Mishnah 8 in the second chapter of Maseches Shevi'is is a direct continuation of the previous mishnah. In the previous mishnah we learned that there are certain types of produce, and in particular seeds, whose year is not determined by the time of harvesting but by rooting - by the time at which they took root. This determination affects two matters:
Whether they are considered produce of the Shemittah year.
Whether they belong to the year of maaser ani or to the year of maaser sheni.
The seeds listed there are: rice, millet, poppy and sesame seeds. Our mishnah adds further types to this list, and the Tanna'im disagree about them.
The words of Rabbi Shimon Shezuri:
Rabbi Shimon Shezuri says: "Pol hamitzri shezera'o l'zera lechatchilah - kayotzei bahen" - if one planted Egyptian beans from the outset for the sake of the seed that would grow from them, and not for the sake of the vegetable that grows from them, their law is exactly like that of the seeds listed in the previous mishnah - rice, millet, poppy and sesame - and their year is determined by rooting.
The words of Rabbi Shimon:
Rabbi Shimon says: "Afunin hagamlonin - kayotzei bahen" - the afunin hagamlonin are large legumes, and they too have the same law. Although one might have understood them to be a type of vegetable, Rabbi Shimon rules that with them we follow the rooting, according to the time at which they took root.
The view of Rabbi Elazar:
Rabbi Elazar says: "Afunin hagamlonin shemishtarmelu lifnei Rosh Hashanah" - in his opinion, these large legumes are not determined by rooting, but by the time at which the pod that holds the peas was formed. It emerges that:
If the pods were formed before Rosh Hashanah, they belong to the previous year.
If they were not formed by Rosh Hashanah, they belong to the coming year.
In summary: this mishnah continues the discussion of seeds whose year is determined by rooting, both regarding the Shemittah year and regarding maaser ani and maaser sheni. Rabbi Shimon Shezuri adds Egyptian beans planted for the sake of their seed; Rabbi Shimon adds the afunin hagamlonin, even though there was room to view them as a vegetable; and Rabbi Elazar disagrees and rules that with the afunin hagamlonin we follow whether the pod was formed before Rosh Hashanah or after it.
In the next section we will continue our study of the remainder of the mishnah and of the rules for determining the year of produce.