Commentary for Avodah Zarah 41:3
<big><strong>גמ׳</strong></big> מאי אין צריך לומר שדות אילימא משום דאית בה תרתי חדא חניית קרקע וחדא דקא מפקע לה ממעשר
GEMARA. What does it mean “and it is not necessary to mention fields”? If we say that it is for two reasons, first of all that the non-Jew settles on the soil, and second that the [produce] becomes exempt from tithes?
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
The Mishnah assumed that it was more obvious that one cannot sell fields to a non-Jew than it is that one cannot sell them a house. So why is it more obvious? There are two reasons not to sell them a field—1) It gives them a foothold in the land; 2) The produce becomes exempt from tithes. But there are also two reasons not to sell them a house—1) It gives them a foothold in the land; 2) The house becomes exempt from a mezuzah. So why is it more obvious with regard to a field than a house. R. Mesharsheya answers that there is no obligation for houses in Israel to have mezuzot. The obligation falls on the person, not on the house.
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