Gemara Clarity

Arachin 33b

ערכין ל״ג ע״ב

Arakhin 33b

Learn Arachin 33b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Arachin 33b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Unwalled settlements, the special redemption rights of לוים and their cities, and whether לוים can own walled-city houses

Overview

The משנה teaches that a tiny place, with just two courtyards of two houses each, counts as unwalled even if it has a wall from יהושע's time. The גמרא learns this from extra words in the פסוק and explains why there must be two houses in each courtyard. A new משנה discusses a grandson who inherits a house from his mother's father when one is a לוי and the other a ישראל. רבי holds that the special לוי redemption rule needs both a לוי seller and עָרֵי הַלְוִיִּם, while חכמים require only the location. Next, the משנה forbids changing the field, open land and city zones of Levite cities, and the גמרא finds the source in the words 'לֹא יִמָּכֵר'. A ברייתא then shows three things that 'גְּאֻלַּת עוֹלָם' teaches for a לוי. When the גמרא asks how לוים could own houses in walled cities, רב כהנא's answer is rejected, and a new answer begins that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

מַתְנִי׳ וְאֵלּוּ הֵן בָּתֵּי הַחֲצֵרִים —

MISHNA: And these are the houses of the courtyards

שְׁנֵי חֲצֵרִים שֶׁל שְׁנֵי בָתִּים,

two courtyards, each with two houses,

אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁמּוּקֶּפֶת חוֹמָה

even though it is surrounded by a wall

מִימוֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן,

from the days of Joshua son of Nun,

The steps (34)

  1. StatementWhat counts as houses of the courtyards
  2. StatementThe verse teaches that some walled places count as unwalled
  3. StatementHow small the place must be
  4. ChallengeMaybe it means one house per courtyard
  5. ResolutionThen the Torah should have written just courtyards
  6. ChallengeMaybe 'courtyards' alone would mean empty courtyards
  7. ResolutionA courtyard without a house is called an enclosure
  8. StatementInheriting a house from a mother's father of a different tribe
  9. StatementThe verse behind the rule and רבי's two requirements
  10. StatementThe Sages say the location alone is enough
  11. ChallengeIf not the usual way, then like a Levite? But רבי requires a real Levite
  12. ResolutionRead the משנה as: he redeems only the usual way
  13. QuestionWhere do we learn that the seller must be a Levite?
  14. ResponseThe source: 'from the Levites'
  15. ProofA ברייתא shows a לוי redeems at any time even from another לוי
  16. StatementA לוי who is a ממזר or נתין does not get the redemption power
  17. Conclusionחכמים do not require the seller to be a לוי
  18. StatementThe land areas of the Levite cities may not be switched
  19. Statementרבי אלעזר limits the rule to Levite cities
  20. StatementPriests and Levites may sell and redeem at any time
  21. QuestionWhere do we learn that Levite land may not be changed?
  22. ResponseThe source: 'it shall not be sold'
  23. ChallengeIt cannot mean 'never sold at all'
  24. Resolution'Not sold' means 'not changed'
  25. QuestionWhy does the Torah need 'redemption forever'?
  26. ResponseA Levite does not have to wait to redeem
  27. ResponseA Levite's consecrated field does not go to the כהנים
  28. ResponseA Levite's house in a walled city is not lost forever
  29. ChallengeDo Levites even have houses in walled cities?
  30. Resolutionרב כהנא: walled first, or settled first
  31. ChallengeDoes a wall built after settling even count?
  32. ChallengeThe wall must be built by גוים
  33. ChallengeThe wall must come before the conquest
  34. ResolutionA new answer: walled cities that came to the לוים