A brief introduction: Maran wrote in Shulchan Aruch, siman 214 סעיף 4: With regard to a field or vineyard, one ordinarily acquires the height above it, since they are not intended for building upon and the seller does not reserve it. However, one does not acquire the depth, since they are intended for digging. End quote.
The Sma (subsection 23) writes: “However, one does not acquire the depth, etc.” — The Nimukei Yosef (Bava Batra 34a in the Rif’s pagination) writes in the name of the Ra’ah that in the case of a field and vineyard, one acquires even the depth as a matter of course, for the purchaser needs it for the nourishment of the seeds and trees from the depths. End quote. (Regarding graves, see Teshuvot VeHanhagot, vol. 8, Yoreh De’ah siman 63, and the end of siman 64.)
Regarding the question itself:
First, I will note that there is nothing new under the sun, and an explicit verse states in Zechariah (14:4): “His feet shall stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem to the east, and the Mount of Olives shall split in its midst eastward and westward, forming a very great valley; half of the mountain shall move northward and half southward. And the valley of the mountains shall be blocked up, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Atzel; it shall be blocked up as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and Hashem my G-d shall come, all the holy ones with You.” [Radak writes in his commentary to Yechezkel (38:20): “‘And the Mount of Olives shall split’ — perhaps this will likewise happen to other mountains.” See there.]
In the book of Devarim (11:11) it is stated: “But the land to which you are crossing to possess it is a land of mountains and valleys; it drinks water from the rain of heaven.” HaKetav VeHaKabbalah explains: “A land of mountains and valleys” — the term bik’ah denotes an area of land that is deep and lower than the other areas surrounding it. Even if its surroundings are not mountains or hills, it is nevertheless lower than all that surrounds it and deep like a pit. But when it is small in circumference, it is called a pit; when its area is large, the size of a field or more, it is called a valley. This relates to splitting, as though the earth had split there and produced this deep area, as indeed sometimes occurs through the trembling and shaking of the earth, when the ground splits and a large sloping area is formed. This phenomenon is more common in mountains and hills, for since they stand individually and no surrounding area supports them, they readily split in two; and sometimes a large low area is formed between the halves, separating them, as stated (Zechariah 14): ‘And the Mount of Olives shall split in its midst eastward and westward, forming a very great valley.’ It is primarily called a bik’ah on account of the splitting, while Scripture calls it a valley on account of its character, since it had the character of a valley. End quote.
[See also Sefer Sedeh Yitzchak (Gouita, Berachot, beginning of chapter 9, p. 54), who explains why the blessing “Who performs the work of Creation” was instituted in the present tense: because all these are renewed constantly, for through an earthquake new mountains that were never previously seen may be revealed, and large cities may become deserts. Similarly, seas are extended through human action, such as the Ocean Sea. End quote. (See also Beit Ne’eman newsletter no. 346, letter 5.)]
It follows, then, that this area came into being from that very place, which before the earthquake had been compacted in its location. Accordingly, it would seem straightforward that it belongs to those owners.
We shall now proceed to raise further points requiring halachic consideration in other areas of Torah, particularly the laws of Purim.
For it was not without reason that these events occurred close to the days of Purim[1].
This led me to consider as well what is stated in Masechet Megillah (3b): Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A walled city, and all that is adjacent to it and all that can be seen together with it, is treated as a walled city. A Baraita teaches: “Adjacent,” even though it cannot be seen; “seen,” even though it is not adjacent. Granted, something visible though not adjacent can occur where it is situated atop a mountain. But how can something be adjacent though not visible? Rabbi Yirmeyah said: Where it is situated in a valley. End quote.
According to the above, it is possible that in the very same house they will read the Megillah and observe Purim sometimes on the fourteenth and sometimes on the fifteenth.
This would occur where their Megillah reading there at a particular time had been determined by its proximity to, distance from, or visibility from the walled city. Through an earthquake, the distance of the house’s location from the city, or its visibility, changed; consequently, its law regarding the day of Purim changed as well.
