Avodah Zarah 21a

עבודה זרה כ״א ע״א

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Topic

Renting and selling houses and fields to non-Jews in ארץ ישראל, סוריא, and חוץ לארץ, the reasons behind רבי מאיר's and רבי יוסי's rules, and the final הלכה with its שכונה limit.

Overview

This amud finishes the משנה about renting and selling houses and fields to non-Jews. רבי מאיר and רבי יוסי disagree about what is allowed in ארץ ישראל, in סוריא, and in חוץ לארץ. The משנה adds two limits. A house may not be rented as a home, because עבודה זרה would be brought into it. A bathhouse may not be rented out anywhere, because it is called by the Jewish owner's name. The גמרא explains that fields are treated more strictly than houses because they carry two problems: a foothold in the land and the loss of מעשר. Houses do not lose מזוזה, because מזוזה is the resident's obligation. The גמרא then explains each opinion region by region, using the rule that we do not make a גזירה לגזירה and the dispute over whether כיבוש יחיד counts as a conquest. The הלכה follows רבי יוסי, as long as one does not create a non-Jewish שכונה of three people. אביי explains that the first seller is not responsible for what others do later, because the rule covers only direct causing (לפני) and not לפני דלפני. Finally, the גמרא infers from the משנה's wording that there are places where renting is not allowed at all.

Opening lines

The steps (29)

1. Statementרבי מאיר's rules for Syria and outside the Land
2. Statementרבי יוסי's more lenient view
3. StatementRenting is never allowed as a residence
4. StatementA bathhouse may never be rented out
5. QuestionWhy are fields 'all the more so' forbidden?
6. ResponseSuggestion: fields involve two problems
7. ChallengeBut houses also have two problems
8. ResolutionMezuzah depends on the resident, not the house
9. QuestionWhy may houses in Syria be rented but not sold?
10. ResponseSelling in Syria could lead to selling in Eretz Yisrael
11. ChallengeThen renting in Syria should be forbidden too
12. ResolutionWe do not make a decree to protect another decree
13. ChallengeBut renting fields in Syria is a decree on a decree
14. ResolutionSyria counts as conquered land, so this is not a double decree
15. ConclusionFields have two problems, so the rabbis were stricter
16. StatementOutside the land, fields may not be sold but houses may
17. QuestionWhy does רבי יוסי allow renting houses in ארץ ישראל?
18. ResponseFields have two problems and houses do not
19. QuestionWhy may houses be sold in סוריא?
20. Responseרבי יוסי holds that סוריא is not truly conquered land
21. QuestionWhy is everything allowed outside the land?
22. ResponseFar from the land, the rabbis made no decree
23. ConclusionThe הלכה follows רבי יוסי
24. Statementרב יוסף's limit: do not create a שכונה
25. QuestionHow many people make a שכונה?
26. ResponseA שכונה is at least three people
27. ChallengeWhat if another seller adds two more non-Jews?
28. ResolutionWe are warned only about direct causing, not causing from two steps away
29. StatementThe משנה's wording implies some places forbid renting