Bava Batra 155 – To Sell Inherited Land One Needs to be Grownup

Since young people do not know the value of land, they can be easily deceived by money offers. The Sages, therefore, instituted that one can not sell land inherited from a father until one is twenty. In addition, to make a sale, one needs to be physically mature. This usually happens at 12 for girls and 13 for boys, but may come later.

One person in Bnei Brak sold land he inherited from his father and later died. The members of the father's family challenged the sale, saying that the seller had been a minor at the time of his death. Everyone admitted he was twenty, but the family claimed he did not have two pubic hairs.

Rabbi Akiva told them, "Firstly, you are not permitted to defile him through an examination. Secondly, it won't help since signs of maturity change after death."

Art: Double Portrait of a Brother and Sister by Cornelis Ketel