Sechirut – Chapter 8: The laws of field rentals

1. Rental Types Defined by fields that yield produce:

When someone rents a field for a fixed payment of produce or money, he is called a chocher, whereas one who works the land and gives the owner a percentage of the yield is a Mikabeil or sharecropper.

2. Responsibility for Improvements of the field

The landowner must provide essential tools and infrastructure for the land, while the renter is responsible for added conveniences or security measures like irrigation ditches.

3. Flax Restrictions Based on Contract Length:

Flax may not be planted in short-term rentals due to soil damage, but in seven-year agreements, it is permitted in the first year. Whether the Sabbatical year counts depends on how the contract is worded.

4. Irrigation Failure and withholding rent due to lack of water

If a spring dries up but water is still accessible, the renter must pay in full. However, if the entire region suffers water loss, the renter may reduce payment. If the owner was present when the agreement was made, the renter may adjust payment based on the field’s condition.

5. Withholding rent due to Crop Loss from Natural Disasters

If locusts or drought affect most fields in the area, the renter can reduce payment. If only his fields are damaged, he must pay in full—especially if he deviated from the agreed crop type.

6. Local Agricultural Customs Must Be Followed by the renter

Renters must follow local customs regarding harvesting methods, post-harvest plowing, and whether trees are included in the rental. Custom overrides assumptions unless explicitly stated otherwise.

7. Quality of Produce given to land owner in exchange for the rent

The renter must give the owner produce from the rented field, even if it’s of lower quality. If wine turns sour after harvest, the renter must replace it with good wine. Deviating from crop agreements obligates the renter to compensate with high-quality produce.

8. Obligation of the renter to Weed the Field

Even if the renter offers full payment, he must weed the field to prevent long-term damage. Promising to plow later is not acceptable.

9. Crop planting limitations for renter

A renter may plant a crop that is less harmful than the agreed one, but not more harmful. In Babylon, legumes are prohibited due to their impact on soil quality.

10. Rights of renter to Trees and Wood

In short-term rentals, the renter has no share in wood or tree value. In long-term rentals (seven years or more), the renter shares in the wood and any unharvested crops are evaluated and divided.

11. Non-Productive Vines,

The owner accepts up to ten unproductive vines per se’ah and hence cannot ask for more produce from his renter to compensate for these unproductive vines. If there are more, the renter must pay as if all vines were productive.

12. Minimal Yield Requirement to require the renter to work it

If the field can yield at least two se’ah more than the investment, the renter must work it, as he committed to full agricultural labor in the sharecropping agreement.

13. If the sharecropper did not work the field

If the renter leaves the field fallow, he must pay based on its best potential yield unless he made a fixed payment agreement, which may be considered non-binding (asmachta).

14. Changing Crop Type and Value

If the renter sows a different crop and its value matches the expected crop, the owner may complain but cannot demand more. If the value is lower, the renter must pay the difference; if higher, profits are split per the original agreement.

Summaries & Tables

Definitions

• Chocher (חוכר): A person who rents a field or vineyard and agrees to pay the owner a fixed amount—either in money or produce—regardless of how much the land yields. He bears the risk of low productivity but keeps any surplus.
• Mekabel (מקבל): A sharecropper who works the land and gives the owner a percentage of the harvest (e.g., one-third or one-fourth). His payment is directly tied to the actual yield, so both he and the owner share the risk and reward.

📊 Comparison Table: Chocher vs. Mekabel