There was no sikrikon [a gentile murderer] in Judah [That is, they did not adjudicate the law of sikrikon to say that one who bought the land of a Jew from a gentile murderer had to enter into judgment with the owner.] in the (time of) the slain of the war [ i.e., when the decree was sore upon Israel to be slain in the war. If one bought a field from the sikrikon at that time, his purchase stood, and he did not need to enter into judgment with the (former) Israelite owner of the land; for the Israelite, being forced (to sell his land on pain of death), fully commits himself to the sale of the land to the sikrikon. And it is ruled (Bava Kamma 47b): "If one were suspended (not to be taken down until he sold) and he sold, his sale is a sale."] But from those slain in (the time of) war on, [where there was no decree (upon Israel) to be slain, there is sikrikon. [The law of sikrikon is adjudicated, to say that one who bought (the land of an Israelite) from a sikrikon has to enter into judgment with the (former) owner, as explained in the Mishnah.] How so? If he bought (the field) from the sikrikon and then bought it from the owner, the purchase is void, [for we say that he (the former owner) acted out of fear (of the sikrikon)]. (If he bought it) from the owner and then bought it from the sikrikon, the purchase stands. If he bought it [land set aside for his wife's kethubah] from the man, and then bought it from the woman, the purchase is void, [for she can say: "I was just trying to please my husband"]. (If he bought it) from the woman and then bought it from the man, the purchase stands. This (what we learned above) is an earlier Mishnah. The beth-din after them said: If one buys from a sikrikon he gives a quarter (of the value of the field) to the owner, [for they estimated that the sikrikon, having gotten the field for nothing, lowered the price by a quarter]. When is this so? When they (the former owners) do not have enough money to buy it back; but if they have enough money to buy it back, they take precedence to all men. Rebbi convened a beth-din, which ruled that if it were in the possession of the sikrikon for twelve months, whoever came first (to purchase it) acquired it; but he had to give a quarter to the (former) owner.
Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
לא היה סקריקון – a murdering heathen, that is do say, that they did not adjudicate the law concerning the purchase of confiscated property (see Talmud Gittin 55b) to say that whomever purchases Jewish land from a murdering heathen, will be liable to adjudicate with the owners.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
Introduction
This mishnah deals with “sicaricon”, which refers to the illegal, governmental expropriation of land from its rightful owners. Specifically we are talking about land taken from Jews by Romans during the Second Temple and mishnaic periods. The word “sicaricon” can refer to either the Roman who expropriated the property (in this case I shall capitalize the word); the rule governing land taken in such a faction; a person who came into land by buying it from a sicaricon.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
משעת הרוגי מלחמה – At the time when the decree was difficult for the Jews [that they would be] killed during warfare, for a person who buys from him at that time, his purchase is valid, and there was no need to adjudicate with an Israelite who owns the land, since as a result of unavoidable compulsion where an Israelite would complete a sale to the heathen murderers, and we hold (Talmud Bava Batra 47b): “If a person consents to sell something through fear of physical violence (literally, “if they hang him and he sells”), the sale is valid.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
There was no sicaricon in Judea for those killed in war. During the Great Revolt from 67-70 C.E. which culminated in the destruction of the Temple, the rule of sicaricon was not applied. Practically what this meant was that land expropriated by the Romans was considered to legally belong to the Romans. Therefore, a Jew who subsequently bought the land did not need to return anything to the original owner. This was to encourage people to buy back the land in order that it should not remain Roman in perpetuity.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
אבל מהרוגי המלחמה ואילך – when there was no decree to be killed, they adjudicated the law concerning the purchase of confiscated propery, to say that when he purchases it from him, they should do a judgment with the owners as it is explained in the Mishnah.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
After the war’s slaughter ended there is sicaricon there. How so? If a man buys a field from the Sicaricon and then buys it again from the original owner, his purchase is void, but if he buys it first from the original owner and then from the sicaricon it is valid. After the war the rule of sicaricon was enforced. What this meant was that a Jew who bought the land from the Roman and then went and asked to buy the land from the Sicaricon had not legally acquired the land. This is because we can assume that the original owner only agreed to sell the land out of fear were he not to sell the land the Romans who had already sold it might lose their sale. However, if the purchaser acquired it first from the original owner and then from the Sicaricon the sale is valid.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
מקחו בטל – for as we say that he did it out of fear.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
If a man buys [a piece of a married woman’s property] from the husband and then buys it from the wife, the purchase is void, but if he buys it first from the wife and then from the husband it is valid. This section does not have to do with the rules of sicaricon and is brought here because of its similarity to the previous section. When a man marries a woman the woman retains ownership over her property but her husband has the right to use the property. Neither of them may sell the property without the other’s permission. If someone buys the property first from the husband and then from the woman (who agrees), the sale is not valid. The problem is that the woman may have sold under duress, being pressured by her husband. However, if he buys from the woman first, we can assume that the woman sold of her own free will. If the husband also agrees to the sale, the sale is valid.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
לקח מן האיש – land that is designated for his wife’s Ketubah.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
This was [the ruling] of the first mishnah. The court that came after them said if a man buys property from the Sicaricon he had to give the original owner a quarter [of the value]. When is this so? When the original owners cannot buy it themselves, but if they can they have preemption over everyone else. The problem with this system may have been that people would have been afraid to buy land from the Sicaricon. This might have left large pieces of Jewish land in Roman control. Therefore, a later court made a new rule. If a person buys from a Sicaricon, he must give one quarter of the sale price to the original owners. This way people would buy the land and the original owners would get at least some of their money back. However, if the original owners have the money to buy back their land, they still have the first shot at doing so.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
מקחו בטל – for she said that I did it only to gratify my husband (but did not mean to sell – see Talmud Ketubot 95a).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Gittin
Rabbi assembled a court and they decided by vote that if the property had been in the hands of the Sicaricon twelve months, whoever purchased it first acquired the title, but he had to give a quarter [of the price] to the original owner. Rabbi Judah Hanasi and his court enacted a further change in this law. If the land remained with the Sicaricon 12 months, and it didn’t look like anyone was going to buy it, the first person to purchase it has legally acquired it. In other words, a purchaser need not worry that the original owners would preempt him. However, the purchaser must still pay compensation to the original owners.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Gittin
נותן לבעלים רביע – that they estimated, for the heathen murderers which it had come into his hand without paying for it, he bought [the confiscated field] for one-fourth less than its real value.
