We continue with chapter 5 of Maseches Sotah, mishnah 3. This mishnah too is one of the "bo bayom" mishnayos - that same day on which Rabbi Akiva expounded many derashos. This time the derashah deals with the verses that speak about the cities of the Levi'im in Eretz Yisrael, which are given an open area of land outside the city.
The two verses that stand opposed to one another:
"U'madosem michutz la'ir es pe'as kedmah alpayim ba'amah" - the verse lists one direction after another ("pe'as kedmah" is the eastern side), and establishes two thousand cubits for each direction.
"Mikir ha'ir vachutzah elef amah saviv" - the verse preceding it establishes that the measure is one thousand cubits around the city.
If so, which is the correct measure? We cannot say that the measure is one thousand cubits, since elsewhere it already says two thousand cubits; and we cannot say that the measure is two thousand cubits, since it already says one thousand cubits. So how do we resolve this?
Rabbi Akiva's approach:
Rabbi Akiva resolves that there is no contradiction here at all, but rather two different matters:
"Elef amah migrash" - an open area that is meant to remain open, and it contributes to the beauty of the city.
"Alpayim amah techum Shabbos" - an entirely different halachah: outside the city one may walk up to two thousand cubits, and beyond that there is no permission to walk.
The approach of Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Yosi HaGelili:
Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Yosi HaGelili, disagrees and holds that this is not the point of distinction between the verses:
"Elef amah migrash" - an open area that remains just as it is, something like a park.
"Alpayim amah sados u'chramim" - these are not meant to remain empty; rather, they are designated for agriculture.
The dispute between Rashi and the Rambam:
Rashi and the Rambam disagree in understanding the words of the mishnah - whether the two thousand include the first thousand:
Rashi's approach: one thousand cubits of open area plus another thousand cubits of fields and vineyards - two thousand cubits in all.
The Rambam's approach: one thousand cubits of open area plus another two thousand cubits for agriculture - three thousand cubits in all.
In summary: in this mishnah we learned Rabbi Akiva's derashah from "bo bayom," which resolves the contradiction between the verse "alpayim ba'amah" and the verse "elef amah saviv": the thousand is open area, and the two thousand is the Shabbos boundary. Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Yosi HaGelili holds that the thousand is open area and the two thousand is fields and vineyards, and regarding the total measure of the area Rashi and the Rambam disagree - two thousand cubits or three thousand cubits.