Kiddushin, Daf Kaf Vav, Part 2

Introduction

Today s section discusses the mishnah s ruling that land can be acquired through money.

גמ׳ בכסף מנלן אמר חזקיה אמר קרא (ירמיהו לב, מד) שדות בכסף יקנו

GEMARA. By money: From where do we know this? Hizkiyah said: The verse says, They shall acquire fields with money (Jeremiah 32:44).

This verse from Jeremiah is the source for the ruling that fields are acquired with money.

ואימא עד דאיכא שטר דכתיב (ירמיהו לב, מד) וכתוב בספר וחתום

אי כתיב יקנו לבסוף כדקאמרת השתא דכתיב יקנו מעיקרא כסף קני שטר ראיה בעלמא הוא

But why not say [the purchase is invalid] unless there is a deed [too], since it is written, and write in a deed and sign (ibid)?

If it had written acquire at the end, it would be as you say; now, however, that acquire is written at the beginning, money acquires, while the deed is merely evidence.

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.

אמר רב לא שנו אלא במקום שאין כותבין את השטר אבל במקום שכותבין את השטר לא קנה

Rav said: They taught this only of a place where they do not write a deed; but in a place where they do write a deed, money alone does not acquire.

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.

ואי פריש פריש כי הא דרב אידי בר אבין כי זבין ארעא אמר אי בעינא בכספא איקני אי בעינא בשטרא איקני

אי בעינא בכספא איקני דאי בעיתו למיהדר לא מציתו הדריתו ואי בעינא בשטרא איקני דאי בעינא למיהדר הדרנא בי:

Yet if he [the purchaser] explicates [that he is buying without a deed], it is valid. Like R. Idi b. Abin who when he would sell land used to say: If I wish, I acquire it by money; if I wish, I acquire it by deed. If I wish, I acquire it by money, so that if you want to retract [after I have paid], you cannot. And if I wish, I acquire it by deed, so that if I want to retract, I can.

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.