In Shulhan Aruch, Hoshen haMishpat, Rabbi Yosef Karo, after discussing those things that are or are not included in the sale of a parcel of real estate has chapters on things included in a sale of a courtyard or a city (chapter 215); sale of a field except for its trees (chapter 216); and Sale of Other types of real estate. (chapter 217). This last chapter discusses sales of an irrigation canal, sale of a roadway across the seller's field, sale of a cistern in the seller's field; and sale of a burial plot in the sellers field. The next chapter that he has regarding sales of real estate is about the sale of farmland, the topic of this lesson and the next lesson. I doubt that too many of the readers of Torah Tidbits live on farmland. But ours is a country that still has many kibbutzim devoted to agriculture, and most of us who live in cities have friends, parents, children and other close relatives living in such kibbutzim, this lesson may have special significance. But most importantly, the laws of these lessons are lessons in Torah so that, in and of itself, make the topics very important.

The title of this chapter as it appears in Shulhan Aruch is, "One Who Sells A Beth Kor of Land and It Contains Rocks and Gullies."

A beth kor of land is approximately five and one-quarter acres. Several questions can arise about the sale. Was the term beth kor meant to be exact or approximate, and if approximate, how much so? What if the land contains rocks and gullies that make it extremely difficult to plow and tend to the grains or vegetables grown there? Is there some compensation to be allowed to the buyer if there are such undesirable features in the field that he bought?

The Talmud advises the parties to have the field surveyed before they conclude the sale. The survey will tell the parties the exact area of the field and will also describe any odd features such as rocks and gullies. There are times when the parties do not want to spend the money to have a surveyor or there is no time to engage the services of a surveyor. As has been stated in the preceding lessons, the agreement between the parties, if clear and unambig- uous, is always controlling, and absent a clear and specific agreement, local law and custom is to be followed. The laws of these lessons apply when there is no such agreement between the parties and there is no local law and custom.

Assume that Reuven sells to Shimon a beth kor of land in a field for farming and there was no physical inspection of the premises by Shimon nor was there a survey made by a surveyor. As shown below, such field must measure exactly a beth kor of land. Assume that after Shimon performed an act of acquisition for the field and became its owner, he discovered that the field had gullies and rocks and thus made that part of the field not suitable for plowing, sowing, and raising crops. The area of any of the gullies or rocks that is at least ten tefachim (about 37 inches) deep, or high, is not included in the beth kor of land.

Reuven must furnish to Shimon other land contiguous to the land sold to Shimon equal to the area of the gullies or rocks.

In these cases the rocks and gullies belong to Shimon without any price to be paid to Reuven.

Shimon may not rescind the sale if he receives the other land to compensate for the area lost to rocks and gullies. That is, if he can pass his farm equipment for plowing, sowing, or harvesting from one part of the field to the other without being blocked from doing so by the rocks or gullies; if he cannot do so, he can rescind the sale. The area of any gully or rocks that are less than ten tefachim deep or high is included in the sale and Shimon does not have any recourse against Reuven for additional real estate to cover the unusable area to compensate Shimon for the loss of so much land. Shimon must accept such smaller rocks and gullies as part of his land without compensation.

The language of the sale will determine if Reuven must deliver to Shimon exactly a beth kor or whether there can be a certain discrepancy, either more or less than a beth kor. If Reuven stated, "I sell to you, Shimon, a beth kor of land:" it must be exact. If the land is less than a beth kor, a proportionate deduction of the price is given to Shimon.

If the field is larger than a beth kor, Shimon must return such overage to Reuven.

If Reuven stated, "I sell to you about a beth kor of land" or "a beth kor, more or less," it is held not to be exact. There are other cases where the intent is not so obvious and beth din must in such cases make the determination if an exact measure was sold or an approximate measure of land was sold. If the language shows that the sale is not of an exact amount, and if the discrepancy does not exceed one twenty-fourth of the area sold, whether in favor of the buyer or the seller, the sale is valid. In cases of doubt as to whether the language signifies an exact amount or an inexact amount of area, it is resolved in favor of the seller.

If the discrepancy exceeds one twenty- fourth of the area sold, if in favor of the seller, the buyer receives a proportionate allowance for the entire discrepancy, not just for the amount that exceeds one twenty-fourth of the price. If the discrepancy is so large that the tract does not qualify to be called approximately a beth kor, then if the seller has a field of a beth kor, he must exchange that with the buyer for the first field that the buyer bought. Or he may give to the buyer additional contiguous land to make up a beth kor of land. If the seller does not have any other land to give to the buyer, the buyer may accept a proportionate allowance in price or may rescind the sale and get his money back. If the discrepancy is in favor of the buyer, the buyer must return to the seller the entire excess of the land, not merely so much of the excess as exceeds one twenty-fourth of the area.

If the seller has land adjacent to the sold field, the returned land must be contiguous to the seller's land. These are just a few of many law dealing with the sale and purchase of farmland. The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate to the reader that the halachah has practical applications in all areas of a person's existence, no matter where he is found.

The subject matter of this lesson is more fully presented in Volume VI Chapters 218 of"A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law" byE. Quint, published by Jason Aronson, Inc. and on sale at local Judaica bookstores.
Questions to quint@inter.net.il

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