הַמּוֹכֵר אֶת שָׂדֵהוּ בִּשְׁעַת הַיּוֹבֵל, אֵינוֹ מֻתָּר לִגְאוֹל פָּחוּת מִשְּׁתֵּי שָׁנִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כה), בְּמִסְפַּר שְׁנֵי תְבוּאֹת יִמְכָּר לָךְ. הָיְתָה שְׁנַת שִׁדָּפוֹן וְיֵרָקוֹן אוֹ שְׁבִיעִית, אֵינָהּ עוֹלָה מִן הַמִּנְיָן. נָרָהּ אוֹ הוֹבִירָהּ, עוֹלָה לוֹ מִן הַמִּנְיָן. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר, מְכָרָהּ לוֹ לִפְנֵי רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה וְהִיא מְלֵאָה פֵרוֹת, הֲרֵי זֶה אוֹכֵל מִמֶּנָּה שָׁלשׁ תְּבוּאוֹת לִשְׁתֵּי שָׁנִים: One who sells his field during a period when the Jubilee Year is in effect is not permitted to redeem it less than two years after the sale, as it is stated: “According to the number of years of the crops he shall sell to you” (Leviticus 25:15). The plural form “years” indicates a minimum of two years. If one of those years was a year of blight or mildew, or if it was the Sabbatical Year, when the buyer is unable to derive benefit from the field, that year does not count as part of the tally, and the owner must wait an additional year before redeeming the field. If the buyer plowed the field but did not sow it, or if he left it fallow, that year counts as part of his tally, as it was fit to produce a crop. Rabbi Eliezer says: If the owner of the field sold it to the buyer before Rosh HaShana and the field was full of produce, and the owner redeems the field after two years, that buyer consumes from the field’s produce three crops in two years. Although he received the field with its crop, he is not required to return it in the same state.
מְכָרָהּ לָרִאשׁוֹן בְּמָנֶה, וּמָכַר הָרִאשׁוֹן לַשֵּׁנִי בְּמָאתַיִם, אֵינוֹ מְחַשֵּׁב אֶלָּא עִם הָרִאשׁוֹן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, לָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר מָכַר לוֹ. מְכָרָהּ לָרִאשׁוֹן בְּמָאתַיִם, וּמָכַר הָרִאשׁוֹן לַשֵּׁנִי בְּמָנֶה, אֵינוֹ מְחַשֵּׁב אֶלָּא עִם הָאַחֲרוֹן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם), לָאִישׁ, לָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹכָהּ. לֹא יִמְכֹּר בְּרָחוֹק וְיִגְאֹל בְּקָרוֹב, בְּרָע וְיִגְאֹל בְּיָפֶה. לֹא יִלְוֶה וְיִגְאַל, וְלֹא יִגְאַל לַחֲצָאִים. וּבַהֶקְדֵּשׁ מֻתָּר בְּכֻלָּן. זֶה חֹמֶר בַּהֶדְיוֹט מִבַּהֶקְדֵּשׁ: When the Jubilee Year is in effect, one may sell a field only until the Jubilee Year, at which point the field returns to its original owner. If the owner redeems the field before the Jubilee Year, the payment per annum is calculated by dividing the sale price by the number of years from the sale until the Jubilee Year. The owner returns the per annum payment multiplied by the number of years remaining until the Jubilee Year. If the owner of a field sold it to the first buyer for one hundred dinars and the first buyer then sold it to the second buyer for two hundred dinars, when the original owner redeems the field he calculates the payment only according to the price that he set with the first buyer, as it is stated: “And he calculates the years of its sale, and he returns the remainder to the man to whom he sold it” (Leviticus 25:27). If the owner of a field sold it to the first buyer for two hundred dinars and the first buyer then sold it to the second buyer for one hundred dinars, when the original owner redeems the field, he calculates the payment only according to the price that was paid by the last buyer, as it is stated: “And he calculates the years of its sale, and he returns the remainder to the man to whom he sold it.” The superfluous term “to the man” indicates that the verse is referring to the man who is currently in possession of the field. One may not sell his ancestral field that is located in a distant area and redeem with the proceeds a field that he sold in a nearby area. Likewise, he may not sell a low-quality field and redeem with the proceeds a high-quality field. And he may not borrow money and redeem the field, nor may he redeem the field incrementally, half now and half at a later date. But with regard to redeeming a field from the Temple treasury, it is permitted to redeem the field in any of these ways. This is a halakha where greater stringency applies with regard to redeeming a field from an ordinary individual than with regard to redeeming it from the Temple treasury.