It requires consideration whether we should say even more: namely, that even in the same year, at night we would rule regarding this house that it must observe Purim like those of the fourteenth, and in the morning change its status to that of those of the fifteenth, or vice versa. This would be where an earthquake occurred between night and day and changed the distance of the house’s location. (According to the views that dawn is determinative; see Piskei Teshuvot, siman 688.)
Perhaps we have an allusion to this in the precise wording of the Rambam, who writes in Hilchot Megillah, chapter 1, halachah 10: If an inhabitant of an unwalled town went to a walled city, or an inhabitant of a walled city went to an unwalled town, if he intended to return to his place at the time of the reading but was delayed and did not return, he reads according to his place. If he did not intend to return until after the time of the reading, he reads with the inhabitants of the place where he is. A walled city, and all that is adjacent to it and all that can be seen together with it, if there are no more than two thousand cubits between them, is considered a walled city and they read on the fifteenth. End quote. (In our editions, all these words are joined and written as one halachah. The Rambam edition of Rabbi Shabsi Frankel likewise does not note any alternative division.)
At first glance, one must understand the connection between the law mentioned at the beginning of his words—concerning an inhabitant of an unwalled town who went to a walled city, etc.—and the law mentioned at the end—concerning determining the status of a location adjacent to a walled city.
[Indeed, in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim siman 688, these two matters are separated and placed far apart: in סעיף 2 he writes the primary law stated at the end of the Rambam’s words, while in סעיף 5 he writes the law stated at the beginning of the Rambam’s words. See there.]
According to our approach, it may be said that just as regarding a person there is a possibility of moving from place to place, so too regarding the object—the place itself.
[This raises the question whether the Shulchan Aruch, which separated them, disagrees with this.]
Furthermore, based on this, one should consider the time for Megillah reading on Purim in places where the tradition has ceased, and where people seek to establish the matter from their proximity to locations having archaeological signs and ancient findings.
According to the above, such findings should not be given great weight, for over hundreds and thousands of years there have been several earthquakes in these places, and we cannot know or determine whether, or to what extent, those earthquakes affected the location of each thing.
[There have already been cases in which poskim raised halachic questions concerning the possibility that inhabited locations had shifted from their natural position due to certain events, for example regarding blessings over seas. For a small indication of this, see the words of HaGaon Rabbi Yitzchak Barda in the journal VeYa’an Shmuel, vol. 10, pp. 250–273.]
Similarly, all of the above should be considered regarding what we learned in Masechet Rosh Hashanah (chapter 4, mishnah 2): Jerusalem had an advantage over Yavneh, for in every city that could see, hear, was close, and could come, they would sound the shofar; whereas in Yavneh they sounded only in the Beit Din. End quote.
Likewise, regarding what we learned in Masechet Bechorot (chapter 9, mishnah 2): Animal tithe combines within the range a grazing animal can walk. How far is the range a grazing animal can walk? Sixteen mil. If there were thirty-two mil between one and the other, they do not combine. If he had one in the middle, he brings them to the middle and tithes them there. Rabbi Meir says: The Jordan separates for animal tithe. End quote. And there are further similar cases. Give to the wise and he will become wiser.
In truth, regarding this fundamental issue, one need not reach a case of an earthquake specifically, for changes in the size of the ground exist, to some extent, every year. For thus we learn in Masechet Bava Batra (89b): The Rabbis taught: “You shall not commit injustice in judgment, in measures, weights, or liquid measures.” “In measures” refers to the measurement of land: one should not measure for one person during the summer and for another during the rainy season. End quote. Rashbam explains: “One should not measure” for two purchasers who bought land in partnership, or for one of two brothers who divided an inheritance. “For one during the summer” and for the other with the very same measuring rope during the rainy season, for during summer the rope is dry and shorter than during the rainy season. Rabbeinu Chananel explains that during the rainy season the ground contracts, while during the summer the ground splits open and increases in its measure. End quote[2].
