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פרק ה משנה ה
העיד רבי יוחנן בן גדגדה Rabbi Yochanan ben Geduda testified

על החרשת  

regarding a deaf-mute woman
שהשיאה אביה   whose father married her off
שהיא יוצאה בגט  that she could be divorced with a get;
ועל קטנה בת ישראל and regarding a minor bas Yisroel
שנשאת לכהן

who was married to a Kohen [a marriage that is only rabbinically valid ],

שאוכלת בתרומה that she may eat [food which is rabbinically treated as] terumah
ואם מתה and if she dies
בעלה יורשה her husband inherits her;
ועל המריש הגזול and regarding a stolen beam
שבנאו בבירה that was built into a large house
שיטול את דמיו that [it's owner] takes [from the thief] its value
מפני תקנת השבים as a solution for the penitents;
ועל החטאת הגזולה and regarding a stolen korbon chattas,
שלא נודעה לרבים that is not known to the public [to have been stolen]
שהיא מכפרת that is atones
מפני תקון המזבח as a solution for the altar (so that kohanim would not be reluctant to bring korbonos for fear that they would unknowingly bring invalid offerings).
   
פרק ה משנה ו
לא היה סיקריקון There was not [the rabbinical enactment to address land taken by] extortionists
ביהודה in Judea
בהרוגי המלחמה for [the time of] those killed at war,
מהרוגי המלחמה ואילך from [the time of] those killed at war and on,
יש בה סיקריקון  there was [the rabbinical enactment addressing land taken by] extortionists.
כיצד How [does the rabbinical enactment to address land taken by extortionists work]?
לקח מסיקריקון  If one purchased [the land] from an extortionist
וחזר ולקח מבעל הבית and then purchased the land from its [original owner
מקחו בטל the purchase is void;
מבעל הבית if [purchased] from the owner [first]
וחזר ולקח מסיקריקון and then purchased from the extortionist
מקחו קים the purchase is valid.
מן האיש [If one bought land designated for a wife to be hers after her marriage] from the husband first
וחזר ולקח מן האשה and then purchased it from the wife
מקחו בטל the purchase is void,
מן האשה [if one buys it first] form the wife
וחזר ולקח מן האיש and then purchased from the husband
מקחו קים the purchase is valid.
זו משנה ראשונה This was the original teaching
בית דין של אחריהם אמרו but the later Beis Din said
הלוקח מסיקריקון one who buys from an extortionist
נותן לבעלים רביע gives the [original] owner a quarter.
אימתי When?
בזמן שאין בידן לקח When the [original owner] does not have the means to purchase it
אבל יש בידן לקח but if [the original owner] does have the means to purchase it
הן קודמין לכל אדם they have priority over all persons.
רבי הושיב בית דין ונמנו Rabbi convened a Beis Din and they [voted and] counted
שאם שהתה בפני סיקריקון that if it remained with the extortionist
שנים עשר חדש for twelve months
כל הקודם לקח זוכה anyone who buys it first keeps it
אבל נותן לבעלים רביע but must give the owner a quarter.
   

NOTES

משנה ה

החרשת - She lacks the requisite דעת to enter into marriage herself, but can still accept a get.

המריש הגזול - Normally, a stolen object that has not undergone any physical change must be returned.  However, as in this case it would require tearing down a substantial building, we allow the thief to merely pay for it to facilitate his תשובה.

משנה ו

סיקריקון - These were non-Jews who would take land from their owners with threats of death.  The problem for anyone purchasing from such people is that the original owner is assumed to not to have given over the property willingly, and so title still rests with the original owner.

הרוגי המלחמה - This refers to the war of Titus, when the Romans were killing Jews whenever they could.  Under such circumstances, it is assumed that a Jew giving his land to a non-Jew really fid fear for his life, and willingly traded his land for his life, thus giving the non-Jew title to the land.

מהרוגי המלחמה ואילך - At this time, Jews could not be killed for no reason, and so if a non-Jew took land from a Jew it was assumed that the Jew intended to get it back in court.

מקחו בטל - in these cases, the second party to consent to the transaction is assumed to do so only to appease the first.

רביע  - There is a disagreement if this is a quarter of the land, and the buyer can alternatively pay the original owner a third of the price, or a quarter the purchase price, and the buyer can alternatively give the original owner a fifth of the land.  Either way, the reasoning is that the buyer must reimburse the original owner because it is assumed that he got a low price from the extortionist.

 

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