Tuesday 4 April 2017

Bava Batra 72: The Land Between the Trees

The rabbis disagree about in which circumstances trees might be sold along with the field that holds them.  Looking at a particular baraita, they consider whether or not the trees were consecrated, the density of the trees' placement, the order in which they were planted, and the value of each tree.  The rabbis determine that this baraita must have been written by Rabbi Shimon, who holds in accordance with the Chachamim: we sell stingily, we consecrate stingily, and we keep as much of the field as we can for ourselves.  The rabbis consider whether one might be more stingy regarding consecration or giving charity.

The Gemara turns to these same considerations when the land is inherited.  Is the field considered to be inherited only in some situations - when it has been bought from one's father and then consecrated?  In this case the amount of the redemption would be set.  Or is this the case only for fields that were not destined to be inherited?  Does it even matter whether the field was consecrated before or after the father died?

Rav Huna teaches that grafted carob trees and sycamore stumps are considered to be both trees and land.  His first argument is the land between three trees (two regular trees and one of the above trees) is included in the sale.  The second is that they are considered land in that they are not sold along with the land.  He also teaches that a sheaf is considered to be a sheaf and a stack.  

Agricultural work only changed dramatically over the past 150 years.  It is amazing that we learn about buying and selling fields and their contents in such detail.  Much of their negotiations are foreign to me.  It is unclear whether these concepts are unfamiliar because of my ignorance of farming, of real estate law, or of ancient Jewish texts.

No comments:

Post a Comment