Shulchan Arukh Even HaEzer · Siman 104

Shulchan Arukh Even HaEzer 104 — English translation

Translation: Sefaria Community Translation. Section numbers match the Hebrew text above.

1. 1When a court sells property to collect the Ketubah for a widow they must first announce that they will do so. They may announce it for 30 consecutive days, or for 60 days if they only announce it on Monday and Thursday. They must announce both morning and night. When they make the announcement they must define the field [to be sold] by it's boundaries and the value and estimation, and that they intend to sell it to collect for a woman's Ketubah.
2. 2If the court sold without first announcing the sale, even if they sold it for the proper price, it is considered as an error in a basic law, and they must redo the sale with [the required period of] announcement.
3. 3A court that announced as is proper and checked well and was exacting in the evaluation, even though they erred and sold [property] worth 100 zuz for 200 or 200 for 100, their sale is upheld. However, if they did not check the evaluation, and they did not write a letter of review, which reflects the scrupulousness of the evaluation and announcement, and they erred and overvalued by one sixth or undervalued by one sixth, their sale is nullified. [If they erred by] less than one sixth [of the actual value], their sale is upheld. So too, if they sold real estate at a time when they did not need to announce it, and they erred and undervalued by one sixth or overvalued by one sixth, their sale is nullified, even though they announced it. There are those who say that since they announced it, even if they erred by double [the actual value], the transaction is upheld (Tur citing the Ro"sh). [If they erred by] less than one sixth, their sale is upheld and they need not return the over- or undercharge, even though they did not announce the sale. What is the time when they are not required to announce? At the time when they are selling real estate for burial or for food for the woman and the sons, or to give taxes, they do not require an announcement, for the matter is widely known. So too if they lent money for these needs, when they sell property to repay the loans, they do not need to announce.
4. 4Similarly if a court sold items that do not require public notice [of sale to attract bidders] and erred by a sixth [or more, in evaluating the value] the sale is void. Less than a sixth, the sale is valid. These are the things which do not require public notice: Slaves, documents, and movable effects. Slaves lest they run away; documents and effects lest they be stolen. Therefore they are appraised in court and sold then and there, though if the marketplace is close to the city, the items are taken there to be sold. In a place where public notice is never given, all items are treated [in all respects] as things for which notice is not given. Tur
5. 5If they did err by a sixth, in which case the sale is void, they may uphold the sale by returning the ona'ah money (unilaterally). There are those who disagree.
6. 6A proxy [for the widow] who sold [the 'ketuba'] but made a mistake and/or was cheated, even for the most insignificant sum - the sale is null and void even if the proxy was appointed by the court. On the other hand, if the proxy misled the buyer, up to 20%, the sale is legally binding and the one who appointed the proxy is entitled to the difference. Note: Some say that a judge appointed by royal command who sells [the 'ketuba'] via a proxy is preferable to other court appointed proxies and is like a court that erred but whose sales are valid, and certainly if he/it sold [the 'ketuba'] him/itself (Ribash, section 179).

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