What counts as an orchard?
Three tests
How many trees
How much ground
How much fruit
Three trees in a beis se'ah
General ruleAny three trees per beis se'ah -
Beis se'ah50 × 50 amos
Enough figs for a 60-maneh fig cake
About 29 kilograms
Figs were dried and pressed into cakes
Then plow the whole beis se'ah — until Shavuos
Permissiveone may plow the whole beis se'ah for their sake.
Less than that? Only the picker and his basket's space
about two amos around each tree
Restrictiveone may plow for them only [room for] the picker and his basket, standing outside it:
Two questions the Rishonim ask
Each tree — or the three together?
Do they yield — or could they?
Sheviis 1:2
What Counts as an Orchard
אֵיזֶהוּ שְׂדֵה הָאִילָן
אֵיזֶהוּ שְׂדֵה הָאִילָן,
כָּל שְׁלֹשָׁה אִילָנוֹת לְבֵית סְאָה,
אִם רְאוּיִין לַעֲשׂוֹת כִּכַּר דְּבֵלָה שֶׁל שִׁשִּׁים מָנֶה בָּאִיטַלְקִי, חוֹרְשִׁים כָּל בֵּית סְאָה בִּשְׁבִילָן.
פָּחוֹת מִכָּאן, אֵין חוֹרְשִׁין לָהֶן אֶלָּא מְלֹא הָאוֹרֶה וְסַלּוֹ חוּצָה לוֹ: