Bava Metzia 87B

בשעה שאין גמר מלאכה, ובתלוש מן הקרקע מאחר שנגמרה מלאכתו, ובדבר שאין גידולו מן הארץ.

not at the time of the completion of its work, i.e., while it is still growing; and a laborer who works with produce detached from the ground after the completion of its work, when it is sufficiently processed and therefore subject to tithes; and a laborer who works with an item whose growth is not from the land.

גמ׳ מנא הני מילי, דכתיב: ״כי תבא בכרם רעך ואכלת״. אשכחן כרם, כל מילי מנא לן?

Talmud: The Talmud asks: From where are these matters, that a laborer may eat from produce attached to the ground, derived? The Talmud answers: As it is written: “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you have enough at your own pleasure; but you should not put any in your vessel” (Deuteronomy 23:25). The Talmud asks: We find a source for a vineyard; from where do we derive that a laborer may likewise eat from any other type of produce?

גמרינן מכרם: מה כרם מיוחד, דבר שגידולי קרקע, ובשעת גמר מלאכה פועל אוכל בו ⁠– אף כל דבר שגידולי קרקע, בשעת גמר מלאכה פועל אוכל בו.

The Talmud answers: We derive it from a comparison to the case of a vineyard: Just as a vineyard is unique in that it is an entity whose growth is from the ground, and the laborer eats from it at the time of the completion of its work, i.e., when he is harvesting the grapes, so too with regard to any entity whose growth is from the ground and it is at the time of the completion of its work, a laborer may eat from it.

מה לכרם ⁠– שכן חייב בעוללות! גמרינן מקמה. קמה גופה מנא לן? דכתיב: ״כי תבא בקמת רעך וקטפת מלילות בידך״.

The Talmud challenges this derivation: What is notable about a vineyard? It is notable in that the owner of a vineyard is obligated in the mitzva of olelot, the obligation to leave incomplete clusters of grapes for the poor (see Leviticus 19:10). Accordingly, one should not be able to derive the halakha of other types of produce from the halakha of a vineyard. The Talmud explains: We derive the halakha that a laborer may eat from other crops from the halakha that he may eat standing grain. The Talmud asks: And from where do we derive that he may eat standing grain itself? The Talmud answers: As it is written: “When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck ears with your hand; but you should not move a sickle on to your neighbor’s standing grain” (Deuteronomy 23:26).