Purchasing real estate is something that almost everyone does at least once in their life. At least, that was the situation in Israel until recently - before the legislature decided to aggressively intervene in our free market forces. The consideration for this type of purchase is a sum of money greater than any other household expense, and it is also a complex legal action, and therefore, few people make a real estate transaction without the assistance of a lawyer specializing in the field. The various legal systems have established formal requirements for real estate transactions, which stems from the complexity of the transaction. Does such a purchase have a source in the Bible?
Real Estate Acquisition in the Book of Jeremiah – A Historical Perspective
In the Bible we find several real estate transactions: Abraham's purchase of the Cave of the Patriarchs[1], as well as the purchase of the field plot near Nablus by Jacob[2], were made by paying money. The Torah does not tell us precise details about the other customs that were involved in the actual purchase, if indeed there were any.[3].
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In the Book of Ruth we find the acquisition of the right of redemption of a plot of land belonging to Elimelech by pulling out a shoe and giving it to his neighbor.[4], which the scripture testifies to "and this was done before in Israel" - an ancient custom for carrying out legal transactions, including the purchase of real estate. Chazal taught us[5] Because this is the regular property that we are familiar with from financial law, and that we still use today, which fundamentally symbolizes the transfer of consideration for the purchased item.
However, in the Book of Jeremiah, in the act of purchasing the field of Hananel, which is better known to us as the haftarat of Parashat "Bahar", we encounter a much more complex custom. And the verse is[6]:
""And I bought the field from Hanamel the son of Dodi, the man of Ananth, and weighed him the money, seven shekels and ten shekels of silver. And I wrote it in a deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances: And I took the deed of purchase, the seal, the commandment, and the statutes, and the testament. And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch. "The son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle, and in the sight of the witnesses who wrote in the book of the purchase, in the sight of all the Jews who sat in the court of the tabernacle.""
What is the book of the gift?
In a preliminary analysis, we find the weighing of money as a consideration, and the writing of a "deed of purchase" - a bill of sale - consisting of four parts: a. "The signed" b. "The open" c. "The mitzvah" d. "The laws" and all this in front of witnesses. And here the son asks, what are these parts? What is their purpose? Does the modern land transaction achieve these purposes? And if so, how? The scope will be short and we will not be able to adequately cover this topic, but we will deal with these and other questions at least partially, and we will offer an interpretation that adheres as closely as possible to the plain meaning of the Bible and the commentators of the Nakh without explaining the sermons of the Sages and the halakhah.[7], because this is not the intention of this article, as we will deal only with the historical aspect. As is known, a book is the language of the written document, such as "Book of Deeds.""[8] Used to divorce a woman. Why? Because it tells something, that is, conveys information in a visible and tangible way, in a way that is preserved as testimony and proof.
The early scholars disagreed on the number of books called "Sefer Hakana" in the book of Jeremiah. According to Rashi and Mahari Kara, this is one book with several parts, with "the sealed" referring to the book after it was signed by Jeremiah.[9] And the "commandments" and "laws" are a description that the bill was made legally.[10]. "The "public" according to Rashi is not a book but an "asherta dedayani" - the holding of the deed before a court for publication, lest someone challenge the right of the new owners and it be impossible to obtain the witnesses, since Rashi interpreted the readings not according to their literal meaning but subject to the demand.
According to the Radak and the Abarbanel, there were three books, the "Book of the Purchase," that is, the deed of the transaction, which was divided into a visible part and a sealed part, with the mitzvot and the haukhim, the general instructions for the sale of the field, written on a separate deed. His method also emerges from the contrast in the language of the text, "the domain" versus "the visible" and they are parallel to the "mitzvah" and "the haukhim." What do these things mean?.
The Radak explained "stamped" as hidden and undisclosed, and is a part of the bill that there is no point in revealing. When a person comes to challenge the sale, it was signed with a "stamp" and it is possible that they would also stitch it line by line - a linked divorce decree.[11] To his keeper. In contrast, the visible part is the part where it can be proven who the owner is and on what date he purchased the field.
The "mitzvah" and "laws" are, in the opinion of the Radak, the general instructions, i.e. the commandments of action and the prohibitions involved in the transaction, the cogent instructions set forth in the Torah that are not subject to stipulation and that are written as a form for reminder, such as the right of the seller or his relatives to redeem a field of grain - to return and buy it after two years of grain at a price proportional to the remaining years of sale, the exit in the jubilee, the instructions on fraud in sales, or the right to redeem a house in a walled city within a year and its dissolution thereafter.
