פרשת בהר תשכ"א - "גאולה"

And if a man sell a dwelling-house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year shall he have the right of redemption.

בית מושב עיר חומה, “a dwelling house in a fortified (walled) city;” seeing that the city is walled, the land inside it clearly was not meant ever to be used for agricultural purposes. This being so, G-d did not decree that if sold it had to revert to its original owner in the Jubilee year. The Jubilee legislation refers only to land that serves as its owner’s basic source of making a livelihood. An alternate interpretation: when someone buys himself a house in a walled city, he may be presumed to have done so with the intent of keeping it permanently. Most people do not feel comfortable when living in rented homes as they are always worried that the owner would not renew their rental contract at a price they could afford. This is why the Torah adds: לא יצא ביבל, “it will not revert in the Jubilee year.” However, fields and houses bordering on fields, not walled in, are all subject to the rules of the Yovel legislation, being given back to the original owner free of any charge to be paid by that owner. Both of these kinds of property are more often leased than purchased.

בית מושב עיר חומה, “a dwelling house in a fortified (walled) city;” seeing that the city is walled, the land inside it clearly was not meant ever to be used for agricultural purposes. This being so, G-d did not decree that if sold it had to revert to its original owner in the Jubilee year. The Jubilee legislation refers only to land that serves as its owner’s basic source of making a livelihood. An alternate interpretation: when someone buys himself a house in a walled city, he may be presumed to have done so with the intent of keeping it permanently. Most people do not feel comfortable when living in rented homes as they are always worried that the owner would not renew their rental contract at a price they could afford. This is why the Torah adds: לא יצא ביבל, “it will not revert in the Jubilee year.” However, fields and houses bordering on fields, not walled in, are all subject to the rules of the Yovel legislation, being given back to the original owner free of any charge to be paid by that owner. Both of these kinds of property are more often leased than purchased.

And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.

ובכל ארץ אחזתכם AND IN ALL THE LAND OF YOUR POSSESSION [YOU SHALL GRANT A REDEMPTION FOR THE LAND] — (The translation may be: And as regards everything etc.) thus including in this law houses and Hebrew servants (i. e. that to these also the right of redemption must be granted). And this matter is explained in Treatise Kiddushin 21a in the first section (cf. also Sifra, Behar, Chapter 4 9). According to the literal sense, however, it is to be connected with the section immediately following: to point out that one who sells his landed property has the right of redeeming it after two years either by himself or his relative, and that the purchaser has no right to prevent it (גאולה תתנו לארץ, you must grant redemption).

גאולה תתנו לארץ, if the seller wishes to redeem it prior to the Jubilee year.

But if he have not sufficient means to get it back for himself, then that which he hath sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee; and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.

ובכל ארץ אחזתכם AND IN ALL THE LAND OF YOUR POSSESSION [YOU SHALL GRANT A REDEMPTION FOR THE LAND] — (The translation may be: And as regards everything etc.) thus including in this law houses and Hebrew servants (i. e. that to these also the right of redemption must be granted). And this matter is explained in Treatise Kiddushin 21a in the first section (cf. also Sifra, Behar, Chapter 4 9). According to the literal sense, however, it is to be connected with the section immediately following: to point out that one who sells his landed property has the right of redeeming it after two years either by himself or his relative, and that the purchaser has no right to prevent it (גאולה תתנו לארץ, you must grant redemption).

one year [literally: days] The word denotes a year — until the days go through the cycle from cold to warm, summer and winter, returning to the way they were originally (with the sun in approximately the same location). We require the tradition [⊂ Arakhin 31a] to define a complete year — whether it is a solar year, or a lunar year, or a lunar leap year.

it [singular] shall be redeemable i.e, each and every house may be redeemed (compare, “branches [plural] that run [singular] over the wall” [Genesis 49:22] and “…for her children [plural], because he [singular] is not” [Jeremiah 31:14]).

After mentioning the permanent right of redemption, Scripture uses the same word when it says whoever redeems from the Levites; but here the word simply means “to buy” (others say that the choice of words teaches us that the house may be redeemed even from a Levite buyer). The vav in expires is like the f of Arabic. The same laws apply to a single house as to an entire city .

והיתה גאלתו THEN IT SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE REDEEMED [UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF THE YEAR OF ITS SALE] — Because it is stated about a field that one may redeem it after two years from the date of the sale and onwards at any time he pleases, but one may not redeem it during the first two years, Scripture was compelled to state specially with reference to this (the house) that just the opposite is the case — that if one wishes to redeem it in the first year he may do so, but after that he cannot redeem it.