Arakhin 7:1-2
משנה ערכין ז:א-ב
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Arakhin | Chapter: 7
📖 Mishna
Mishna 7:1
משנה ז:א
Hebrew:
אֵין מַקְדִּישִׁין לִפְנֵי הַיּוֹבֵל פָּחוֹת מִשְּׁתֵּי שָׁנִים. וְלֹא גוֹאֲלִין לְאַחַר הַיּוֹבֵל פָּחוֹת מִשָּׁנָה. אֵין מְחַשְּׁבִין חֳדָשִׁים לַהֶקְדֵּשׁ. אֲבָל הַהֶקְדֵּשׁ מְחַשֵּׁב חֳדָשִׁים. הַמַּקְדִּישׁ אֶת שָׂדֵהוּ בִּשְׁעַת הַיּוֹבֵל, נוֹתֵן בְּזֶרַע חֹמֶר שְׂעֹרִים חֲמִשִּׁים שֶׁקֶל כָּסֶף. הָיוּ שָׁם נְקָעִים עֲמֻקִּים עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים אוֹ סְלָעִים גְּבוֹהִים עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים, אֵין נִמְדָּדִים עִמָּהּ. פָּחוֹת מִכָּאן, נִמְדָּדִים עִמָּהּ. הִקְדִּישָׁהּ שְׁתַּיִם אוֹ שָׁלשׁ שָׁנִים לִפְנֵי הַיּוֹבֵל, נוֹתֵן סֶלַע וּפֻנְדְיוֹן לְשָׁנָה. אִם אָמַר הֲרֵינִי נוֹתֵן דְּבַר שָׁנָה בְשָׁנָה, אֵין שׁוֹמְעִין לוֹ, אֶלָּא נוֹתֵן אֶת כֻּלּוֹ כְּאֶחָד:
English:
One may neither consecrate an ancestral field less than two years before the Jubilee Year, nor may one redeem such a field less than one year after the Jubilee Year. When performing this calculation, one does not count months of a partial year in order to lower the price to be paid to the Temple treasury; rather, he pays for the entire year. But the Temple treasury may count months in order to raise the price of redemption. In the case of one who consecrates his ancestral field during a period when the Jubilee Year is observed and wishes to redeem it, he gives the Temple treasury fifty sela, a talmudic measure referred to in the Bible as silver shekels, for an area required for sowing a chomer of barley seed. If there were crevices ten handbreadths deep in the field, or if there were boulders ten handbreadths high, when calculating the redemption price those areas are not measured with the rest of the field. But if the depth of the crevices, or the height of the boulders, was less than that amount, they are measured with the rest of the field. If he consecrated the field two or three years before the Jubilee Year and wishes to redeem it, he gives the Temple treasury a sela and a pundeyon per year remaining until the Jubilee Year. And if he said: I will give the payment for each year during that year, one does not listen to him; rather, he must give the entire sum in one payment.
קלאוד על המשנה:
This mishna introduces the complex laws of consecrating ancestral fields (שדה אחוזה), which are governed by special Torah rules tied to the Jubilee cycle.
Time Restrictions: You can’t consecrate a field less than 2 years before Jubilee, nor redeem one less than 1 year after. Why? The Torah speaks of “years” (plural) of redemption, implying a minimum meaningful period. These rules ensure that consecration and redemption involve substantive commitments, not manipulative timing games.
Asymmetric Month Counting: Here’s a fascinating principle: when calculating redemption payments, partial years favor the Temple. The owner can’t reduce his payment by counting months (“I should pay less because it’s only 11 months until Jubilee”). But the Temple can increase the charge by counting months. This asymmetry protects sacred property.
The Fixed Valuation: Unlike market-value sales, ancestral field redemption uses Torah-mandated rates: 50 silver shekels per chomer (a measure of planting area) for the full Jubilee cycle, or proportionally less based on years remaining. This creates predictability and removes haggling from sacred transactions.
Field Measurement: Crevices and boulders 10 handbreadths or more are excluded from measurement—they’re not usable farmland. Smaller imperfections are counted. This ensures fair calculation of what’s actually being consecrated.
Lump Sum Payment: The owner cannot pay in installments (“year by year”). The Temple treasury needs certainty and doesn’t function as a financing institution. One payment, upfront.
Key Terms:
- יובל (Yovel) = Jubilee Year; the 50th year when fields return to original owners
- שדה אחוזה (Sedeh Achuzah) = Ancestral field; inherited land
- חומר (Chomer) = Kor; a dry measure for grain
- נקעים (Neka’im) = Crevices; deep depressions in the field
- סלעים (Sela’im) = Boulders; large rocks
- טפח (Tefach) = Handbreadth; approximately 8-10 cm
- סלע ופונדיון (Sela U’Fundiyon) = A sela and a pundeyon; the annual redemption rate
Mishna 7:2
משנה ז:ב
Hebrew:
אֶחָד הַבְּעָלִים, וְאֶחָד כָּל הָאָדָם. מַה בֵּין הַבְּעָלִים לְבֵין כָּל הָאָדָם, אֶלָּא שֶׁהַבְּעָלִים נוֹתְנִים חֹמֶשׁ, וְכָל אָדָם אֵינוֹ נוֹתֵן חֹמֶשׁ:
English:
This is the halakha both with regard to a case where the owner redeems the field and a case where any other person redeems the field. What then is the difference between redemption by the owner and redemption by any other person? It is only that the owner gives an extra one-fifth in addition to the payment, and any other person who redeems the field does not give the additional one-fifth.
קלאוד על המשנה:
This brief mishna addresses a logical question: if anyone can redeem a consecrated field at the fixed Torah rate, what advantage does the original owner have?
Equal Redemption Rights: The fixed-rate system means anyone—original owner or stranger—can redeem the field by paying the same amount (50 shekels per chomer for a full Jubilee cycle, proportionally less for remaining years). This creates an open market for redemption.
The Owner’s Extra Fifth: The sole difference is that the owner must add a chomesh—an additional fifth (actually a quarter of the base price, making it 25% more). This Torah-mandated surcharge (Leviticus 27:19) applies whenever owners redeem their own consecrated property.
Why require the owner to pay more? Several explanations:
- Discouraging hasty consecration: The extra cost makes people think twice before consecrating fields they might want back
- Extra benefit to Temple: The owner presumably values the ancestral field more than strangers would
- Completion of the mitzvah: The owner’s redemption “completes” the consecration cycle, warranting additional sanctification payment
Practical Implication: If the owner and a stranger both want to redeem at the same price, the owner actually pays 25% more. But the owner may still prefer this because ancestral land has irreplaceable value—it represents family heritage and inheritance rights.
Key Terms:
- בעלים (Be’alim) = Owners; the original owner of the field
- כל אדם (Kol Adam) = Any person; anyone else who wishes to redeem
- חומש (Chomesh) = One-fifth; additional 25% payment required of owners