[48a - 51 lines; 48b - 33 lines]
1)[line 1]יובלYOVEL - The Jubilee Year
(a)The Yovel year follows every seven Shemitah cycles (see Background to 53:38). The Chachamim understand that this fiftieth year stands alone and that the new Shemitah cycle begins the following year, whereas Rebbi Yehudah maintains that the Yovel year is the first year of the next seven-year Shemitah cycle as well. The Yovel year is observed only when all of the Shevatim live in Eretz Yisrael (Erchin 32b).
(b)All Halachos applicable to Shemitah produce apply also to that which grows during Yovel. Additionally, toward the beginning of the Yovel year, all Avadim Ivrim (Jewish slaves; see Background to Yevamos 104:9) are set free, and all properties sold in Eretz Yisrael since the previous Yovel return to the families to whom they belong as a Sedeh Achuzah (permanent inheritance; see below, entry #9). On Yom ha'Kipurim of a Yovel year, Beis Din blows a Shofar to signal that all slaves are to be set free (Vayikra 25:8-24).
(c)One who sells a field when Yovel is in effect need not specify that the sale is only for the produce and not the land itself. This is because it is obvious; when Yovel arrives, the land will automatically revert back to its true owner.
2)[line 5]בההיאB'HA'HI- in that [case of one who sold his field for the rights to the produce]
3)[line 6]נחיתNACHIS- lit. went down; i.e., bought the field
4)[line 7]אדעתא דגופיה קא נחיתA'DAITA D'GUFEI KA NACHIS- he purchased the field with intent to own it [as] fully [as he was able]
5)[line 9]בהאB'HA- in this [case of one who sold his field when Yovel is in effect]
6)[line 14]הא שלשה מביא וקוראHA SHELOSHAH, MEVI V'KOREI- this implies that [had he purchased] three [trees, in which case he also acquires the land between them (Bava Basra 81a)], he would bring [Bikurim] and read [the verses]
7)[line 15]מחלוקת ביובל שניMACHLOKES B'YOVEL SHENI- the disagreement [between Rebbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish regarding one who sells his land when Yovel is in effect] applies [only] to the second Yovel [and beyond, with Reish Lakish maintaining that Klal Yisrael were by then used to the concept of land returning and counted upon it happening]
8)[line 17]אכתי לא סמך דעתייהוAKATI LO SAMACH DATAIHU- they still did not rely [on their land returning]
9)[line 20]שדה אחוזהSEDEH ACHUZAH - an ancestral field
(a)After the conquest and division of Eretz Yisrael, Yehoshua bin Nun divided Eretz Yisrael amongst all of the Jews (other than those belonging to Shevet Levi) alive at that time. One's lot in Eretz Yisrael was passed down to his male descendants, as per Dinei Yerushah (laws of inheritance). As long as one's ancestral field in his possession, it is referred to as a Sedeh Achuzah.
(b)A field in one's possession due to that which he purchased or inherited it (from one outside of his patrilineal line) is referred to as a Sedeh Miknah. Such a field automatically returns to the family that holds an ancestral claim upon it on Yom ha'Kipurim of the Yovel year (Vayikra 25:14-17; Erchin 30a).
(c)Beginning two years after the sale, the original owner (i.e., he who holds an ancestral claim to the field) may redeem his field from he who purchased it. He first determines the value of each year purchased through dividing the number of years between the sale and Yovel by the sum of money paid. He then returns that amount per year remaining until Yovel (Erchin 29b).
(d)If one is Makdish (consecrated) his Sedeh Achuzah, then its value is assessed by a Kohen (see below). Anyone may then redeem it from Hekdesh. If the owner redeems it himself, he must an additional fifth of the ensuing total — equal to a quarter of the original value — onto the value of the item. For example, if the field is worth one thousand Sela'im, he may redeem it for one thousand, two hundred and fifty Sela'im. If another redeems it, he may do so for its value. In such a case, the field does not return to the original owner when Yom ha'Kipurim of the Yovel year arrives; rather, the field is divided amongst the Mishmar (watch) of Kohanim who are on duty at that time. If it is not redeemed at all by Yom ha'Kipurim of the Yovel year, then Rebbi Yehudah maintains that the Kohanim may redeem it. Rebbi Shimon rules that it belongs to the Kohanim and they do not need to redeem it. Rebbi Eliezer disagrees; he says that it is termed an "abandoned field," and it remains ownerless until someone redeems it. It then enters the possession of the Kohanim when the following Yovel arrives (Vayikra 27:14-21; Mishnah, Erchin 25b).
