Shabbat 85: How Much Agriculture Did the Rabbis Really Know?!
Asmakhtah, again. And a whole new discussion: kilayim, the prohibition against sowing seeds together. Mapping out the garden... And on to the salvation of the Jewish people at the end of days. Which leads into a question about rabbinic authority when it comes to agriculture, of all things. Yet the Torah itself, claims the Gemara, teaches a great deal about agriculture - for example, the inference possible from the concerns not to encroach on your neighbor's land. Which has implication for planting. And the all-encompassing nature of Torah and halakhah.