Moed Katan 7A

עד כמה ⁠— עד פרסה.

Up to what distance are the ant holes considered to be adjacent such that a river is required in order to separate between them? Up to a parasang [parsa].

רבי יהודה אומר: משדה האילן כדרכו, ומשדה הלבן שלא כדרכו. תנו רבנן: כיצד כדרכו? חופר גומא ותולה בה מצודה. כיצד שלא כדרכו? נועץ שפוד ומכה בקורדום ומרדה האדמה מתחתיה.

§ We learned in the Mishnah that R' Yehuda says: In an orchard one may trap moles and mice in his usual manner, but in a field of grain, he may trap them only in a way that is not his usual manner. A baraita states the following baraita: How does one trap in his usual manner? He digs a hole in the ground and hangs a trap in it. How does one trap in a way that is not his usual manner? He inserts a spit into the ground where the rodents are suspected of hiding, strikes it with a spade, and removes the earth from beneath it until he finds and kills the rodents.

תניא, רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר: כשאמרו משדה לבן שלא כדרכו, לא אמרו אלא בשדה לבן הסמוכה לעיר, אבל בשדה לבן הסמוכה לשדה האילן ⁠— אפילו כדרכו, שמא יצאו משדה הלבן ויחריבו את האילנות.

It is taught in a baraita that R' Shimon ben Elazar says: When they said that one may trap moles and mice in a field of grain on the intermediate days of a Festival only in a way that is not his usual manner, they spoke only with regard to a field of grain that is adjacent to the city, where the damage is limited to that field and is not extensive. But in a field of grain that is adjacent to an orchard, one may trap even in his usual manner, lest the moles and mice leave the field of grain and destroy the trees in the adjacent orchard, causing great damage.