Arakhin 7:3-4
משנה ערכין ז:ג-ד
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Arakhin | Chapter: 7
📖 Mishna
Mishna 7:3
משנה ז:ג
Hebrew:
הִקְדִּישָׁהּ וּגְאָלָהּ, אֵינָהּ יוֹצְאָה מִיָּדוֹ בַּיּוֹבֵל. גְּאָלָהּ בְּנוֹ, יוֹצְאָה לְאָבִיו בַּיּוֹבֵל. גְּאָלָהּ אַחֵר אוֹ אֶחָד מִן הַקְּרוֹבִים וּגְאָלָהּ מִיָּדוֹ, אֵינָהּ יוֹצְאָה מִיָּדוֹ בַּיּוֹבֵל. גְּאָלָהּ אֶחָד מִן הַכֹּהֲנִים וַהֲרֵי הִיא תַּחַת יָדוֹ, לֹא יֹאמַר הוֹאִיל וְהִיא יוֹצְאָה לַכֹּהֲנִים בַּיּוֹבֵל וַהֲרֵי הִיא תַּחַת יָדִי, הֲרֵי הִיא שֶׁלִּי, אֶלָּא יוֹצְאָה לְכָל אֶחָיו הַכֹּהֲנִים:
English:
If one consecrated his ancestral field and then redeemed it himself, it is not removed from his possession to be divided among the priests during the Jubilee Year. If his son redeemed it, the field is removed from the son’s possession and returns to his father during the Jubilee Year. But if another person or one of his other relatives redeemed the field and the owner subsequently redeemed it from his possession, the field is removed from the owner’s possession and given to the priests during the Jubilee Year. If one of the priests redeemed the field and when the Jubilee arrived it was in his possession, he may not say: Since it is removed from the possession of the one who redeemed it and given to the priests during the Jubilee Year, and since it is already in my possession, it is mine. Rather, the field is removed from his possession and is divided among all his brethren, the priests.
קלאוד על המשנה:
This mishna traces the complex paths a consecrated ancestral field can take and determines its fate at Jubilee—a case study in how ownership chains affect sacred property.
Scenario 1: Owner Redeems Directly When the original owner redeems his own consecrated field, it permanently returns to him. The Jubilee has no further effect—he’s restored the status quo.
Scenario 2: Son Redeems The son’s redemption is treated as an extension of the father. The field returns to the father at Jubilee because the son’s acquisition was really on behalf of restoring family property.
Scenario 3: Stranger Redeems, Then Owner Buys Back Here’s the critical scenario: if a stranger redeems the field from the Temple, and then the original owner buys it from the stranger—the field goes to the priests at Jubilee! Why?
The owner’s opportunity to redeem directly from the Temple has passed. His later purchase from the stranger is just an ordinary sale, not a redemption. The field has been “lost” to the family and at Jubilee becomes priestly property (שדה חרמים).
Scenario 4: Priest Redeems A fascinating anti-windfall provision: even if a priest happens to redeem the field and holds it at Jubilee, he cannot claim “it’s going to priests anyway, so it’s mine.” The field must be distributed among all priests. No individual priest benefits from lucky timing.
This teaches that the Jubilee distribution to priests is communal, not acquisitive. A priest who redeems gains no special advantage over his fellow priests.
Key Terms:
- גאלה (Ge’alah) = Redeemed it; bought it back from the Temple
- יוצאה מידו (Yotze’ah MiYado) = Removed from his possession
- יובל (Yovel) = Jubilee Year
- קרובים (Kerovim) = Relatives
- כהנים (Kohanim) = Priests; recipients of unredeemed consecrated fields
- אחיו הכהנים (Echav HaKohanim) = His brethren, the priests; all priests equally
Mishna 7:4
משנה ז:ד
Hebrew:
הִגִּיעַ הַיּוֹבֵל וְלֹא נִגְאֲלָה, הַכֹּהֲנִים נִכְנָסִים לְתוֹכָהּ וְנוֹתְנִים אֶת דָּמֶיהָ, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי יְהוּדָה. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, נִכְנָסִין, אֲבָל לֹא נוֹתְנִין. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, לֹא נִכְנָסִין וְלֹא נוֹתְנִין, אֶלָּא נִקְרֵאת שְׂדֵה רְטוּשִׁים, עַד הַיּוֹבֵל הַשֵּׁנִי. הִגִּיעַ הַיּוֹבֵל הַשֵּׁנִי וְלֹא נִגְאֲלָה, נִקְרֵאת רְטוּשֵׁי רְטוּשִׁין עַד הַיּוֹבֵל הַשְּׁלִישִׁי. לְעוֹלָם אֵין הַכֹּהֲנִים נִכְנָסִין לְתוֹכָהּ, עַד שֶׁיִּגְאָלֶנָּה אַחֵר:
English:
If one consecrated his ancestral field and the Jubilee Year arrived and it was not redeemed by the owner or anyone else, the priests enter into the field and give its redemption payment to the Temple treasury; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Shimon says: They enter into the field, but they do not give its redemption payment to the Temple treasury. Rabbi Eliezer says: The priests do not enter into the field, and they also do not give its redemption payment to the Temple treasury. Rather, the field remains in the possession of the Temple treasury, and it is called: An abandoned field, until the second Jubilee Year. If the second Jubilee arrived and it was still not redeemed, it is called: An abandoned field from among the abandoned fields, meaning one that was abandoned twice, until the third Jubilee. In any case, the priests never enter into a consecrated field during the Jubilee Year until another person redeems it first.
קלאוד על המשנה:
What happens to a consecrated ancestral field that no one redeems by Jubilee? Three Tannaim offer dramatically different answers, reflecting deep questions about the nature of priestly inheritance.
Rabbi Yehuda: Priests take the field AND pay its value to the Temple. They become full owners by purchasing it, ensuring both the Temple and priests benefit.
Rabbi Shimon: Priests take the field but pay nothing. The Jubilee transfer to priests is a gift, not a sale. The Temple’s “ownership” was always temporary, holding it until Jubilee released it to its destined recipients.
Rabbi Eliezer (Strictest View): Priests cannot simply take the field at Jubilee. Instead, it becomes “שדה רטושים” (an abandoned field)—remaining Temple property indefinitely. Only if someone eventually redeems it does it ever reach the priests.
According to Rabbi Eliezer, a field can remain “abandoned” through multiple Jubilee cycles, accumulating the haunting title “רטושי רטושין” (doubly abandoned). The priests never automatically acquire it.
The Underlying Dispute: Is the Jubilee transfer to priests:
- A purchase (Rabbi Yehuda)?
- A gift (Rabbi Shimon)?
- Contingent on prior redemption (Rabbi Eliezer)?
This affects how we understand priestly entitlements generally—are they automatic or conditional?
Key Terms:
- נגאלה (Nig’alah) = It was redeemed
- נכנסים לתוכה (Nikhnasim L’Tokhah) = They enter into it; they take possession
- דמיה (Dameha) = Its payment; its monetary value
- שדה רטושים (Sedeh Retushim) = Abandoned field; property in limbo
- רטושי רטושין (Retushei Retushin) = Doubly abandoned; abandoned for multiple Jubilee cycles