341. Our House: The obligation to observe the laws of redeeming houses in walled cities

In Mitzvah #339, we discussed how one may not sell fields permanently; this includes houses that are “out of town.” Here, we discuss the law regarding houses in walled cities. If someone sold a house in a walled city, he could redeem it for one year. After that, it became the permanent property of the purchaser. Such a sale would not revert in the Jubilee year. When a seller redeems a house, he must refund the full value, even though the buyer had use of it for a number of months.

The ultimate reason for all of these laws is that God owns the land and He makes the rules. The specific rationale underlying the law of houses in walled cities is to encourage people to quickly redeem their ancestral property. If the seller snoozes, he loses.

The year cut-off to redeem the house holds true even if the buyer turns around and “flips” the house to another person. The original seller can still reclaim the house from the second buyer, but the clock does not reset; he only has one year, counting from the date he originally sold it.

This mitzvah applies to both men and women but only in Israel at a time when the Jubilee is observed. It is discussed in the Talmud in tractate Arachin (31a-32b) and is codified in the Mishneh Torah in the twelfth chapter of Hilchos Shemittah. This mitzvah is #139 of the 248 positive mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos.