Halacha
הלכה א
הַמּוֹכֵר בַּיִת בְּתוֹךְ עִיר הַמֵּקֶּפֶת חוֹמָה הֲרֵי זֶה גּוֹאֲלָהּ כָּל י''ב חֹדֶשׁ מִיּוֹם שֶׁמָּכַר בְּכָל עֵת שֶׁיִּרְצֶה. וַאֲפִלּוּ בַּיּוֹם שֶׁמָּכַר. וּכְשֶׁרוֹצֶה לִפְדּוֹת נוֹתֵן כָּל הַדָּמִים שֶׁלָּקַח וְאֵינוֹ גּוֹרֵעַ לַלּוֹקֵחַ כְּלוּם:
כסף משנה
1.
A person who sells a house in a city surrounded by a wall1As stated in Halachah 15, it is not significant whether the city is surrounded by a wall at the present time. Instead, we are speaking about cities that were walled when Joshua conquered Eretz Yisrael. may redeem it throughout a twelve month period from the day2I.e., the year mentioned in the Leviticus 25:29 is not a calendar year, beginning on Rosh HaShanah, but a twelve month period beginning from the day of sale. he sold it whenever he desires, even on the day he sold it. When he redeems it, he returns all the money he received and does not deduct anything from the purchaser.3In contrast to the laws of a field that is an ancestral heritage, as mentioned in Chapter 11, Halachah 4. The return of the purchaser's money in full resembles a loan at interest - for the benefit he had in using the property is comparable to interest paid for the principal - nevertheless, because a sale is involved, there is no prohibition (Arichin 9:3).הלכה ב
וְאֵין הַקְּרוֹבִים פּוֹדִין אוֹתָהּ אֶלָּא הַמּוֹכֵר עַצְמוֹ אִם הִשִּׂיגָה יָדוֹ. וְיֵשׁ לוֹ לִמְכֹּר מִנְּכָסָיו וְלִפְדּוֹתוֹ. אֲבָל לֹא יַלְוֶה וְיִגְאַל. וְלֹא יִגְאַל לַחֲצָאִין:
כסף משנה
2.
Relatives may not redeem it,4In contrast to the law regarding an ancestral heritage (Chapter 11, Halachah 18). only the seller himself if he obtains the means. He may sell his property and redeem it,5In contrast to the law regarding an ancestral heritage (ibid.:17). but he may not borrow to redeem it, nor may he redeem it partially.6In this, the laws parallel those governing an ancestral field (ibid.:17-18).הלכה ג
מֵת הַלּוֹקֵחַ יִפְדֶּה מִיַּד בְּנוֹ. וְכֵן אִם מֵת הַמּוֹכֵר יֵשׁ לִבְנוֹ לִפְדּוֹתָהּ כָּל י''ב חֹדֶשׁ:
כסף משנה
3.
If the purchaser dies, [the original owner] may redeem it from his son. Similarly, if the seller dies, his son may redeem it for the duration of the twelve months.7Arachin 32b derives these concepts from the exegesis of relevant verses.הלכה ד
מָכַר לָרִאשׁוֹן וְרִאשׁוֹן לַשֵּׁנִי בְּתוֹךְ הַשָּׁנָה מוֹנִין לָרִאשׁוֹן. כֵּיוָן שֶׁשָּׁלְמָה שָׁנָה רִאשׁוֹנָה הֻחְלַט הַבַּיִת בְּיַד הַשֵּׁנִי. שֶׁהַמּוֹכֵר מָכַר לַשֵּׁנִי כָּל זְכוּת שֶׁתָּבוֹא לְיָדוֹ. הִגִּיעַ י''ב חֹדֶשׁ וְלֹא גְּאָלָהּ הֲרֵי זוֹ נֶחְלֶטֶת בְּיַד הַלּוֹקֵחַ. וְכֵן אִם נָתַן הַבַּיִת מַתָּנָה וְלֹא גְּאָלוֹ כָּל י''ב חֹדֶשׁ הֲרֵי זֶה נֶחְלָט בְּיַד זֶה שֶׁנָּתַן לוֹ מַתָּנָה:
כסף משנה
4.
