Study Kiddushin folio 61A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
המקדיש שדהו בשעת היובל, נותן בזרע חומר שעורים חמשים שקל כסף. היו נקעים עמוקים עשרה טפחים או סלעים גבוהים עשרה טפחים – אין נמדדין עמה. פחות מכאן – נמדדין עמה.
With regard to one who consecrates his field during the time of the Jubilee Year, i.e., in an era when the halakhot of the Jubilee Year are observed, if he wishes to redeem it from the Temple treasury he gives 50 silver shekels for an area that yields a ḥomer, i.e., a kor, of barley seed. If the field had crevices, i.e., deep fissures in its surface, 10 handbreadths deep, or boulders 10 handbreadths high, they are not measured with it, i.e., in the calculation of land that requires redemption. If the crevices or boulders are less than that, they are measured with it.
והוינן בה: נהי דבהדי ארעא לא קדשו, נקדשו באפי נפשייהו! וכי תימא: כמה דלא הוי בית כור לא חשיב, ורמינהו:
And we discussed the following problem: Granted, that these areas are not consecrated together with the field, as they are 10 handbreadths higher or lower than the rest of the land; but let the crevices and boulders be consecrated by themselves, so that they should require their own redemption of 50 silver shekels per beit kor. And if you would say that as long as an area does not amount to a beit kor it is not important, the Talmud raises a contradiction against this claim from a baraita.
״שדה״ מה תלמוד לומר? לפי שנאמר: ״זרע חמר שערים בחמשים״, אין לי אלא שהקדיש בענין הזה, מנין לרבות, לתך וחצי לתך, סאה, תרקב, וחצי תרקב, ואפילו רובע מנין? תלמוד לומר: ״שדה״ – מכל מקום!
The verse states with regard to one who consecrates his field: “Part of a field of his possession” (Leviticus 27:16). What is the meaning when the verse states this? Since it is stated in the same verse: “The sowing of a ḥomer of barley should be valued at 50 shekels of silver,” I have derived only that this halakha applies to one who consecrated in this manner, i.e., consecrated an area fit to sow a ḥomer of barley. From where do I derive that this halakha includes a smaller area, e.g., one suitable for sowing a half-kor, and half of a half-kor, and the area for a se’a, and a tarkav, which is half a se’a, and half a tarkav, and even the area of 1/4th-kav? The baraita restates its question: From where is it derived that these areas of land can also be consecrated and redeemed based on the fixed values of the Torah? The verse states “a field” in any case.