However, I saw in He’arot U’Biurim on the Tur, Me’or edition (Choshen Mishpat siman 231, p. 45, note 4), that they wrote: The poskim omitted the words of Rabbeinu Chananel, and the Shitah Mekubetzet (Bava Metzia 61b) also wrote that they are astonishing words. (Beit Yaakov, s.v. she’az.) See also Ulam HaMishpat (there, סעיף 18).
If you seek to uncover its secret, you will find that these matters occur every day. Come and see the remarkable words written by the Maharach Vital in Sha’ar HaGilgulim (introduction 25): I saw fit to bring here a teaching from my master, z”l, concerning the mountains and hills that the Creator, blessed be He, created in this world, as well as concerning springs. Know that just as the upper earth, which is Malchut and is therefore called Bat Sheva, is divided into seven parts, so too the lower earth is divided into seven climates, as is known. Likewise, among all parts of this earth below, there is nothing for which there is no corresponding appointed minister above. The great high mountains of this earth have distinct ministers appointed over each of them above. In proportion to the height of one lower mountain over another, so is the height and rank of the minister above appointed over that lower mountain compared with the minister of the other, lower mountain, as is known; for the heavens, in all their workings and patterns, resemble this lower earth. Know that these mountains grow larger every day from the Creation of the world onward, though their growth is imperceptible. Conversely, there are mountains that diminish and become lower, as Chazal said concerning Eretz Yisrael, which was four hundred parasangs and shook and contracted. There are mountains that grow and increase in strength, and this depends on the stature and greatness of the minister above them in heaven, or on the diminution of his power. At times, the minister above appointed over a particular mountain is entirely stripped of his rank; then the status, though not the existence, of his corresponding lower mountain is also annulled, in that it attaches and joins with another mountain and becomes subsumed within it, no longer distinguishable on its own. At times the reverse occurs: the minister of that mountain has part of his dominion taken away; his dominion is divided, half given to another minister and half remaining with him. Then below as well, the mountain that was under his dominion splits and divides in two. Thus, one sometimes sees a large rock literally split in two, with no soil or sand dividing the middle of the split; rather, the rock itself has divided and split into two sections. He concludes: From what I have now written to you, you can infer and understand on your own the wondrous matters, if you possess eyes of understanding. End quote.
[This led me to consider, besides the question posed at the outset, the law in the opposite case: where land contracted, diminished, and was absorbed into that of another. However, fundamentally, I do not know whether monetary law can be derived from these wondrous teachings of sod. See also Mishnah Semuchah, Bava Metzia.]
Behold, it is stated in Masechet Pesachim (46a): Rabbi Abahu said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: The distance a person can walk from Migdal Nunia to Tiberias is one mil. Why not simply state one mil? This teaches us that the measure of a mil is from Migdal Nunia to Tiberias. End quote.
On the other hand, it is stated in Masechet Megillah (2b): Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A walled city, and all that is adjacent to it and all that can be seen together with it, is treated as a walled city. How far? Rabbi Yirmeyah, or alternatively Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba, said: From Chametan to Tiberias, one mil. Why not simply state one mil? This teaches us how much the measure of a mil is: from Chametan to Tiberias. End quote.
The great Acharonim have already noted the difference between these two Gemaras. In Pesachim, the measure of a mil is given as the distance a person walks from Migdal Nunia to Tiberias, whereas in Megillah the measure of a mil is given as from Chametan to Tiberias. Various novel approaches have been offered to explain this, as may be seen, for example, in Turei Even on Megillah, Chatam Sofer, Sefat Emet on Pesachim, and other Acharonim.
Based on what was explained, it may be said that due to changes in nature caused by an earthquake and the like, the precise location from which the distance to Tiberias can be called one mil changed.