(e)The value of a Sedeh Achuzah is determined according to a set formula. The formula states that every land area normally sown with a Chomer (also known as a Kor) of barley seed is worth fifty silver Shekalim. This area is termed a Beis Kor, and it is equal to 75,000 square Amos (approximately 3.87 acres). This value holds true only at the very beginning of a Yovel cycle. Since the hold of Hekdesh lasts only until the next Yovel, the field decreases in value proportionately yearly as Yovel approaches. Once two years before Yovel arrives, however, the field may once again only be redeemed for a full fifty Shekalim per Beis Kor (Vayikra 27:16; Mishnah, Erchin 25a).
10)[line 21]"[וְ]אִם אֶת שְׂדֵה מִקְנָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר לֹא מִשְּׂדֵה אֲחֻזָּתוֹ [יַקְדִּישׁ לַה']""[V']IM ES SEDEH MIKNASO ASHER LO MI'SEDEH ACHUZASO [YAKDISH LA-SHEM" - "[And] if [one sanctifies to HaSh-m] an acquired field, that is not his ancestral field..." (Vayikra 27:22) (SEDEH MIKNAH)
(a)A field in one's possession due to that which he purchased or inherited it (from one outside of his patrilineal line) is referred to as a Sedeh Miknah. Such a field automatically returns to the family that holds an ancestral claim upon it on Yom ha'Kipurim of the Yovel year (Vayikra 25:14-17; Erchin 30a).
(b)When a Sedeh Miknah is sold, the seller does not have the right to redeem it from the purchaser. That right remains with the original owner (i.e., he who holds an ancestral claim to the field). If the field is not redeemed, no matter how many times and to whom it is sold, it always returns to the original owner when the Yovel year arrives.
(c)If one is Makdish (consecrated) a Sedeh Miknah, anyone may redeem it from Hekdesh. Even if the original owner himself redeems it, he need not add an additional fifth as he must had he been Makdish it himself (see previous entry, (d)). Whether or not the field is redeemed by Yom ha'Kipurim of the next Yovel year, it then returns to its original owner (Vayikra 27:22-24).
(d)The value of a Sedeh Miknah is determined by assessing how much one would be willing to pay to own such a field until the next Yovel (Erchin 14a).
(e)When describing the procedure of a Sedeh Miknah that has been sanctified, the verse states, "[And] if [one sanctifies to HaSh-m] an acquired field that is not his ancestral field..." (Vayikra 27:22). The phrase "that is not his ancestral field" appears to be extraneous.
11)[line 31]בהא במיתת אביו הוא דלא ירית ולא מידיB'HA B'MISAS AVIV HU D'LO YARIS V'LO MIDI- in this [case] with his father's death he does not inherit anything [since he already held a Kinyan Peiros prior to it]
12)[line 41]קרא אשכחו ודרושKRA ASHKECHU V'DARUSH- they found a[n additional seemingly extraneous part of the] verse to derive [this ruling] from
13)[line 46]לא מצא ידיו ורגליו בבית המדרשLO MATZA YADAV V'RAGLAV B'VEIS HA'MIDRASH- lit. he did not find his hands and feet in the Beis ha'Midrash; i.e., he would be unable to successfully defend his own opinion
14)[line 47]האחין שחלקו לקוחות הן, ומחזירין זה לזה ביובלHA'ACHIN SHE'CHALKU LEKUCHOS HEN, U'MACHZIRIN ZEH LA'ZEH BA'YOVEL - Brothers Who Divide an Inheritance are Purchasers, and they Must Return their Portions to One Another at the Yovel Year
(a)When one dies, his estate is divided among his sons. Amora'im disagree as to whether the way in which the estate is divided retroactively determines each brother's true inheritance ("Yorshin Hen"), or if the division is akin to a trade agreement in which each inheritor buys out the other's share of the inheritance ("Lekuchos Hen"). This disagreement is dependent upon that of Yesh Bereirah versus Ein Bereirah (see Background to 47:55), since the mechanism of Bereirah would allow us to view the inheritance as having retroactively belonged to each inheritor from the time that it fell to him.
(b)When the Yovel year (see above, entry #1) arrives, all land acquired in any way other than through inheritance from one's patrilineal line (a Sedeh Miknah) returns to its true owner. Rebbi Yochanan, who maintains that Lekuchos Hen, therefore rules that all descendants of the original families who entered Eretz Yisrael must re-divide their inheritance every Yovel, since these lands return to their original families.
15)[line 50]חד בר חד עד יהושע בן נוןCHAD BAR CHAD AD YEHOSHUA BIN NUN- a single [son] the son of a single [son all the way back] to the generation of Yehoshua bin Nun
16)[last line]מתניתאMASNISA- a Beraisa
48b----------------------------------------48b
17)[line 1]"[בְּמִסְפַּר שָׁנִים אַחַר הַיּוֹבֵל תִּקְנֶה מֵאֵת עֲמִיתֶךָ;] בְּמִסְפַּר שְׁנֵי תְבוּאֹת יִמְכָּר לָךְ""[B'MISPAR SHANIM ACHAR HA'YOVEL TIKNEH ME'ES AMISECHA;] B'MISPAR SHNEI SEVU'OS YIMKOR LACH"- "[According to the number of years following the Yovel year shall you buy from your fellow;] according to the number of years of harvests shall he sell to you" (Vayikra 25:15). From that which the sale is referred to as one of "harvests," it is implied that it is not the same as a sale of the land itself.
