Sheviis, Chapter 3, Mishnah 3. This mishnah continues the position of Rabbi Shimon in the previous mishnah, who held that more than three ashpasos - more than three piles of manure - may be left lying in the field at the end of the Shemittah year for the purpose of fertilizing, and our mishnah follows that same line.
The text of the mishnah:
"Oseh adam es sadehu shalosh, shalosh ashpasos l'veis se'ah" - a person may make three piles in each beis se'ah. "Yeser mikan mechatziv, divrei Rabbi Shimon" - so reads one version, while others read: "Yeser mikan mutar, divrei Rabbi Shimon".
What is the difference between the two versions?
The version "mechatziv": the piles must be arranged in a shape resembling the legs of a tripod - the base of a certain vessel - that is, in a half circle or a circle, and not in a straight line.
The version "mutar": this is the easier way to understand the mishnah, since this was Rabbi Shimon's position in the previous mishnah - that more than three piles is permitted. The original halachah is indeed three piles, but one may exceed it.
What the repetition of the measure teaches us:
At first glance, what is the point of Rabbi Shimon's statement "a person may make his field three, three piles per beis se'ah," when he himself holds that one may make more than three piles? The Rishonim explain that our mishnah comes to teach us that according to Rabbi Shimon the piles need not specifically be the size of ten baskets, as stated in the previous mishnah; rather, he may make piles smaller than that, provided that each pile contains at least three baskets - that is the required minimum. This is the novelty, even though it is not stated explicitly in the mishnah.
The view of the Sages:
"VaChachamim osrin" - in their view, more than three piles is forbidden, as we saw in the previous mishnah, "ad sheya'amik shloshah o sheyagbiah shloshah" - unless he does not place the pile in the field itself, but rather digs a pit so that it lies three tefachim deep, or places it on some base so that it stands at least three tefachim above the surface of the field. In such a case the pile is not resting in the field itself, and it is evident that he is not fertilizing and enriching the field.
"Oseh adam es zivlo otzar":
The mishnah continues that a person may make his manure an otzar, that is, a storage place: even though according to the Sages one may keep three piles per beis se'ah, he may gather all three piles into a single heap. Based on what we learned in the previous mishnah, a pile is the size of ten baskets, and each one holds a letech - fifteen se'ah. So each pile is one hundred and fifty se'ah, and three piles are four hundred and fifty se'ah. Even so, he may gather into a single heap even more than this measure.
The view of Rabbi Meir and the qualification of the Yerushalmi:
Rabbi Meir, however, forbids it: a person may not make his manure an otzar, and one may not combine it all together, unless he makes the otzar three tefachim below the level of the field or three tefachim above it.
The Yerushalmi notes that Rabbi Meir's prohibition was stated specifically where he comes to make the otzar larger than the amount found in three piles, four hundred and fifty se'ah - the amount the Tanna Kamma permitted. But if he limits the otzar to four hundred and fifty se'ah alone, even Rabbi Meir agrees that he may gather all three piles into one.
With a small amount of manure:
The mishnah continues with a further matter: what is the law when he has only a small amount of manure, less than one of these large piles? The Tanna Kamma says that as long as he intends to bring out more, he need not bring out the entire measure at once; rather, he keeps adding to it until he completes the measure.
Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah disagrees and holds that one may not bring it out in small quantities; rather, he must bring out the full measure at once. And if he does not do so, he must dig down three tefachim or raise it three tefachim above the surface of the field, or place it on a rock, since in that way too it is evident that he is not fertilizing the field.
In summary: In this mishnah we learned Rabbi Shimon's position - three piles per beis se'ah - and the two versions of the end of his statement ("mechatziv" or "mutar"), as well as the novelty that the pile need not be the size of ten baskets but three suffice. Against him the Sages hold that more than three piles is forbidden, unless he digs down three or raises it three. We also learned the permission to make the manure an otzar and to gather all the piles into one, the view of Rabbi Meir who forbids it and the Yerushalmi's qualification of his words, and the dispute between the Tanna Kamma and Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah regarding the law of a small amount of manure.