Negative Commandment 216 (Digest)
Planting Vegetables or Grain in a Vineyard
"You shall not sow your vineyard with different seeds"—Deuteronomy 22:9.
It is forbidden to plant vegetables or grain in a vineyard.
This biblical prohibition pertains only to the Land of Israel. The Sages, however, extended it to also include fields in the Diaspora.
The
216th prohibition is that we are forbidden from planting grain or vegetables in
a vineyard. This type of mixture is called kilai
ha'kerem (kilayim in a vineyard).
The
source of this commandment is G‑d's statement, "Do not plant your vineyard with kilayim."
In
the words of the Sifri: "Why do we
need the verse, 'Do not plant your vineyard with kilayim'? It already is written, 'Do not plant your field with kilayim,' which certainly includes both [kilayim in] a vineyard and a field!"
They
answer, "This verse comes to teach that anyone who allows kilayim in a vineyard transgresses two prohibitions."
You
should be aware that kilai ha'kerem
is prohibited by Torah law only in Eretz Yisroel. One who plants wheat, barley,
and grapes in the same handful, and in Eretz Yisroel, is punished by lashes.
Outside
Eretz Yisroel, this planting is forbidden by Rabbinic law and one who plants
wheat, barley, and grapes in the same handful receives lashes by Rabbinic
decree.
Grafting
together trees [of different species], however, is [prohibited by Torah law
and] punishable by lashes everywhere [‑both in Eretz Yisroel and outside Eretz
Yisroel]. This prohibition is included in the general statement, "Do not plant
your field with kilayim."
The
details of this mitzvah are also
explained in tractate Kilayim.
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