הַמּוֹכֵר בַּיִת בְּבָתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה, הֲרֵי זֶה גוֹאֵל מִיָּד, וְגוֹאֵל כָּל שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ, הֲרֵי זֶה כְּמִין רִבִּית וְאֵינָהּ רִבִּית. מֵת הַמּוֹכֵר, יִגְאַל בְּנוֹ. מֵת הַלּוֹקֵחַ, יִגְאַל מִיַּד בְּנוֹ. אֵינוֹ מוֹנֶה לוֹ שָׁנָה אֶלָּא מִשָּׁעָה שֶׁמָּכַר לוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם), עַד מְלֹאת לוֹ שָׁנָה תְמִימָה. וּכְשֶׁהוּא אוֹמֵר תְּמִימָה, לְהָבִיא חֹדֶשׁ הָעִבּוּר. רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, יִתֵּן לוֹ שָׁנָה וְעִבּוּרָהּ: One who sells a house from among the houses of walled cities may redeem the house immediately, even without the consent of the buyer, and he may redeem the house during the entire twelve months following the sale, but not after that. When he redeems the house within the twelve-month period, he returns the sale price to the buyer, and this is ostensibly like a form of interest, as the buyer has effectively resided in the house for free in exchange for the fact that the buyer’s money was in the possession of the seller. It is not considered interest, because the buyer owned the house during the period in which he resided in it. If the seller died, his son may redeem the house from the buyer. If the buyer died, the seller may redeem it from the possession of the buyer’s son. If the buyer sold the house to another, one calculates the year only from the time that the owner sold the house to the first buyer, as it is stated: “And if it is not redeemed until the passage of a full year for him, then the house that is in the walled city shall stand in possession of the one who bought it in perpetuity” (Leviticus 25:30). The term “for him” indicates that the year is calculated from when the initial owner sold the house. When it says: “A full year,” this serves to include the intercalated month in the year calculated from the sale, if it was a leap year. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: The word “full” serves to give the seller a year and its addition, i.e., the year during which the house may be redeemed is not the 354-day lunar year, but the 365-day solar year.
הִגִּיעַ יוֹם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ וְלֹא נִגְאַל, הָיָה חָלוּט לוֹ, אֶחָד הַלּוֹקֵחַ וְאֶחָד שֶׁנִּתַּן לוֹ מַתָּנָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר לַצְּמִיתוּת. בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה הָיָה נִטְמָן יוֹם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ, שֶׁיְּהֵא חָלוּט לוֹ. הִתְקִין הִלֵּל הַזָּקֵן, שֶׁיְּהֵא חוֹלֵשׁ אֶת מְעוֹתָיו בַּלִּשְׁכָּה, וִיהֵא שׁוֹבֵר אֶת הַדֶּלֶת וְנִכְנָס. אֵימָתַי שֶׁיִּרְצֶה הַלָּה, יָבֹא וְיִטֹּל אֶת מְעוֹתָיו: If the final day of the twelve-month period arrived and the house was not redeemed, the house has become the property of the buyer in perpetuity. This is the halakha with regard to both one who buys a house in a walled city and one to whom it is given as a gift, as it is stated: “Then the house that is in the walled city shall stand in possession of the one who bought it in perpetuity” (Leviticus 25:30). At first, the buyer would conceal himself on the final day of the twelve-month period, in order to ensure that it would become his in perpetuity. Hillel instituted that the seller would place [ḥolesh] his money in the chamber of the court and that he will break the door and enter the house, and when the other individual, i.e., the buyer, will wish to do so, he may come to the chamber and take his money.
כֹּל שֶׁהוּא לִפְנִים מִן הַחוֹמָה, הֲרֵי הוּא כְבָתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה, חוּץ מִן הַשָּׂדוֹת. רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר, אַף הַשָּׂדוֹת. בַּיִת הַבָּנוּי בַּחוֹמָה, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אֵינוֹ כְבָתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, כֹּתֶל הַחִיצוֹן הִיא חוֹמָתוֹ: The halakhic status of any area that is located within the city wall is like that of the houses of walled cities in terms of its redemption, except for the fields located therein. Rabbi Meir says: Even the fields are included in this category. With regard to a house that is built in the wall itself, Rabbi Yehuda says: Its halakhic status is not like that of the houses of walled cities. Rabbi Shimon says: The outer wall of the house is considered the city wall, and therefore it has the status of a house in a walled city.
עִיר שֶׁגַּגּוֹתֶיהָ חוֹמָתָהּ, וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ מֻקֶּפֶת חוֹמָה מִימוֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן, אֵינָהּ כְּבָתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה. וְאֵלּוּ הֵן בָּתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה, שָׁלשׁ חֲצֵרוֹת שֶׁל שְׁנֵי שְׁנֵי בָתִּים, מֻקָּפוֹת חוֹמָה מִימוֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן, כְּגוֹן קַצְּרָה הַיְשָׁנָה שֶׁל צִפּוֹרִים, וְחַקְרָה שֶׁל גּוּשׁ חָלָב, וְיוֹדְפַת הַיְשָׁנָה, וְגַמְלָא, וּגְדוֹד, וְחָדִיד, וְאוֹנוֹ, וִירוּשָׁלַיִם, וְכֵן כַּיּוֹצֵא בָהֶן: The halakhic status of a house in a city whose houses are attached and their rooftops constitute the top of its wall, and likewise, the status of a house in a city that is not surrounded by a wall from the era of Joshua, son of Nun, even if a surrounding wall was constructed during a later period, is not like that of the houses of walled cities. And these are the houses of walled cities: Any city in which there are at least three courtyards, each containing two houses, and which is surrounded by a wall from the era of Joshua, son of Nun, e.g., the ancient fort [katzra] of Tzippori, and the fortress [ḥakra] of Gush Ḥalav, and ancient Yodfat, and Gamla, and Gedod, and Ḥadid, and Ono, and Jerusalem, and likewise other similar cities.
