Mishnah Arakhin 9:5-6

Sugya Map

• Issue: What constitutes a "house of a walled city" (beit ir chomah) for its unique redemption laws (Leviticus 25:29-30)? Specifically, whether a house built into the city wall itself (beit habanuy ba'chomah) qualifies for immediate, year-long redemption.
• Nafka Mina: If such a house is redeemable within 12 months (and becomes permanent thereafter), or if it follows ancestral field rules (redeemable until Yovel, with prorated payment).
• Primary Sources: Mishnah Arakhin 9:5 (Sefaria), Leviticus 25:29-30, Joshua 2:15.

Text Snapshot

"בית הבנויי בחומה רבי יהודה אומר אינו כבתי ערי חומה רבי שמעון אומר כותל החיצון היא חומתו" (Mishnah Arakhin 9:5)

• Dikduk/Leshon: The phrase "הבנויי בחומה" (built in the wall) implies an integral construction. R' Yehuda's "אינו" (is not) directly contradicts R' Shimon's "כותל החיצון היא חומתו" (its outer wall is its city wall), highlighting a fundamental disagreement on the building's halakhic status relative to the city's boundary.

Readings

Tosafot Yom Tov

The Tosafot Yom Tov¹ clarifies that R' Yehuda and R' Shimon derive their opposing views from the same pasuk: "כי ביתה בקיר החומה ובחומה היא יושבת" (Joshua 2:15), concerning Rahab's house.

• Chiddush: He explains R' Shimon interprets "ובחומה היא יושבת" broadly, meaning within a walled city, thereby including a house built into the wall as part of the city. R' Yehuda, conversely, interprets it strictly as within the physical thickness of the wall, distinguishing it from the city proper.

Friction

The Kushya

How can two leading Tannaim derive contradictory halakhot from the precise same Scriptural phrase, "ובחומה היא יושבת"? This isn't a case of different psukim, but divergent readings of the same words.

The Terutz

The Gemara² elucidates that the kushya arises from a fundamental difference in interpretive lens. R' Yehuda adheres to a literal, narrow reading of "בחומה" as strictly within the physical structure of the wall, conceptually separate from the city it encircles. R' Shimon, however, views "בחומה" as synonymous with "בעיר חומה" (in a walled city), meaning anything secured by and functioning as part of the walled settlement. It's a classic Ribui u'Miut debate on spatial definition.

Intertext

• Joshua 2:15: "ותורידם בחבל בעד החלון כי ביתה בקיר החומה ובחומה היא יושבת."
• Eruvin 13b; Makkot 12a: Gemara's discussion of the R' Yehuda/R' Shimon dispute regarding this pasuk and its application to Arakhin.

Psak/Practice

The Rambam rules explicitly that the halakha follows R' Shimon: "בית הבנוי בחומה, ר"י אומר אינו כבתי ערי חומה ור"ש אומר כותל החיצון היא חומתו והלכה כר"ש"³. Thus, a house built into the city wall is considered a beit ir chomah and subject to its unique redemption laws.

Takeaway

The rigorous definition of halakhic space often hinges on precise, even atomistic, interpretations of Tanakh, revealing profound lomdus in discerning the boundaries of sacred law from seemingly mundane geographical descriptions.

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¹ Tosafot Yom Tov, Mishnah Arakhin 9:5:2 s.v. "רבי יהודה אומר אינו כבתי ערי חומה" ² Eruvin 13b; Makkot 12a ³ Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Arakhin v'Haremin 5:11