The Radak claims that the general instructions that are not subject to conditions were written in a separate book since they do not change and there was probably a fixed wording for these things which were attached as an appendix to be signed and published, as implied by the rest of the verses.[12]:
""And I will command the blessed one in their sight, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Take these books, this deed of the purchase, and this book of the seal, and this book of the revelation, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may endure many days. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, They shall yet buy houses, and fields, and vineyards, in this land."'
"The singular "book of the purchase" in verse 12 becomes the plural "books of the purchase" in verse 11, with the plural being justified by the parts of the book. Indeed, the commandments and laws were written as an appendix to the other part, which is the sealed and open book that describes the specific sale.
Between sealed and open
According to the Radak, it can be explained with a slight change that the "signed" and "envelope" are the "form of the bill" and the "cover of the bill" respectively. That is, before presenting the bill, Jeremiah says, "And I will write in a book and seal it and call witnesses." That is, he wrote on the "book" - the parchment or paper, and then signed in the presence of witnesses named in the bill, who may have even added their signatures as evidence of his signature, as it is written below, "And in the presence of the writing witnesses[13] "In the book of the purchase." Which part of the deed Jeremiah wrote is not specified in the text, but the phrase "and I wrote in the book" implies that we are not talking about plain paper, but rather a "book" was already in the process of being written by Jeremiah. That is, Jeremiah added to the text in which he prefaced it - "the form of the deed" - the fixed words used to document each transaction, and Jeremiah only completed the "deed" - the details of the specific transaction, such as the date of the transaction, the location of the plot, the size of the field and its boundaries, the number of two crops of the sale, the names of the parties, the consideration, and what was included in the transaction (such as Canaanite slaves, animals or movables that were used to work the field and times that were sold with the field).
That is, the "sealed" is called so not only because it is hidden in a seal, but because it is permanent and sealed and protected from any change.[14] In contrast, the "open" is the "uncovered" one who reveals the details of the transaction to the parties and witnesses so that it will stand for many days. And both are parts of "one book," that is, one bill, and not necessarily two bills that are divided in their content. For, according to the Radak's method, it would be difficult to understand what a sealed bill is that is never opened if the purpose of the bill - the "book of acquisition" - is to recount things.
According to biblical commentators and the Sages, we have found that the "Sefer Makaneh" has two functions: the completion of the sale by signing and delivering it, as well as an evidentiary function. Its evidentiary function is divided into two parts. First, it establishes and reveals the conditions to the parties and witnesses in order to prevent future disputes. Second, it constitutes evidence in the hands of the person holding it that he indeed purchased the land and paid its owner the consideration, as a counterweight to the public knowledge that the seller has of his ownership. This function will serve the purchaser until he establishes a "premise" - the expiration of the period during which the new ownership will be published. However, in the case described in the Book of Jeremiah, it appears that Jeremiah could no longer go down and possess the field, and therefore he was commanded to give the "Sefer Makaneh" for his shares in a clay vessel so that they will last for many days.
Indeed, lawyers who deal with real estate can certainly testify to the fulfillment of the prophetic prophecy in Jeremiah where "they will still buy houses, fields, and vineyards in this land.".
The writer, attorney Eliyahu Schwartz From the office Wolfson Weinstein & Co.', specializes in real estate.
[1] Genesis 23:16.
[2] Genesis 33:19.
[3] It is important to note that some have interpreted the negotiation ceremony with the bowing before the "people of the land" (the dignitaries of the audience) as a ceremony of consent by the local people to the sale of land to a foreigner, which was the custom in their time. See: Supplement to the blessing of Reish Chai Sarah.
[4] Ruth D, 7.
[5] Babylonian in the 7th century BC, a.
[6] Jeremiah 31:1-10.
[7] The Sages learned from the verses the laws of the bill of jealousy, and more. See: Babylonian Kiddushin 9:1; Ibid. 22:1; 22:2, and more.
[8] Deuteronomy 24:1.
[9] Rashi there 11.
[10] Mahari read there.
[11] See Babylonian Bible, 2:2, "The sealed one - it is linked.".
[12] Jeremiah 13-15.
[13] The word "written" should be interpreted as signed, and not just remembered. See: Babylonian Gittite 3, 2 Rashi 45 signature.
[14] From the phrase "sealed in my treasures" Deuteronomy 22:34.