בָּתֵּי הַחֲצֵרִים, נוֹתְנִים לָהֶם כֹּחַ הַיָּפֶה שֶׁבְּבָתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה וְכֹחַ הַיָּפֶה שֶׁבַּשָּׂדוֹת. נִגְאָלִין מִיָּד, וְנִגְאָלִין כָּל שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ כַּבָּתִּים, וְיוֹצְאִים בַּיּוֹבֵל וּבְגִרְעוֹן כֶּסֶף כַּשָּׂדוֹת. וְאֵלּוּ הֵן בָּתֵּי חֲצֵרִים, שְׁתֵּי חֲצֵרוֹת שֶׁל שְׁנֵי שְׁנֵי בָתִּים, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁמֻּקָּפִין חוֹמָה מִימוֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן, הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ כְבָתֵּי חֲצֵרִים: With regard to the houses of the unwalled courtyards mentioned in the Torah (see Leviticus 25:31), i.e., houses in villages that are not surrounded by walls, one accords them the exceptional provisions that apply to houses of walled cities and the exceptional provisions that apply to fields. Therefore, they are redeemed immediately and for the entire twelve months following the sale, like in the sale of houses of walled cities, and not like fields, which may be redeemed only after two years. And they leave the possession of the buyer during the Jubilee Year or with a per annum deduction from the money of the sale price, like the sale of fields. By contrast, houses of walled cities become the possession of the buyer in perpetuity after one year, and if they are redeemed within the year, one pays the full sale price. And these are the houses of the unwalled courtyards whose halakha was taught in the previous mishna: Any city in which there are two courtyards each containing two houses, although it is surrounded by a wall from the era of Joshua, son of Nun, their halakhic status is like that of the houses of the unwalled courtyards.
יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁיָּרַשׁ אֲבִי אִמּוֹ לֵוִי, אֵינוֹ גוֹאֵל כַּסֵּדֶר הַזֶּה. וְכֵן לֵוִי שֶׁיָּרַשׁ אֶת אֲבִי אִמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֵינוֹ גוֹאֵל כַּסֵּדֶר הַזֶּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כה), כִּי בָתֵּי עָרֵי הַלְוִיִּם, עַד שֶׁיְהֵא לֵוִי וּבְעָרֵי הַלְוִיִּם, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֵין הַדְּבָרִים אֲמוּרִים אֶלָּא בְעָרֵי הַלְוִיִּם. אֵין עוֹשִׂים שָׂדֶה מִגְרָשׁ וְלֹא מִגְרָשׁ שָׂדֶה, וְלֹא מִגְרָשׁ עִיר וְלֹא עִיר מִגְרָשׁ. אָמַר רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר, בַּמֶּה דְבָרִים אֲמוּרִים. בְּעָרֵי הַלְוִיִּם. אֲבָל בְּעָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, עוֹשִׂין שָׂדֶה מִגְרָשׁ וְלֹא מִגְרָשׁ שָׂדֶה, מִגְרָשׁ עִיר וְלֹא עִיר מִגְרָשׁ, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יַחֲרִיבוּ אֶת עָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם מוֹכְרִים לְעוֹלָם וְגוֹאֲלִים לְעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם), גְּאֻלַּת עוֹלָם תִּהְיֶה לַלְוִיִּם: An Israelite who inherited a house in a walled city from his mother’s father who was a Levite does not redeem the house in accordance with this procedure delineated in the previous mishnayot; rather, if he sold the inherited house, he may redeem it always, like a Levite. And likewise, a Levite who inherited a house in a walled city from his mother’s father who was an Israelite does not redeem the house in accordance with this procedure delineated in the previous mishnayot. The mishna provides the source for these halakhot: As it is stated: “And if a man purchases from the Levites, the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall go out during the Jubilee Year; as the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel” (Leviticus 25:33). The verse indicates that the ability to always redeem the house of a Levite does not apply unless the one selling the house will be a Levite and the house is located in the cities of the Levites. This is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. And the Rabbis say: These matters are stated only with regard to a house in the cities of the Levites, even if the owner was not a Levite. The Levites received two thousand cubits surrounding their cities, one thousand cubits of empty lots and one thousand cubits for fields and vineyards. One may neither render a field an empty lot nor an empty lot a field. Similarly, one may neither incorporate an empty lot into a city nor render part of a city an empty lot. Rabbi Elazar said: In what case is this statement said? It applies in the cities of the Levites. But in the cities of the Israelites one may render a field an empty lot but not an empty lot a field, and one may incorporate an empty lot into a city but not render part of a city an empty lot, in order to ensure that they will not thereby destroy the cities of Israel. The priests and the Levites may sell their fields and houses always and may redeem them always, as it is stated: “The Levites shall have a perpetual right of redemption” (Leviticus 25:32). Priests are also members of the tribe of Levi.