Commentary for Arakhin 9:7
בָּתֵּי הַחֲצֵרִים, נוֹתְנִים לָהֶם כֹּחַ הַיָּפֶה שֶׁבְּבָתֵּי עָרֵי חוֹמָה וְכֹחַ הַיָּפֶה שֶׁבַּשָּׂדוֹת. נִגְאָלִין מִיָּד, וְנִגְאָלִין כָּל שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ כַּבָּתִּים, וְיוֹצְאִים בַּיּוֹבֵל וּבְגִרְעוֹן כֶּסֶף כַּשָּׂדוֹת. וְאֵלּוּ הֵן בָּתֵּי חֲצֵרִים, שְׁתֵּי חֲצֵרוֹת שֶׁל שְׁנֵי שְׁנֵי בָתִּים, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁמֻּקָּפִין חוֹמָה מִימוֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן, הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ כְבָתֵּי חֲצֵרִים:
Houses in unwalled cities—we accord to them the advantages of houses in a walled city and the advantages given to fields: They can be redeemed at once, and at any time within the twelve months like houses [in a walled city], and they return [to the owners] in the Jubilee or [at an earlier time] by [payment of a] reduced price like fields. The following are considered houses in unwalled cities: [a city which has] two courtyards, each having two houses, even though they have been encompassed by a wall since the days of Yehoshua bin Nun, they count as houses in courtyards.
Bartenura on Mishnah Arakhin
English Explanation of Mishnah Arakhin
Leviticus 25:31 reads, "But houses in courtyards that have no surrounding walls shall be classed as open country: they may be redeemed, and they shall be released through the Jubilee."
Our mishnah discusses how we treat houses in walled cities.
Bartenura on Mishnah Arakhin
English Explanation of Mishnah Arakhin
When an owner sells a house found in a courtyard (and not in a walled city) he has a much easier time redeeming it. It has all of the advantages that a house in a walled city has over a field and all of the advantages that a field has over a house in a walled city.
Bartenura on Mishnah Arakhin
English Explanation of Mishnah Arakhin
It has the advantages of a house in a walled city in that it can be redeemed immediately and throughout the twelve months that he has to buy it back. This is different from fields which can be redeemed only after they are with the purchaser for at least two years.
There are two advantages that these houses have for the seller over houses in walled cities. First, they revert to their owner at the Jubilee. Second, when the seller buys the house back, he reduces the money for the amount of time that the house was in the hands of the purchaser, as is the case with fields but not with houses in a walled city.
Bartenura on Mishnah Arakhin
English Explanation of Mishnah Arakhin
This section is the opposite of the last section of yesterdays mishnah. If the house was in a place too small to be considered a city, or in a walled city that was not surrounded by walls then it counts as a house in a courtyard, and not a house in a walled city.