18)[line 2]בכור נוטל פי שנים בשדה החוזרת לאביו ביובלBECHOR NOTEL PI SHENAYIM B'SADEH HA'CHOZERES L'AVIV BA'YOVEL - The Double Inheritance of a Firstborn Son
(a)A son firstborn to his father, assuming that he was the first viable child born to that father, inherits a double portion of his father's estate (Devarim 21:17; Bechoros 46a). If there are two brothers, the Bechor receives two-thirds of the inheritance; if there are three, then he receives half, with each remaining brother receiving a quarter, and so on.
(b)A Bechor receives a double portion only from those assets in his father's possession at the time of his father's death (Devarim 21:17). Cases in which a Bechor will not receive a double portion include:
1.One of his father's relatives dies after his father, and his father's inheritors receive an inheritance through their father's estate;
2.Money is repaid to his father's estate after his father's death, even if the document in which the debt had been transcribed had been in his father's possession at the time of hi death;
3.His father's estate bears profits after his father's death due to human intervention, such as a field that produces wheat after it is tilled, planted, watered, etc. A Bechor will, however, receive a double portion of a tree that has grown larger on its own after his father's death.
(c)The Beraisa cited by our Gemara teaches that if one sold a field before his death, then his firstborn son receives a double portion of that field. From that which the field is considered to be in the father's possession at the time of his death although another owns the rights to the produce, it is implied that a Kinyan Peiros is not equal to that of the Guf.
19)[line 3]נקטינןNAKTINAN- we have a tradition
20)[line 4]הרשאהHARSHA'AH- a document granting power of attorney [in order to gain the right to represent her interests in Beis Din]
21)[line 4]לא נחית אפיריLO NACHIS A'FEIRI- [the litigant] did not lay claim (lit. go down) to the produce [as well]
22)[line 5]מיגו דמשתעי דינא אפיריMIGU D'MISHTA'I DINA A'FEIRI- since the husband has the rights to go to court (lit. speak the law) regarding the produce
PEREK #5 HA'NIZAKIN
23)[line 8]הניזקיןHA'NIZAKIN- those who have suffered damages
24)[line 8]שמין להןSHAMIN LAHEN- [Beis Din] evaluates [the damages and oversees the collection of payment] on their behalf
25a)[line 8]ידיתIDIS- high quality land
b)[line 9]ינוניתBEINONIS- average quality land
c)[line 9]זיבוריתZIBORIS- poor quality land
26)[line 9]כתובת אשהKESUVAS ISHAH- see Background to 46:32
27)[line 10]אין נפרעיןEIN NIFRA'IN- we do not collect as repayment
28a)[line 11]נכסים משועבדיםNECHASIM MESHUBADIM- properties sold after a lien was established upon them
b)[line 11]נכסי' בני חוריןNECHASIM BNEI CHORIN- properties that still belong to the estate of he who owes money
29a)[line 14]אכילת פירותACHILAS PEIROS- the consumption of produce. This refers to a case in which one stole a field and then sold it. After the purchaser had invested in it and a crop had grown, the true owner reclaimed it. In such a case the owner need only pay the purchaser for his expenses; he need not cover the value of the fully grown produce. The purchaser may, however, turn to the thief who sold him the field to reimburse him for the full value of his crop. If the sale of the field predated the sale of other fields of the thief, the purchaser should be Halachically entitled to collect his damages from those fields.
b)[line 14]שבח קרקעותSHEVACH KARKA'OS- the appreciation of the field. This, too, refers to the case of the stolen field. If the purchaser invested in the field, raising its value, he may collect the difference between the expenses that he collected from the owner and the full value of the field from the thief.