If [the seller] sold it to one person and he sold it to another, the reckoning is made from [the date of] the first [sale]. When the first year is concluded, the house is established8Permanently, for it does not return to the owner in the Jubilee. See the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Arichin 9:4). as the property of the [second] purchaser. For the [second] seller9Who was also the first purchaser. sold to the second [purchaser] all the rights that will accrue to him [with regard to this property].10The Rambam is referring to a difference of opinion in Arichin, loc. cit., whether after twelve months, the house remains in the possession of the second purchaser or reverts to the first. Although one might argue that the Torah specifies that if the house is not redeemed it becomes the property of the first seller, that rationale is not accepted for the reason the Rambam states. If twelve months pass and it is not redeemed, it is established as the property of the [second] purchaser.Similarly, if [a person] gave a house as a present and did not redeem it within these twelve months, it is established11Permanently, for it does not return to the owner in the Jubilee. See the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Arichin 9:4). as the property of the recipient of the present.12For as indicated by Chapter 11, Halachah 19, a present is equivalent to a sale.
הלכה ה
הָיְתָה שָׁנָה מְעֻבֶּרֶת אֵינוֹ נֶחְלָט עַד סוֹפָהּ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כה ל) "עַד מְלֹאת לוֹ שָׁנָה תְמִימָה" לְהָבִיא חֹדֶשׁ הָעִבּוּר:
כסף משנה
5.
During a leap year, the permanent disposition of the property is not brought about until the end of the year,13I.e., until the end of a 13 month period. as [Leviticus 25:30] states: "Until a complete year is completed for it." [This wording indicates that] the extra month [of the leap year] is included.הלכה ו
מָכַר שְׁנֵי בָּתִּים אֶחָד בַּחֲצִי אֲדָר רִאשׁוֹן וְאֶחָד בְּרֹאשׁ אֲדָר שֵׁנִי. זֶה שֶׁמָּכַר בְּרֹאשׁ אֲדָר שֵׁנִי כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעַ אֶחָד בַּאֲדָר שֶׁל שָׁנָה הַבָּאָה עָלְתָה לוֹ שָׁנָה. וְזֶה שֶׁמָּכַר בַּחֲצִי אֲדָר רִאשׁוֹן לֹא עָלְתָה לוֹ שָׁנָה עַד חֲצִי אֲדָר שֶׁל שָׁנָה הַבָּאָה מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיָּרַד הַלּוֹקֵחַ בְּחֹדֶשׁ הָעִבּוּר:
כסף משנה
6.
[The following rules apply when a person] sold two houses, one in the middle of Adar 1 and the other on Rosh Chodesh Adar II. When the month of Adar arrives in the following year,14I.e., an ordinary year with only one Adar. the year for the house sold on Rosh Chodesh II is completed.15For it is a full twelve months after that sale and that sale was made after the extra month of the leap year had been completed. The year for the house sold in the middle of Adar I is not completed until the middle of Adar in the following year, for the purchaser took possession in the middle of the extra month [of the leap year].הלכה ז
הִגִּיעַ יוֹם י''ב חֹדֶשׁ וְלֹא נִמְצָא הַלּוֹקֵחַ לִפְדּוֹת מִמֶּנּוּ הֲרֵי זֶה מַנִּיחַ מְעוֹתָיו בְּבֵית דִּין וְשׁוֹבֵר אֶת הַדֶּלֶת וְנִכְנָס לְבֵיתוֹ. וְאֵימָתַי שֶׁיָּבוֹא הַלּוֹקֵחַ יָבוֹא וְיִטּל מְעוֹתָיו:
כסף משנה
7.
If the final day of the twelfth month arrives and [the seller] cannot find the purchaser to redeem his field from him,16And if that day passes, he will not be able to redeem it. he may deposit his money in the court, break down the door, and enter his home.17This is an ordinance established by Hillel the Elder to protect the rights of the seller (Arachin 9:4). The rationale is that since the purchaser has no choice whether to accept the money or not, it is sufficient for the money to be deposited in the court for him (Arachin 32a). Whenever the purchaser comes, he may take his money.הלכה ח
הַמַּקְדִּישׁ בֵּית עִיר חוֹמָה וּגְאָלוֹ אַחֵר מִיַּד הַהֶקְדֵּשׁ כֵּיוָן שֶׁעָלְתָה לוֹ שָׁנָה מִשָּׁעָה שֶׁנִּגְאַל מִיַּד הַהֶקְדֵּשׁ וְלֹא גְּאָלוֹ בְּעָלָיו נֶחְלַט בְּיַד הַגּוֹאֵל. שֶׁאֵין הַהֶקְדֵּשׁ חוֹלֵט אֶלָּא הַלּוֹקֵחַ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כה ל) "לַקּוֹנֶה אוֹתוֹ לְדוֹרוֹתָיו":
כסף משנה
8.
