Talmud - Kiddushin 37a קידושין ל״ז א׳

This is apart from the mitzvot of orla and diverse kinds, which apply even outside of Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Eliezer says: This is the halakha even with regard to the prohibition to eat from the new crop before the omer offering has been brought on the sixteenth of Nisan.

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: What is meant by mitzvot that are dependent on the land, and what is meant by mitzvot that are not dependent on the land? If we say that a mitzva is called dependent in a case where it is written in a verse with regard to it: Coming to Eretz Yisrael, and a mitzva that is not dependent on the land is one concerning which the verb: Coming, or the verb: Bringing, is not written in a verse with regard to it, that would lead to a difficulty: But aren’t there the mitzvot of donning phylacteries and the redemption of the firstborn donkey, in which the verse states: Bringing, in the passage: “And it shall be when the Lord shall bring you to the land of the Canaanite…And every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb…And it shall be for a sign upon your hand, and for frontlets between your eyes” (Exodus 13:11–16), and yet those mitzvot apply both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael.

Rav Yehuda said that this is what the mishna is saying: Any mitzva that is an obligation of the body, i.e., an obligation upon the person, applies both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael. Conversely, an obligation of the land, that is, a mitzva that applies specifically to the earth and its growths, applies only in Eretz Yisrael.

The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived? The Gemara answers: This is as the Sages taught in a baraita: The verse states: “These are the statutes and the ordinances that you shall observe to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess it, all the days that you live upon the earth” (Deuteronomy 12:1). This verse is interpreted as follows: The phrase “these are the statutes” means that these are the expositions that the Sages learn from verses. With regard to the phrase “and the ordinances,” these are monetary laws. With regard to “that you shall observe,” this is referring to the study of matters that must be observed for one to perform them. And as for the phrase “to do,” this is referring to action, the actual performance of mitzvot.

The baraita continues: From the phrase “in the land [ba’aretz],” one might have thought that all mitzvot apply only in Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, the verse also states “all the days that you live upon the earth,” i.e., wherever you live. Furthermore, if the Merciful One had written only the phrase “all the days,” one might have thought that all mitzvot should apply both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, the verse also states “in the land.”

The baraita continues: Once the verse includes areas outside of Eretz Yisrael and also excludes areas outside of Eretz Yisrael, how is it determined which mitzvot apply outside the land and which do not? The baraita answers: Go and learn from what is stated with regard to a different issue that appears in the next verse: “You shall destroy all the places where the nations that you are to dispossess served their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:2). Just as the prohibition of idol worship is distinct in that it is an obligation of the body, and it applies both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael, so too, any mitzva that is an obligation of the body applies both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael. Conversely, mitzvot that are an obligation connected to the land apply only in Eretz Yisrael.

§ The mishna teaches that all mitzvot that are dependent on the land apply only in Eretz Yisrael, apart from orla and the prohibition of diverse kinds. Rabbi Eliezer says: This is the halakha even with regard to the prohibition to eat from the new crop. A dilemma was raised before them: Does Rabbi Eliezer disagree with the first tanna with the intent to rule more leniently or does he disagree with the first tanna with the intent to rule more stringently?

The Gemara elaborates: It is possible that Rabbi Eliezer disagrees with the first tanna with the intent to rule more stringently, and this is what the first tanna is saying: All mitzvot that are dependent on the land apply only in Eretz Yisrael, apart from orla and diverse kinds, as we learned this halakha through a tradition transmitted to Moses from Sinai. Although one could say that each of them is an obligation of the land and should apply only in Eretz Yisrael, nevertheless they are obligatory outside of Eretz Yisrael as well. But the prohibition of the new crop, which is an obligation of the land, yes, it applies in Eretz Yisrael, but outside of Eretz Yisrael, no, it does not apply.

What is the reason of the first tanna? In the verse that states with regard to the new crop: “In all your dwellings” (Leviticus 23:14), the term dwelling does not mean that this halakha applies wherever Jews live. Rather, it means that the mitzva is applicable only in Eretz Yisrael, as this phrase indicates a time after inheritance and settlement of Eretz Yisrael by the Jewish people, when they are actually dwelling in the land, not when they are in the process of conquering it. This is the opinion of the first tanna.

And Rabbi Eliezer comes to say: Even the prohibition with regard to the new crop applies both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael. What is the reason for his opinion? He explains that the term dwelling means wherever you dwell. This is one possible way to understand the dispute, according to which the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer is more stringent than that of the first tanna.

Or perhaps Rabbi Eliezer disagrees with the first tanna with the intent to rule more leniently, and this is what the first tanna is saying: All mitzvot that are dependent on the land apply only in Eretz Yisrael, apart from orla and diverse kinds, as we learned this halakha through tradition, and all the more so apart from the new crop, which applies outside of Eretz Yisrael, as the term dwelling indicates wherever you dwell. This is the opinion of the first tanna.

And Rabbi Eliezer comes to say: The prohibition of the new crop applies only in Eretz Yisrael, as the term dwelling indicates a time after inheritance and settlement of Eretz Yisrael by the Jewish people. The Gemara asks: And accordingly, what is the meaning of the word: Even, with which Rabbi Eliezer begins his statement? It is not referring to orla and diverse kinds, which apply outside of Eretz Yisrael, but to the first clause, which states that a mitzva that is dependent on the land applies only in Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Eliezer adds that this principle includes the new crop as well.

Having presented the two ways in which one can explain the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer, the Gemara attempts to prove which is correct and suggests: Come and hear a proof from that which Abaye said: Who is the tanna who disagrees with Rabbi Eliezer? It is Rabbi Yishmael. As it is taught in a baraita with regard to the mitzva of bringing libations with offerings: This serves to teach you that wherever the term dwelling is stated, the mitzva in question applies only after the inheritance and settlement of Eretz Yisrael. This is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael.

Rabbi Akiva said to him: But there is the case of Shabbat, in which it is stated: “It is a Shabbat to the Lord in all your dwellings” (Leviticus 23:3), and this mitzva applies both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Yishmael said to Rabbi Akiva: Shabbat is derived through the following a fortiori inference: If less stringent mitzvot apply both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael, is it not all the more so reasonable that Shabbat, which is a stringent mitzva, should apply everywhere?

The Gemara explains the proof. From the fact that Abaye said: Who is the tanna who disagrees with Rabbi Eliezer, it is Rabbi Yishmael, and Rabbi Yishmael says that the term dwelling means that the mitzva applies after Eretz Yisrael has been entirely settled, one can conclude from it that Rabbi Eliezer disagrees with the first tanna with the intent to rule more stringently, as he evidently maintains that the term dwelling means wherever Jews are located. The Gemara affirms: Conclude from that baraita that it is so.

The Gemara asks an incidental question with regard to Rabbi Yishmael’s opinion. Now, where does Rabbi Yishmael stand, i.e., to which specific mitzva is he referring? He is referring to the obligation to bring libations, from which he learns that all mitzvot that feature the term dwelling apply only after Eretz Yisrael had been conquered and settled. With regard to libations

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Kidushin 37a explores which mitzvot depend on the Land of Israel, distinguishing bodily obligations from those tied to agricultural produce.