30)[line 14]מזון האשה והבנותMEZON HA'ISHAH VEHA'BANOS - sustenance for the widow and daughters (TENA'EI KESUVAH)
(a)The Chachamim stipulated that a man has certain obligations toward his wife, above and beyond those in which he is obligated mid'Oraisa. Some of these conditions of marriage are written into every Kesuvah (Jewish marriage contract; see above, entry #26), and they are all enforced by Beis Din. These include:
1.One must redeem his wife should she be taken captive. If he is a non-Kohen, he must take her back into his house; if he is a Kohen and cannot remain married to her, then he must redeem her and then divorce her so that she may remarry. He may not divorce her when she is in captivity and then claim that she can redeem herself with the money she has now gained through the Kesuvah;
2.One must provide his wife with any medical care that she requires for as long as they are married;
3.If one's wife dies before her husband, then her sons inherit the full value of her Kesuvah exclusively when her husband dies. This is aside from that which they split the remainder of their father's estate with any half-brothers born to their fathers other wives. This is termed "Kesuvas Benin Dichrin;"
4.After one's death, his daughters may continue to live in his house and are provided for by his estate, until they marry. This is termed "Mezon ha'Banos;"
5.If one dies before his wife, then his wife may continue to live in his house and is provided for by his estate until she decides to remarry. This is termed "Mezon ha'Ishah." (This Tenai was not in effect in all sectors of Eretz Yisrael. It applied in Yerushalayim and the Galil, but in Yehudah the heirs reserved the right to give her the value of her Kesuvah and require her to move out of their father's home.) (Mishnayos Kesuvos 4:7-12)
(b)One is obligated to fulfill these conditions even if he omitted them from his wife's Kesuvah or did not give her a Kesuvah to begin with.
31)[line 15]מפני תיקון העולםMIPNEI TIKUN HA'OLAM- for communal benefit. This phrase explains the reasoning of all of the Halachos detailed in our Mishnah; the Gemara explains how it is applicable
32)[line 16]המוצא מציאה לא ישבעHA'MOTZEI METZI'AH LO YISHAVA - one who found a lost object shall not swear [the oath normally required of one who admits to part of a claim against him] (MODEH B'MIKTZAS HA'TA'ANAH)
(a)If one admits to owing part of what another claims is due him, we must suspect that he truly owes the amount of the entire claim. He does not have the funds to pay now, nor does he have the audacity to deny the claim completely. He therefore partially acknowledges the debt in an effort to postpone his repayment. He is therefore required to take an oath that he does not owe the remainder of the claim (Shemos 22:8; Kesuvos 18b).
(b)One who finds a lost object is required to return it (Devarim 22:1-3). If, when he does so, the owner claims that he lost more than what was returned, then the finder should be Halachically required to take an oath that he returned all that he found.
33)[line 18]"[כִּי יַבְעֶר אִישׁ שָׂדֶה אוֹ כֶרֶם, וְשִׁלַּח אֶת בְּעִירֹה, וּבִעֵר בִּשְׂדֵה אַחֵר;] מֵיטַב שָׂדֵהוּ וּמֵיטַב כַּרְמוֹ יְשַׁלֵּם""[KI YAV'ER ISH SADEH O CHEREM, V'SHILACH ES BE'IROH, U'VI'ER BI'SDEI ACHER,] MEITAV SADEHU U'MEITAV KARMO YESHALEM"- "[If a man shall lead his animal to another's field or vineyard, and send in his animal to trample it, or it shall graze in the field of another,] he shall make restitution with the best of his field or the best of his vineyard" (Shemos 22:4).
34)[line 20]בדניזק שיימינןBED'NIZAK SHAIMINAN- we estimate the [best quality land of] he who was damaged [and the damager reimburses him with equivalent quality land, even if he himself has higher quality land]
35)[line 21]מפני תיקון העולםMIPNEI TIKUN HA'OLAM- for communal benefit [so that people will be that much more careful not to cause damage to others]
36)[line 23]מיטב שדהו של ניזק ומיטב כרמו של ניזקMEITAV SADEHU SHEL NIZAK U'MEITAV KARMO SHEL NIZAK- (our Gemara takes this to mean) [if the damager wishes to pay with land, then he must replace what was damaged with land equal to] the best quality field of the one who was damaged or the best quality vineyard of the one who was damaged
37)[line 25]לגבות לניזקין מן העידיתLI'GVOS L'NIZAKIN MIN HA'IDIS- to collect damages [equal to the value of what was damaged] from the highest quality land [of the damager]
38)[line 26]אכל שמנה, משלם שמנה; אכל כחושה, משלם שמנה?ACHAL SHEMENAH, MESHALEM SHEMENAH; ACHAL KECHUSHAH, MESHALEM SHEMENAH?- if [his animal] consumed [a] bountiful [patch], he must return [a] bountiful [patch]; if [his animal] consumed [an] arid [patch], must he return [a] bountiful [patch]?
39)[line 28]ערוגהARUGAH- a garden patch
40)[line 32]המוציא מחברו עליו הראיהHA'MOTZI ME'CHAVERO ALAV HA'RE'AYAH
(a)When a dispute arises over the ownership of an item, the first rule to follow is "ha'Motzi me'Chaveiro Alav ha'Re'ayah." This means that the burden of proof rests upon he who wishes to extract the object from the other, and not upon he who holds the item or money in his possession. Hence, in cases of doubt, all items or money remain in the possession of he who holds them.
(b)Our Gemara asks that if it is unclear whether one's animal consumed a bountiful or arid patch of produce, its owner should not be required to pay for more than the least possible damages unless he who was damaged can prove that he is owed more.