When a person consecrates a house in a walled city and another person redeems it from the Temple treasury, when a year passes from the time that it was redeemed from the Temple treasury without it being redeemed by its [original] owner, it becomes established as the property of the one who redeemed it [from the Temple treasury].18We are not concerned with the date on which it was consecrated. Instead, it is the date from which it was redeemed from the Temple treasury which concerns us, for that is when it was sold and it is its sale that brings about a change in ownership. For the Temple treasury does not become the permanent owner, the purchaser does, as [implied by Leviticus 25:30]: "the one who purchases it for his generations."19I.e., for the sake of his descendants and the Temple treasury does not have descendants (Arachin 32b).הלכה ט
מָכַר בֵּית עִיר חוֹמָה וְהִגִּיעַ יוֹבֵל בְּתוֹךְ שְׁנַת הַמֶּכֶר אֵינוֹ חוֹזֵר בְּיוֹבֵל. אֶלָּא יִהְיֶה בְּיַד הַלּוֹקֵחַ עַד שֶׁיִּרְצֶה הַמּוֹכֵר לִגְאל כָּל שְׁנַת הַמֶּכֶר אוֹ תִּמָּלֵא שָׁנָה וְיַחְלֹט:
כסף משנה
9.
When a person sells a house in a walled city and the Jubilee arrives within the first year after the sale, the house does not revert to its owner in the Jubilee.20The statement (Leviticus 25:30 : "It shall not return in the Jubilee" applies both before the house becomes the permanent property of the purchaser and afterwards. Instead, it remains in the possession of the purchaser until the seller decides to redeem it throughout the year after its sale or it becomes established as the property [of the purchaser] after that year is completed.הלכה י
הַמּוֹכֵר בַּיִת בְּבָתֵּי חֲצֵרִים אוֹ בְּעִיר שֶׁאֵינָהּ מֻקֶּפֶת חוֹמָה כָּרָאוּי הֲרֵי זֶה נִגְאָל בְּכֹחַ יָפֶה שֶׁבְּדִין הַשָּׂדֶה וְשֶׁבְּדִין הַבָּתִּים הַמֻּקָּפִין חוֹמָה. כֵּיצַד. אִם רָצָה לִגְאל מִיָּד גּוֹאֵל כְּדִין הַבָּתִּים. הִגִּיעַ י''ב חֹדֶשׁ וְלֹא גָּאַל הֲרֵי זֶה גּוֹאֵל עַד שְׁנַת הַיּוֹבֵל כְּדִין הַשָּׂדוֹת. וּבְעֵת שֶׁגּוֹאֵל מְחַשֵּׁב עִם הַמּוֹכֵר וְגוֹרֵעַ לוֹ מַה שֶּׁאָכַל. הִגִּיעַ יוֹבֵל וְלֹא גָּאַל חוֹזֵר הַבַּיִת בְּלֹא דָּמִים כְּדִין הַשָּׂדוֹת:
כסף משנה
10.
When a person sells a home in a settlement or in a city that is not surrounded by a wall in the appropriate manner,21Again, what is significant is not the present state of the city, but its state at the time of Joshua's conquest, as stated in Halachah 15. he may redeem it according to the advantages that apply with regard to both the redemption of an [ancestral] field and the redemption of a home in a walled city.What is implied? If he desires to redeem [the home] immediately, he may,22Since the sale involves a house, the seller has this advantage over the seller of a field. as is the law with regard to a home [in a walled city]. If the twelve months pass and he does not redeem it, he may redeem it until the Jubilee, as is the law regarding a field.23For Leviticus 25:31 states that they will be considered as a field. When he redeems it, he makes a reckoning with the purchaser and subtracts the value of the benefit he received.24Arachin 33a [quoted by the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Arachin 9:7)] explains that since the above verse specifies that these homes can be redeemed and that they are returned in the Jubilee, we derive the concept that their redemption involves a reduction of the cost of the field. If the Jubilee arrives without having redeemed it, the house returns [to the owner] without payment, as is the law with regard to fields.
הלכה יא
כָּל שֶׁהוּא לְפָנִים מִן הַחוֹמָה כְּגוֹן הַגִּנּוֹת וְהַמֶּרְחֲצָאוֹת וְהַשּׁוֹבָכוֹת הֲרֵי הוּא כְּבָתִּים שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כה ל) "אֲשֶׁר בָּעִיר". אֲבָל הַשָּׂדוֹת שֶׁבְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר נִגְאָלִין כְּדִין הַשָּׂדוֹת שֶׁחוּץ לָעִיר שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כה ל) "וְקָם הַבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר בָּעִיר". בַּיִת וְכָל הַדּוֹמֶה לְבַיִת לֹא הַשָּׂדוֹת:
כסף משנה
11.
