Pesachim, Chapter 4, Mishnah 2. In the previous mishnah we learned that a person who leaves his home temporarily and travels to another place must observe the stringencies of both places in matters of custom. Our mishnah deals with a similar idea, except that it does not deal with customs but with a matter connected to a mitzvah - the mitzvah of biur (removal) of the produce of the Shemittah year.
What is the mitzvah of biur:
The produce of the Shemittah year is ownerless and grows in the field naturally. A person who has brought such produce into his home may eat it only as long as produce of that same species is still available in the fields for the animals. Once that produce has ceased to be found in the field and is no longer available to the animals, he becomes obligated to dispose of the produce in his home - this is the mitzvah of biur. Our mishnah discusses one who travels from a place where a particular species is still found in the fields to a place where it has already ceased, or the reverse.
The words of the mishnah:
"Kayotzei bo, hamolich peiros shevi'is mimakom shekalu lemakom shelo kalu, o mimakom shelo kalu lemakom shekalu - chayav levaer" - Similarly, one who transports Shemittah produce from a place where it has ceased to a place where it has not ceased, or from a place where it has not ceased to a place where it has ceased, is obligated to perform biur. That is:
"Mimakom shekalu lemakom shelo kalu" - he took produce from a place where this species can no longer be found in the fields, and brought it to a place where the produce is still available.
"Mimakom shelo kalu lemakom shekalu" - he took produce from a place where it is still found in the fields, and brought it to a place where it has already ceased.
In both cases he is obligated to remove the produce and fulfill the mitzvah of biur, because he must accept upon himself the stringencies of both places: the place he came from and the place he went to.
Introduction to the mishnah in Shevi'is - three types of vegetables in one barrel:
The next ruling in the mishnah, the words of Rabbi Yehudah, requires a thorough understanding of a mishnah in Tractate Shevi'is. In Chapter 9 of Tractate Shevi'is, the mishnah presents a case of someone who pickles three types of vegetables together in a single barrel, where each of the species ceases from the field at a different time. Three opinions are stated on the matter:
Rabbi Eliezer - "ochlan al harishon": One may eat from the pickled vegetables only as long as the first species is still found in the field. Once one of the species has ceased and becomes subject to biur, all the rest become forbidden to eat, since the taste of the species that has ceased is absorbed in all of them.
Rabbi Yehoshua - "afilu al ha'acharon": The opposite position. As long as one of the species in the barrel is still found in the field, its taste and its components spread through all the rest of the contents of the barrel, and on its strength all of them may be eaten.
Rabban Gamliel: Everything depends on each species by itself. A species that has ceased from the field - the portion of it in the barrel may not be eaten, while the other species remain permitted.
The view of Rabbi Yehudah in our mishnah:
Rabbi Yehudah follows the approach of Rabban Gamliel, that the matter depends on each fruit separately, and he understood the first tanna of our mishnah to hold like Rabbi Yehoshua, who maintains that one may eat even on the strength of the last species. To this Rabbi Yehudah responds that we say to the owner of the jar of pickled vegetables: "Tzei vehaveh lach" - go out and bring for yourself. Whatever he is able to bring for himself from the field, that he may eat, and the others he may not.
These words represent the position of Rabban Gamliel: the species still found in the field may be eaten, while the other species are forbidden. This is the meaning of the phrase "Tzei vehaveh lach" - any species that can still be found in the field may be eaten, and the others may not.
In summary: In this mishnah we learned that one who transports Shemittah produce from a place where it has ceased to a place where it has not ceased, or the reverse, is obligated to perform biur - because he must observe the stringencies of both places. We also examined the three opinions in the mishnah in Shevi'is regarding three types of vegetables pickled in a single barrel - Rabbi Eliezer, "ochlan al harishon"; Rabbi Yehoshua, "afilu al ha'acharon"; and Rabban Gamliel, who makes each species depend on itself - as well as the view of Rabbi Yehudah in our mishnah, who follows the approach of Rabban Gamliel and says "Tzei vehaveh lach".