R. Chiyya bar Abba said that R. Yochanan said: What [is the meaning of], Do not move your neighbor’s boundary set by the early ones (Deuteronomy 19:14)? Do not encroach on the boundary set by earlier generations. What does “set by the early ones” [mean]? R. Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of R. Yonatan: What is the meaning of the verse, These are the sons of Seir the Chori who live in the land… (Genesis 36:20)? Does everyone else live in the sky? Rather, it means they were experts in settling the land, for they would say, “This rod’s length [of land] is for olive trees. This rod’s length is for grapevines. This rod’s length is for figs.” They were called Chori (Horites) because they smelled (heirichu) the earth. They were called Chivi (Hittites) [see Genesis 36:2] because, as Rav Pappa said, they would taste the earth like a snake (chivya). Rav Acha bar Yaakov said: [They were called] Chori (Horites) because they were freed (b’nai chorin) of their possessions. (BT Shabbat 84b-85a)

INTRODUCTION

Torah prohibits kilayim, the mixing of plant or animal species (see Lv. 19:19 and Dt. 22:9-11).  The Mishnah expands the prohibition to include mixtures of seeds in a garden or vineyard, grafting, and cross-breeding. Today, kilayim is best known with regard to mixing wool and linen fibers in one garment. On the basis of the use of the plural “seeds” in Isaiah 61:11, M Shabbat 5:2 stipulates that in a modestly-sized garden plot—needed to support a family—one may plant a variety of species if they arranged with space between them allowed to lie fallow.

COMMENTARY

Gemara seeks to understand mishnah’s specification that precisely five species are permitted. Rav Yehudah derives permission from a close reading of the Isaiah verse, which is composed of five phrases that refer to the growth of vegetation in a garden. Notwithstanding Rav Yehudah’s scriptural justification, the Rabbis are concerned that if close enough, plants could forge physical connections (i.e., among their roots) by which they nourish one another, thereby violating the prohibition of mixing species. R. Chiyya bar Abba in the name of R. Yochanan offers support by the biblical prohibition (Dt. 19:14) against moving boundary markers erected to define and secure long-established tribal borders. Just as borders are recognized on the basis of long-accepted claims of ownership, so too each species “owns” its own section of the garden plot. R. Shmuel bar Nachmani then evokes Esau’s descendants with a laser focus on the seemingly superfluous phrase “inhabitants of Seir who live in the land.” Certainly they live in the land; after all, does anyone live in the sky? What, then, does this phrase teach us? Employing a rabbinic etymological interpretation, R. Shmuel tells us that “inhabitants of Seir” means they knew precisely where to plant olive trees, grapevines, and figs, presumably in adherence to the strict separation of species kilayim to prevent intermingling and to ensure maximum yield. Further, they were called Chori (Horites) because they “smelled” (heirichu) precisely where to plant each species: transposition of the letters chet and resh in Chori (Horite) produces rei’ach (“scent”). This mode of interpretation is employed by Rav Pappa, as well, noting that earlier in the same chapter (Genesis 36:2) we learn that Esau married not only the daughter of Elon the Hittite, but also the daughter of Tzivon the Chivi (Hivite); hence Esau’s descendants—the “inhabitants of Seir who live in the land”—include Hivites. Through the similarity between Chivi (Hivite) and chivya (“snake”), Rav Pappa explains that, “who live in the land” means the descendants of Esau could, like a snake, taste the earth—an expression of their exceptional knowledge of the land and how and where to plant each species.

This brings us to Rav Acha bar Yaakov’s enigmatic comment. He dissents from R. Shmuel bar Nachmani’s interpretation of Chori (Horites), connecting Chori instead to b’nai chorin, a phrase found in the blessings recited every morning, which means “free.” The “inhabitants of Seir who live in the land” are called Chori (Horites), Rav Acha tells us, because they were freed of their possessions—that is, dispossessed of their land.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER AND DISCUSS

1. Do you think “smelling” and “tasting” the earth celebrate a deep attachment to and knowledge of the land or, given that Horites and Hivites are Canaanites, this is a subtle deprecation of the physical focus of their lives? In our time, should it be viewed positively or negatively?
2. The purpose of the mitzvah of kilayim is unclear. Some have suggested it relates to an ancient sensibility concerning God’s creation that all things be separated into their proper realms (see Genesis chapter 1). Could R. Shmuel bar Nachmani’s interpretation concerning the non-Jewish inhabitants of Seir who, being experts on the land’s fertility, plant each species separately, suggest there is a natural, biological basis for kilayim? 
3. Many people throughout history have been dispossessed of their ancestral land. Do you think that Rav Acha’s dissenting opinion of “Chivi” is merely an alternative interpretation? Do you think its pointed reference to the dispossession of the Hivites from their land (particularly in the context of Dt. 19:14) is a justification of Jewish sovereignty looking far back in time? How does the lack of historical evidence to support the “events” Torah recounts influence your view? Does this conversation contribute to thinking about the issue of the ownership of land?