Someone sells a town. Does the sale include a game preserve for wild animals located far from the town but facing toward it?
Game preserves and animal enclosures are included in a town sale if they face toward the town, even if they are far away. Those that do not face the town are never included.
Question 2
A seller sells a field that contains a dovecote. He says nothing about the dovecote. Is it included in the sale?
Cisterns, grape presses, and dovecotes within a field are not included in a field sale, whether complete or destroyed. The seller must retain a path right to access them.
Question 3
Someone gives a field as a gift. The field contains a cistern and a grape press. What does the recipient acquire?
Unlike a sale, a gift of land transfers everything attached to it — cisterns, presses, dovecotes — unless the giver explicitly excepts them. Givers give generously.
Question 4
A seller sells a field and retains the cistern within it. He did not mention it explicitly at the time of the sale. Must he purchase access from the buyer?
The seller must purchase a right of way from the buyer. When the seller says 'except for the cistern' at sale time, he need not buy access. Without that explicit exception, the seller yielded all access rights.
Question 5
In a town where 'house' is commonly understood to include the adjacent courtyard, someone sells a 'house.' What does the buyer receive?
The overriding principle in all commerce is to follow local language and custom. Where 'house' in that locale includes the courtyard, the buyer receives both. The Sages' general rules only apply where no local custom exists.