Our Gemara on amud aleph (and the previous daf) discusses how ownership is determined for produce that grows on the side of a ledge, where the top is a garden owned by one person, and the bottom is owned by another. What is the status of those vegetables that grow on the vertical surface between them?

מַתְנִי׳ שְׁתֵּי גַּנּוֹת זוֹ עַל גַּב זוֹ, וְהַיָּרָק בֵּינְתַיִם. רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: שֶׁל עֶלְיוֹן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: שֶׁל תַּחְתּוֹן. אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר: אִם יִרְצֶה הָעֶלְיוֹן לִיקַּח אֶת עֲפָרוֹ, אֵין כָּאן יָרָק. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה: אִם יִרְצֶה הַתַּחְתּוֹן לְמַלֹּאות אֶת גִּנָּתוֹ, אֵין כָּאן יָרָק.

MISHNA: In the case of two gardens that were located one above the other, i.e., a garden on a plateau that borders another garden below, and vegetables grew in-between, out of the wall of soil resulting from the difference in height between the two gardens, Rabbi Meir says: These vegetables belong to the owner of the upper garden. Rabbi Yehuda says: They belong to the owner of the lower one. 

Rabbi Meir said in explanation of his ruling: If the owner of the upper garden would want to dig and take his dirt and does so, no vegetables would grow here, as that wall made of soil would not exist. The vegetables therefore belong to him. In response, Rabbi Yehuda said: If the owner of the lower garden would want to fill his garden with dirt and does so, thereby raising its level, no vegetables would grow here, as that wall made of soil would not exist. The vegetables therefore belong to him.

אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר: מֵאַחַר שֶׁשְּׁנֵיהֶן יְכוֹלִין לְמַחוֹת זֶה עַל זֶה, רוֹאִין מֵהֵיכָן יָרָק זֶה חַי. אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן: כׇּל שֶׁהָעֶלְיוֹן יָכוֹל לִפְשׁוֹט אֶת יָדוֹ וְלִיטּוֹל – הֲרֵי הוּא שֶׁלּוֹ, וְהַשְּׁאָר שֶׁל תַּחְתּוֹן.

Rabbi Meir said: Since the two of them can object to each other, as they each have the ability to prevent the vegetable growth, nothing can be decided based on such considerations. Instead, the court considers from where this vegetable lives and derives nourishment, whether from above or from below. Rabbi Shimon said: Any vegetables that the owner of the upper garden can stretch out his hand and take, those vegetables are his, and the rest belong to the owner of the lower garden.

אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן: כֹּל שֶׁהָעֶלְיוֹן יָכוֹל לִפְשׁוֹט [וְכוּ׳]. אָמְרִי דְּבֵי רַבִּי יַנַּאי: וּבִלְבַד שֶׁלֹּא יֵאָנֵס.

The mishna teaches: Rabbi Shimon said: Any vegetables that the owner of the upper garden can stretch out his hand and take, those vegetables are his, and the rest belong to the owner of the lower garden. In the school of Rabbi Yannai they say: And this is only so provided that he does not force himself, but simply stretches out his hand in the usual manner.

אָמַר אֶפְרַיִם סָפְרָא תַּלְמִידוֹ שֶׁל רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ מִשּׁוּם רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן. אַמְרוּהָ קַמֵּיהּ דְּשַׁבּוּר מַלְכָּא, אֲמַר לְהוּ: אָפְרִין נִמְטְיֵיהּ לְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן.

Efrayim the scribe, a student of Reish Lakish, says in the name of Reish Lakish: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon. They stated this case before the Persian King Shapur, who expressed an interest in this legal issue, and he said to them: Let us offer praise [apiryon] to Rabbi Shimon. He too felt that this was the best resolution.

Continuing a theme we saw on daf 117, where a Halacha becomes a spiritual metaphor, Ben Yehoyada interprets this dispute between the upper garden and lower garden as the tension between physical and spiritual. Rabbi Meir holds that nothing in the physical world has validity without the divine flow, advocating an ascetic lifestyle. Rabbi Yehuda maintains, the owner of the lower garden can fill it up with dirt, thus blocking the ledge. So it follows to reason that the produce belongs to the lower garden, alluding to advocating a lifestyle of participating in this world and experiencing its pleasures (presumably, without excessive indulgence). 

Interestingly, Rav Shimon offers a compromise position, “Any vegetables that the owner of the upper garden can stretch out his hand and take, those vegetables are his, and the rest belong to the owner of the lower garden.” This is symbolic of advocating for integration of physical pleasures and a degree of abnegation. 

Notably, Rabbi Yannai warns the owners of the upper garden: “And this is only so provided that he does not force himself, but simply stretches out his hand in the usual manner.” I wonder if, along the lines of this metaphor, Rav Yannai was cautioning the “owner of the upper garden”, that is the spiritual consciousness, not to over reach and grab too much. As the sages say, “If you try to obtain too much, you will acquire nothing” ( Succah 5b).

And finally, Ben Yehoyada notes that the Shavur Malka (King Shapur) endorsed and praised Rav Shimon’s approach. The government official, representing societal concerns, appreciates the value of an integrated spiritual and physical approach in order to maximize societal function and order.

Balance and integration between spiritual and physical concerns promotes and maintains mental health and social prosperity. The animal part of us needs gratifications and stimulation to feel motivated and energized, yet our souls yearn for meaning and purpose, and our pleasures are incomplete without them. We find the greatest sense of significance and relevance in life when we can share and be with others. Abstinence can be useful for its own sake, but when this form of spiritual reserve is utilized in order to tune in and care for others, it is uniquely positive . 

There is an old joke about a rabbi who was fed up and bored on Yom Kippur, so he sneaks out of shul to play a round of golf. As luck would have it, he scored a birdie on all 18 holes. At first he was thrilled, but then realized he had no friends who he can share it with! The hedonic pleasures ultimately feel empty without a larger human context that is built on the voluntary withholding of our own selfish needs to make space for the needs of others and society. 

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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