Shabbos, Chapter Seven, Mishnah 4. In the previous mishnah we learned that with regard to something people normally store away and keep for future use, carrying it out on Shabbos in the amount that is normally stored constitutes the forbidden labor of carrying. Our mishnah comes to spell out the practical measures: what that normal amount is for each and every type of item.
The measures for animal fodder:
The mishnah opens with various types of animal fodder, and sets for each one a measure according to the animal that normally eats it:
"HaMotzi teven kimlo pi parah" - one who carries out straw, the amount of a cow's mouthful. Straw is food fit for a cow, and it is not fit for animals smaller than a cow. Therefore there is no liability unless one carries out an amount large enough to fill a cow's mouth.
"Atzah kimlo pi gamal" - atzah is to legumes what chaff is to grain, to wheat and to barley: the refuse left over from peas and beans. It is not fit for a cow, nor for a smaller animal, but only for camels, and therefore its measure is larger - a camel's mouthful.
"Amir kimlo pi taleh" - amir is another type of chaff, and some say it is the chaff of clover. Since it is fit even for a smaller animal, its measure is a lamb's mouthful.
"Asavim kimlo pi gedi" - grasses are fit even for a kid, a young lamb or a young goat, and therefore their measure is smaller still.
Garlic leaves and onion leaves:
Garlic leaves and onion leaves - their law depends on their condition. When they are fresh, they are considered human food, and the measure of human food for liability for carrying on Shabbos is "kigrogeres" - the size of a dried fig. This is the significant measure for all human food. But when they are dry, they are no longer eaten by people, and their measure is a kid's mouthful.
The mishnah adds: "ve'ein mitztarfin zeh im zeh" - these different items are not combined with one another to complete a measure, "mipnei shelo shavu b'shiureihen" - because their measures are not equal, since their required amounts are not the same. Only items that share a single measure can be combined.
"HaMotzi ochalin kigrogeres":
This is the principle we already noted regarding garlic leaves and onion leaves: anything that is human food, one who carries it out on Shabbos in the measure of a dried fig is liable. And here "mitztarfin zeh im zeh" - they do combine with one another, and all the various kinds of food combine and join together to complete the measure, "mipnei sheshavu b'shiureihen" - because they all share one measure and one amount.
What is not counted toward the measure:
This combining applies only to the food itself, "chutz miklipeihen v'garineihen v'uktzeihen v'suban umursanan" - excluding their peels, their pits, their stems, their bran and their coarse bran:
Klipeihen - the peels, which are not fit to be eaten.
Garineihen - the pits, which are not fit to be eaten.
Uktzeihen - the stems.
Suban umursanan - the various kinds of bran and coarse bran, which are likewise not considered part of what is fit to be eaten.
None of these are included in the measure, and they do not combine toward it.
"Rabbi Yehudah omer: chutz miklipei adashim shemisbashlos imahen" - Rabbi Yehudah says: except for lentil peels, which are cooked together with them. After the mishnah excluded peels, Rabbi Yehudah comes and makes an exception for lentil peels. Since they are normally cooked together with the lentils themselves, they are considered fit to be eaten, and therefore they are included in the measure and combine toward the dried fig for one who carries out lentils on Shabbos.
In summary: This mishnah establishes the measures for carrying on Shabbos according to the normal use of each item: animal fodder is measured according to the animal that normally eats it - straw, a cow's mouthful; atzah, a camel's mouthful; amir, a lamb's mouthful; and grasses, a kid's mouthful; while human food has a measure of a dried fig. Animal fodder does not combine with one another because their measures are not equal, whereas human foods do combine because they share one measure - excluding peels, pits, stems and bran, and according to Rabbi Yehudah excluding lentil peels, which are cooked together with the lentils.