Any [residential property] within a city's wall, e.g., gardens, bathhouses, and dovecotes, is considered as a house,25I.e., it can be redeemed only within a year and does not return in the Jubilee. for [ibid.] states: "that are in the city." Fields that are located in the city may be redeemed according to the rules applying to fields outside the city, as [implied the phrase (ibid.)]: "And the house that will be within the city will be established." [This includes] houses and anything resembling houses, not fields.הלכה יב
בַּיִת שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת עַל אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת אֵינוֹ נֶחְלָט כְּבָתֵי עָרֵי חוֹמָה. וִירוּשָׁלַיִם אֵין הַבַּיִת נֶחְלָט בָּהּ. וּבַיִת הַבָּנוּי בַּחוֹמָה אֵינוֹ כְּבָתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה:
כסף משנה
12.
When a house is not four cubits by four cubits, it does not become the permanent property of the purchaser like the houses in a walled city.26For a house is not considered a house unless it is at least four cubits by four cubits (Sukkah 3b). This concept applies in several different contacts, for example, the requirement to place a mezuzah (Hilchot Mezuzah 6:1) or to construct a guardrail (Hilchot Rotzeach 11:1). A house does not become the permanent property of a purchaser in Jerusalem.27As the Rambam states in Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 7:14, Jerusalem was never divided among the tribes. For that reason, a person can never permanently acquire property there. Instead, houses there are bound by the laws that apply to houses in settlements (see Rashi. Arachin 32b; Bava Kama 82b). A house that is built in the wall is not considered as a home in a walled city.28Arachin 9:5 records a difference of opinion on this issue between Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Shimon. Both of them base their opinion on the exegesis of the Biblical story of Rachab's home in Joshua, ch. 2.הלכה יג
עִיר שֶׁגַּגּוֹתֶיהָ חוֹמָתָהּ אוֹ שֶׁהַיָּם חוֹמָתָהּ אֵינָהּ כְּמֻקֶּפֶת חוֹמָה:
כסף משנה
13.
When the roofs of a city serve as its walls29Megillah 5b explains that this refers to a situation where the city is not surrounded by a wall, but instead, its houses are built next to each other, so that it appears that it is surrounded by a wall (Rav Yosef Corcus). or the sea serves as it wall,30For example, as in the instance of Tiberias which was surrounded by a wall on one side and the sea on the other.it is not considered as a city surrounded by a wall.31Instead, they are governed by the laws applying to homes in a settlement.הלכה יד
אֵין הַמָּקוֹם נִקְרָא עָרֵי חוֹמָה עַד שֶׁיִּהְיֶה בּוֹ שָׁלֹשׁ חֲצֵרוֹת אוֹ יֶתֶר וּבְכָל חָצֵר מֵהֶן שְׁנֵי בָּתִּים אוֹ יֶתֶר וְיַקִּיפוּהָ חוֹמָה תְּחִלָּה וְאַחַר כָּךְ יִבְנוּ הַחֲצֵרוֹת בְּתוֹכוֹ. אֲבָל מָקוֹם שֶׁיָּשַׁב וְאַחַר כָּךְ הֻקַּף אוֹ שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ בּוֹ שָׁלֹשׁ חֲצֵרוֹת שֶׁל שְׁנֵי בָּתִּים אֵינוֹ (ויקרא כה כט) "עִיר חוֹמָה" אֶלָּא בָּתִּים שֶׁבּוֹ כְּבָתֵּי הַחֲצֵרִים:
כסף משנה
14.
