Arakhin 9:1-2
משנה ערכין ט:א-ב
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Arakhin | Chapter: 9
📖 Mishna
Mishna 9:1
משנה ט:א
Hebrew:
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:
English:
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.” If one of those years was a year of blight or mildew, or if it was the Sabbatical Year, that year does not count as part of the tally. 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. Rabbi Elazar says: If the owner sold it to the buyer before Rosh HaShana and the field was full of produce, that buyer consumes from the field’s produce three crops in two years.
קלאוד על המשנה:
Chapter 9 shifts from Temple consecration to general land sale laws during the Jubilee era. The mishna establishes the “two-year minimum” rule for field redemption.
Two Years of Crops: The Torah says fields are sold “according to years of crops” (plural)—meaning at least two productive agricultural years must pass before the seller can redeem. This protects the buyer’s investment; they need time to benefit from their purchase.
What Counts as a “Year”?
Years that DON’T count:
- Blight/mildew years: Natural disasters that destroy crops
- Sabbatical year: When farming is prohibited and the field lies fallow
In these years, the buyer couldn’t benefit from the field, so they don’t count toward the two-year minimum. The seller must wait longer.
Years that DO count:
- Buyer chose not to plant: If the buyer plowed but didn’t sow, or let it lie fallow voluntarily, that’s their choice. The year counts.
The principle: lost opportunity due to natural causes extends the waiting period; lost opportunity due to buyer’s choice doesn’t.
Rabbi Elazar’s Scenario: If sold right before Rosh HaShana with standing crops, the buyer gets three harvests in two years: the existing crop, plus harvests from year one and year two. This is legitimate—the seller knew what they were selling.
Key Terms:
- גאול (Ga’ol) = Redeem; buy back
- שדפון וירקון (Shidafon V’Yerakon) = Blight and mildew; crop diseases
- שביעית (Shevi’it) = Sabbatical year; agricultural sabbath
- נרה (Narah) = Plowed it
- הובירה (Hovirah) = Left it fallow
Mishna 9:2
משנה ט:ב
Hebrew:
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:
English:
If the owner 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: “to the man to whom he sold it.” If the owner 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: “to the man to whom he sold it”—to the man who is currently in possession of the field. One may not sell his ancestral field in a distant area and redeem a field 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. But with regard to redeeming from the Temple treasury, it is permitted in any of these ways. This is a halakha where greater stringency applies with regard to redeeming from an ordinary individual than from the Temple treasury.
קלאוד על המשנה:
This mishna addresses redemption calculations when fields change hands multiple times, and establishes restrictions on redemption methods.
Which Price Governs Redemption?
The Torah says redemption payment goes “to the man to whom he sold it.” But what if the field was resold at a different price?
Scenario A: Price went UP (sold for 100, resold for 200) Original owner pays based on the FIRST sale (100). The second buyer’s higher purchase price is their problem. The verse says “to whom HE sold”—the original seller’s transaction controls.
Scenario B: Price went DOWN (sold for 200, resold for 100) Original owner pays based on the SECOND sale (100). The verse says “to the man IN the field”—the current possessor. The owner gets the benefit of the lower price.
This asymmetry always favors the original owner: they pay whichever price is lower.
Restrictions on Redemption from Individuals:
Five things are prohibited when redeeming from a private buyer:
- Don’t sell far to redeem near: No geographic arbitrage
- Don’t sell bad to redeem good: No quality upgrade schemes
- Don’t borrow to redeem: Redemption should be from actual resources
- Don’t redeem partially: All-or-nothing transaction
- (Implicit: straightforward, honest dealing)
But the Temple is Different: All these restrictions are waived when redeeming from the Temple treasury. Why? The Temple’s interest is simply getting value; it doesn’t care about the seller’s motives or methods.
The Irony: Ordinary transactions have MORE restrictions than sacred ones—“greater stringency with an individual than with the Temple.”
Key Terms:
- מחשב (Mechashev) = Calculates; computes payment
- לאיש אשר בתוכה (La’Ish Asher B’Tokhah) = To the man in it; current possessor
- רחוק/קרוב (Rachok/Karov) = Distant/near
- רע/יפה (Ra/Yafeh) = Bad/good quality
- לחצאים (LaChatza’im) = In halves; partially
- הדיוט (Hedyot) = Ordinary person; non-Temple