Afterward, I found something close to this in Daf Al HaDaf on Megillah, where they write as follows: Kovetz Kerem Shlomo (year 21, issue 5, p. 61) cites HaGaon Rabbi Pinchas Hirshprung z”l of Montreal, who resolves this based on what is stated in Bava Batra 89b: The Rabbis taught: “You shall not commit injustice in judgment, in measures,” etc. This refers to the measurement of land, that one should not measure for one person during the summer and for another during the rainy season. Rashbam (s.v. le’echad) explains in the name of Rabbeinu Chananel that during the rainy season the ground contracts, whereas during summer the ground splits open and increases in its measure. End quote. Accordingly, it may be said that Masechet Megillah deals with Megillah reading on Purim, determining which place is considered a walled city and is thus obligated to read the Megillah on the fifteenth of Adar. Since it is still winter, when the ground is contracted, the measure of a mil is from Chametan to Tiberias. In contrast, Masechet Pesachim concerns chametz, which relates to Pesach, when it is already summer and the ground splits open and increases in its measure; therefore, the Gemara needed to establish another marker: from Migdal Nunia to Tiberias. End quote. I rejoiced.
[In conclusion, it should be mentioned here that Torat Shmuel (p. 685 and onward) writes that the reason Jerusalem will, in the future, be as large as all of present-day Eretz Yisrael is that there will be no mountains, but everything will become a plain. See there.][3].
[1] One who examines historical chronicles will see that earthquakes occurred several times around the month of Adar and the festival of Purim.
The paytan already composed in the piyut “Mi Chamocha,” recited on Shabbat Zachor, that regarding the wicked Haman it is stated (Iyov 20:27): “And the earth rises up against him.”
[2] This also relates to what the Gemara there expounds, and likewise in Masechet Bava Metzia 61b, concerning “and in liquid measures” — that one should not make it foam. The Shitah Mekubetzet (Bava Metzia, there) writes: I found in a marginal note in the name of Rabbeinu Tam: “One should not make it foam” means that one should not heat it and sell it while liquid, but rather sell it cold, because when it is hot it increases in measure. End quote. Rashash (there) likewise writes: This can be explained simply, based on what is explained in scientific books: when a liquid is hot, it occupies more volume than when it is cooled, due to the expansion of its pores. Afterward I found that I had intended the explanation of the Aruch in the name of Rabbeinu Chananel under the entry “ratach.” End quote. See also Teshuvot Arugat HaBosem (Greenwald, Yoreh De’ah siman 99), who writes: He inquires about a matter of halachah, since it is well known and experience also testifies that every kind of beverage and gravy expands to a greater volume when hot than when cold and chilled; because of this, his honor was prompted to enter into doubt regarding several matters with practical halachic ramifications resulting from this, etc. See there.
[3] These words were seen by HaGaon Rabbi Yosef Peretz, shlita, of Panama, who wrote to me concerning them (21 Adar 5783): Chazak u’varuch for the wonderful question. Regarding the fundamental matter that the land changes, see Sha’ar HaGilgulim of the Maharach Vital, who explains its reason according to sod; see there at length for wondrous words. (The author: Apparently, he meant what is written in letter 9. Hashem enabled me to encounter it in the course of my learning.) Regarding the halachah in this matter, the straightforward ruling is that we follow the present state and not the original state, as with blessings over seas and rivers: if their course was changed by human action, one cannot recite “Who performs the work of Creation”; but if it changed through Heaven, the view of my master, my father and teacher, may his light shine, is that one recites the blessing, for it is an act of Creation. Such is the nature of the world, and all is included in the Creator’s act. However, where the change occurs in the middle of Purim, this requires consideration, for perhaps the law of adjacent and visible is not merely a matter of factual reality and measurements, but of being subordinate to the city. Since it only now became adjacent, perhaps it has not yet become subordinate. [This is a novel reasoning, and I wrote it only for consideration.] Regarding Choshen Mishpat, to whom the additional portion belongs, perhaps it is like something that grew in his field; this requires further study. End quote.
This response was translated automatically from Hebrew and has not yet been reviewed by a person. Therefore, it may contain inaccuracies and should not be considered a definitive reference.
