Sheviis, Chapter 9, Mishnah 2. This mishnah deals with the mitzvah of biur, removing sheviis produce, and with the division of Eretz Yisrael into regions that determine the time of biur.
When does biur take place:
Biur occurs at the point when the sheviis fruit or produce is no longer to be found in the field for animals to eat from it. From that moment on it is no longer permitted to eat even from the sheviis produce that was gathered into the house, even though it is stored there, and a person must stop eating from it at the time of biur.
The dispute among the Rishonim about what biur means:
Exactly what a person is obligated to do at the time of biur is a matter of dispute among the Rishonim. We will mention two opinions:
The Rambam: Biur in its plain sense - destroying the fruit. A person sets aside three meals' worth of every species that is currently subject to biur, and likewise three meals' worth for each and every member of his household, and the rest he must physically destroy.
The Ramban: Biur means declaring the fruit ownerless. A person must renounce ownership of the fruit, and after he has done so it is possible for him to acquire it again.
"Shalosh aratzos labiur":
Biur depends on the fruit no longer being present in the field, which raises the question: which field are we talking about, what is the region such that when the fruit is finished there the time of biur has arrived? To this the mishnah says: "Shalosh aratzos labiur: Yehudah, v'Ever haYarden, v'haGalil" - there are three regions in Eretz Yisrael that are relevant to the law of biur:
Yehudah - the southern part of Eretz Yisrael.
The Galil - the north.
Ever haYarden - there is a dispute whether this refers to the side of the Jordan east of the river or the side west of it.
The mishnah continues: "U'shalosh aratzos l'chol achas v'achas" - each of the three regions is divided into three sub-divisions, nine in all, and the mishnah will spell them out. But the commentators disagree about the role of these sub-divisions:
Some understand that although there are three general regions, in practice there are nine, and each region is separate and distinct with regard to the laws of biur: once the fruit is finished in that region, the fruit and produce there require biur, each authority according to his own understanding of what biur is.
Others understand that although each of the three regions is divided into three sub-regions, these sub-regions are not given the status of separate lands; that is, although it appears that there are nine, in truth there are only three.
The mishnah first describes the three regions of the Galil, and afterward the three regions of Yehudah along with several additional areas that belong to them; the regions of Ever haYarden it does not spell out, and their description is left to the Tosefta.
The three regions of the Galil:
"Galil ha'Elyon" - "mi'Kfar Chananyah ul'ma'lan, kol she'eino megadel shikmin": the entire region from Kfar Chananyah and upward, where sycamores do not grow.
"Galil haTachton" - "mi'Kfar Chananyah ul'matan, kol shehu megadel shikmin": the region south of Kfar Chananyah, where sycamore trees do grow.
"V'ha'emek" - "u'techum Teveryah": the valley, the region around Teveryah, near the Kinneret.
The three regions of Yehudah:
"Ha'har" - the mountain, meaning Har haMelech.
"Ha'shefelah" - the lowland.
"V'ha'emek".
The mishnah adds: "U'shefelas Lod ki'shefelas ha'darom" - the lowland of Lod is considered like the lowland of the south, that is, like the shefelah mentioned above, the low region. "V'ha'har shelah k'Har haMelech" - the mountain of that region is given the status of the mountain, namely Har haMelech mentioned originally. "Mi'Beis Choron v'ad ha'yam medinah achas" - from Beis Choron until the sea, extending out to the sea, is considered one land.
An additional explanation - the regions of Ever haYarden in the mishnah itself:
Although we mentioned that it is the Tosefta that describes the three parts of Ever haYarden, some commentators understand that our mishnah describes them as well, and that the last details mentioned in it are not parts of Yehudah but of Ever haYarden: in Yehudah there are three - the mountain, the lowland and the valley; and after them, "u'shefelas Lod ki'shefelas ha'darom" is the first land of Ever haYarden, "v'ha'har shelah k'Har haMelech" is the second, and "mi'Beis Choron v'ad ha'yam medinah achas" is the third.
In summary: In this mishnah we learned that the time of biur is determined by the fruit being finished from the field, and that the Rambam (actual destruction) and the Ramban (renouncing ownership) disagree about what biur is. For this purpose the mishnah divided Eretz Yisrael into three lands - Yehudah, Ever haYarden and the Galil - and each of them into three sub-divisions, and the commentators disagree whether there are nine separate regions for biur here or only three. We reviewed the three regions of the Galil (Galil ha'Elyon, Galil haTachton and the valley) and the three regions of Yehudah (the mountain, the lowland and the valley) along with the additional areas that belong to them, as well as the explanation that sees the last details as the three regions of Ever haYarden.