Introduction
Today’s mishnah discusses the acquisition of land and movable property. Land in the Mishnah is called property which “has security.” This means that creditors can collect from this property for outstanding debts, even if the land is already owned by a third party (not the debtor). “Movable property”—cannot be used for debt collection from third parties.
Land is acquired through money, deed or possession. That is to say if Reuven wants to acquire land from Shimon he can do one of three things. Either he can pay money to Shimon, write out a document, or demonstrate possession over the land with Shimon’s consent.
Just as animals are not acquired by money, so too “things” are not acquired through money. Rather the purchaser must physically take the object he wishes to acquire into his possession. Until he does so, the item still belongs to the seller.
Just as animals are not acquired by money, so too “things” are not acquired through money. Rather the purchaser must physically take the object he wishes to acquire into his possession. Until he does so, the item still belongs to the seller.
In Mishnah Shevuoth 6:5 we learned that people do not take oaths over land. For instance, if Reuven claims that Shimon owes him land, and Shimon admits to part of the claim, he need not swear that he does not owe him the rest, as he would were Reuven to claim that Shimon owes him money or animals. However, if Shimon needs to take an oath over movable property and land, since he must take an oath over the movable property he must also take an oath over the land. This could happen if Reuven claims that Shimon owes him a piece of land and a 100 sheep. If Shimon admits that half of the land is Reuven’s and half of the sheep, he must take an oath over both the land and the sheep which he claims not to owe.
Introduction
Today’s section discusses the mishnah’s ruling that land can be acquired through money.
This verse from Jeremiah is the source for the ruling that fields are acquired with money.
The verse does mention writing the sale down in a document. But since it first uses the word acquire, we can learn that money alone acquires land, even if no deed is written up.
Rav limits the mishnah’s rule to a place where deeds are not normally written. But if deeds are normally written, then a deed must be written to acquire land.
The Talmud, based on a practice of R. Idi b. Abin, allows the purchaser to make a statement that allows him to retract but not the seller. Of course, the seller has to agree to this arrangement, but if he dies, the purchaser has a legal right to make it.
Introduction
Today’s sugya explains how we know that land can be purchased through a deed.
We can’t use this verse from Jeremiah because we said earlier that money acquires land and that the deed referred to in this verse is just proof. It is not what effects the transaction.
The Talmud uses a different verse from Jeremiah to prove that documents can acquire.
Shmuel places a strong limit on the Mishnah’s rule that a document can acquire without money changing hands. This is true only if someone is giving land away. But if someone is selling land, the document does not acquire until the person also pays the money.
R. Hamnuna cites a baraita which explains the mishnah. This baraita equates between selling and given—in both cases the transaction is valid even before money was given.
R. Hamnuna distinguishes between one who sells something because it is poor quality and one who sells something because he needs the cash. If he is selling it because it is poor quality, then he really wants to get rid of it, and the sale is valid as soon as the deed is signed. However, if he is selling for other reasons, he may retract until he receives the cash.
R. Ashi says that the entire baraita refers to someone who is giving the land as a gift. The only reason that he wrote the sales document was to make sure that everyone would know that the recipient is the owner. If he was really selling it, then the transaction would not be valid until money had changed hands.
The Talmud cites two sources which note that land is acquired by dwelling on it. These verses refer to land seized in war, and thus the land is considered unowned. Israelites take possession of the land (meaning individual possession) by living there.
I want to emphasize that acquisition by “hazakah” does not mean I can take your land just by squatting on it. Elsewhere we learn that to possess land by hazakah one must also claim that he bought it but lost the documentation. Hazakah creates a presumption of ownership. If you live on land for three years and I do not protest, I cannot come later and say that the land is mine. And if I sell you land, and you go and dwell on it, its yours even if you have not yet paid for it. But no one thinks that you can buy land by simply dwelling on it.
The Talmud now provides a source for the rule that objects are only acquired by physical transfer from seller to buyer.
R. Yohanan holds that according to the Torah, even money can acquire objects. He interprets the mishnah as a rabbinic enactment, which offers protection to the purchaser. He will not officially acquire title and responsibility until the object comes into his hand.
Introduction
Today’s section discusses the law which allows one to buy movables together with land. In other words, one does not need to actually pick up the movables. Once one buys the land, the movables are his as well.
The fact that the gifts are given with the walled cities implies that one can transfer movables with land.
The Talmud asks a critical question—must the movables be on the property that is being acquired. In other words, how does this transaction work? Is it that since I’m buying land, I can more easily also buy what’s on the land? Or is it some sort of bundled acquisition—acquiring the land allows me to more easily acquire other things.
The fact that R. Akiva says that movables can be acquired even with a small piece of land seems to imply that the movables need not be on the land. Otherwise, why mention that the land need not be of a minimum size.
[A prosbul allows debts to not be remitted during the sabbatical year. For this document to be written, the debtor must own some land, even an amount far smaller than his actual debt. Peah is the corners of land left for the poor. First fruits are brought to the Temple.]