A city is not referred to as a walled city unless it has three or more courtyards and in each of the courtyards, it has two or more houses.32Otherwise, it is not large enough to be called a city. [Moreover,] it must have been surrounded by a wall first and then the courtyards were built in its midst. If, however, a place was settled and afterwards, surrounded [by a wall] or it did not have [at least] three courtyards with [at least] two houses [each], it is not considered as a walled city. Instead, its houses are like the houses of a settlement.33Interestingly, the Talmud also mentions these laws with regard to reading a Megilah in a walled city (Megilah 3b), but the Rambam does not quote them there, only here.הלכה טו
אֵין סוֹמְכִין אֶלָּא עַל חוֹמָה הַמֻּקֶּפֶת בִּשְׁעַת כִּבּוּשׁ הָאָרֶץ. כֵּיצַד. עִיר שֶׁלֹּא הָיְתָה מֻקֶּפֶת חוֹמָה בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁכָּבַשׁ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶת הָאָרֶץ אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁמֻּקֶּפֶת עַתָּה הֲרֵי הִיא כְּבָתֵּי הַחֲצֵרִים. וְעִיר שֶׁהָיְתָה מֻקֶּפֶת חוֹמָה בִּימֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינָהּ מֻקֶּפֶת עַתָּה הֲרֵי הִיא כְּמֻקֶּפֶת. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁגָּלוּ בְּחֻרְבָּן רִאשׁוֹן בָּטְלָה קְדֻשַּׁת עָרֵי חוֹמָה שֶׁהָיוּ בִּימֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ. כֵּיוָן שֶׁעָלָה עֶזְרָא בַּבִּיאָה הַשְּׁנִיָּה נִתְקַדְּשׁוּ כָּל הֶעָרִים הַמֻּקָּפוֹת חוֹמָה בְּאוֹתוֹ הָעֵת מִפְּנֵי שֶׁבִּיאָתָן בִּימֵי עֶזְרָא שֶׁהִיא בִּיאָה שְׁנִיָּה כְּבִיאָתָן בִּימֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ. מָה בִּיאָתָן בִּימֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ מָנוּ שְׁמִטִּין וְיוֹבְלוֹת וְקִדְּשׁוּ בָּתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה וְנִתְחַיְּבוּ בְּמַעֲשֵׂר. אַף בִּיאָתָם בִּימֵי עֶזְרָא מָנוּ שְׁמִטִּין וְיוֹבְלוֹת וְקִדְּשׁוּ בָּתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה וְנִתְחַיְּבוּ בְּמַעֲשֵׂר:
כסף משנה
15.
We rely only on a wall that surrounded [a city] at the time of the conquest of the land.What is implied? When a city was not surrounded by a wall at the time when Joshua conquered the land even though it is surrounded now, [the houses in it] are considered as the houses of a settlement. [Conversely,] if a city was surrounded by a wall at the time of Joshua,34Arachin 9:6 gives as examples: Ancient Yodefat, Gamla, Chadid, Gedod, and Ono. even though it is not surrounded at present, it is considered as walled.35The Ra'avad differs with the Rambam and maintains that once a city's walls are destroyed, the city loses its unique status. The Radbaz and the Kessef Mishneh explain that the Rambam is referring to the situation in the First Temple era. If a city had a wall at the time of Joshua's conquest, but that wall was torn down, the status of the city did not change throughout that era. See also the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Arichin 9:6).
When the Jews were exiled after the first destruction [of the Temple], the sanctity of the walled cities from Joshua's time were nullified.36And the sanctity of the land was nullified, as the Rambam states in Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 6:15, Hilchot Terumah 1:26.. When Ezra ascended at the time of the second entry into the land, all of the walled cities of that time became consecrated. For the entry [into the land] at the time of Ezra, i.e., the second entry, was comparable to the entry at the time of Joshua. Just as [after] their entry at the time of Joshua, they counted Sabbatical years and Jubilees, sanctified the homes in walled cities and were obligated in the tithes, so too, [after] their entry in the time of Ezra, they counted Sabbatical years and Jubilees, sanctified the homes in walled cities and were obligated in the tithes.37As stated in those sources, in contrast to the sanctification in the time of Joshua, the sanctification of the land by Ezra was only Rabbinic in origin. In his Commentary to the Mishnah (loc. cit.), the Rambam states that the cities that were walled at the time of Ezra were given the status of walled cities. From the Radbaz and the Kessef Mishneh, it appears that the cities that were given the status of walled cities by the people who returned with Ezra were cities that were considered walled cities in the era of the First Temple.
הלכה טז
וְכֵן לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא בְּבִיאָה שְׁלִישִׁית בְּעֵת שֶׁיִּכָּנְסוּ לָאָרֶץ יַתְחִילוּ לִמְנוֹת שְׁמִטִּין וְיוֹבְלוֹת וִיקַדְּשׁוּ בָּתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה וְיִתְחַיֵּב כָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁיִּכְבְּשׁוּהוּ בְּמַעַשְׂרוֹת שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ל ה) "וֶהֱבִיאֲךָ ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יָרְשׁוּ אֲבֹתֶיךָ וִירִשְׁתָּהּ". מַקִּישׁ יְרֻשָּׁתְךָ לִירֻשַּׁת אֲבוֹתֶיךָ. מָה יְרֻשַּׁת אֲבוֹתֶיךָ אַתָּה נוֹהֵג [בָּהּ] בְּחִדּוּשׁ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ אַף יְרֻשָּׁתְךָ אַתָּה נוֹהֵג בָּהּ בְּחִדּוּשׁ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ:
כסף משנה