Halakhah su Levitico 25:23

Sale of real estate for a limited period of time poses a question of a similar nature. Transfer of real estate for a specified time period subsequent to which it reverts to the original owner is technically a sale. Yet, since the purchaser enjoys the right of ownership for only a limited period of time, the transaction does not contribute to permanence of residence and, in that respect, should be viewed as no different from the granting of a leasehold which, while forbidden by rabbinic edict, involves no breach of the biblical prohibition.⁴⁰Minḥat Ḥinnukh, no. 426, citing Rambam, Hilkhot Mekhirah 23:5, who categorizes sale for a fixed period of time as an act of alienation of property rather than as a lease, expresses doubt with regard to whether or not such sale of land in Ereẓ Yisra’el to a non-Jew is forbidden. Yeshu‘ot Malko, Yoreh De‘ah, no. 55, declares that only a sale which results in the property remaining permanently in the hands of the non-Jewish purchaser is forbidden. A sale in which the property reverts to the seller at a specified time does not constitute bestowal of permanence upon the residence of the non-Jew. It was on the basis of this consideration that a Sephardic authority, Teshuvot Shemen ha-Ma’or, Yoreh De‘ah, no. 4, permitted the sale of land to a non-Jew for the period of shmittah. That opinion was the basis of the lenient ruling of R. Yitzchak Elchanan Spector of Kovno with regard to the shmittah question. See R. Yosef Zevi Halevi, Hora’at Sha‘ah, ch. 31. See also R. Abraham I. Kook, Mishpat Kohen, no. 58. See also Ramban in his commentary on Rambam’s Sefer ha-Miẓvot, lo ta‘aseh, no. 227 and cited in Sefer ha-Ḥinnukh, no. 339, who regards the prohibition “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity” (Lev. 25:23) as banning sale to a non-Jew because the non-Jew will not return the property in the jubilee year. However, Ḥazon Ish, Shevi‘it 24:4 and Hilkhot Avodat Kokhavim 65:4, rules that even sale for a limited period of time is forbidden. Ḥazon Ish, in his rulings in all three cases, consistently maintains that it is sale qua sale which is forbidden; see above notes 38 and 39.

The Mishnah, Avodah Zarah 19b, expressly forbids the sale of real estate in Israel to non-Jews. The Gemara explains that this prohibition is derived from the biblical injunction "lo teḥanem," (Deut. 7:2), which, according to rabbinic exegesis, is to be understood as meaning "You shall not grant them permanent encampment (ḥaniyah)." Rambam, Hilkhot Avodah Zarah 10:4, amplifies this statement with the explanation, "For if they will not own land, their inhabitance will be temporary." Ramban, in his commentary on the Bible, Leviticus 25:23, finds that conveyance of land to a non-Jew involves yet another transgression. Scripture provides that all fields revert to their original owners in the jubilee year, and explicitly commands, "and the land shall not be sold in perpetuity." Ramban understands this verse as banning the sale of land to a non-Jew since the latter would retain permanent possession and not return the land to its original owner in the jubilee year. The verse concludes with the explanation "for the land is Mine," indicating that in actuality the land is the possession of God and that it is only by virtue of His largesse that man is permitted to dwell in, and derive enjoyment from, his terrestrial habitat. Accordingly, this passage gives expression to the divine will that Israel be the homeland of the Jewish people and that they not be displaced by foreign land-owners. According to Ramban, the purchase of land in Israel from a non-Jew constitutes a fulfillment of the commandment "You shall give a redemption unto the land" (Lev. 25:24). Rabbi Bakshi-Duran argues that, according to Ramban, there is yet another source militating against the sale of dwellings or fields in Israel to a non-Jew. According to Ramban, the verse "And you shall inherit the land and dwell therein" (Deut. 11:31) is not simply a prophetic prognostication or a divine promise but constitutes a positive commandment. Ramban comments, "We have been commanded to inhabit the land which God gave to our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that we not allow it to remain in the possession of any other nation or allow it to be desolate." Rabbi Bakshi-Duran understands the second clause in Ramban's comment as referring not to the establishment of political sovereignty but to actual ownership of territory. Thus any act which results in a non-Jew acquiring title to any portion of the land of Israel constitutes a violation of the commandment concerning settlement of Erez Yisra'el.

He prohibited - not to sell our land in the Land of Israel [as a] permanent sale. And that is His saying, "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity" (Leviticus 25:23). And the regulations of this commandment have been explained in Arakhin. (See Parashat Behar; Mishneh Torah, Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee 11.)