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CANDLELIGHTING

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THE JEWISH VIEW

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HOLIDAYS

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JUDAISM 101

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{weblog_name} - Development With Heart
Comments (1)

Can we talk nicely to one another about something I’ve never written about before….house building. I have no idea of how the process of finding land and deciding to build a home on it works. None. But something just doesn’t seem right to me, and I want to address it. I have these friends. Newly weds no less. They purchased a gorgeous house. Adjacent the house was a lovely cluster of trees. My friend could open her kitchen window and just listen as the wind sedately breezed through the trees. I knew that feeling. My wife and I purchased a home in 1986 in Randallstown. Behind us was a working corn farm. We had dear, mice and even a turtle or two in our backyard. And we loved it. The quiet of the corn field was sedating. Then one… read more

Actually, there is a Halachic concept, “bar metzra” that says that the couple should have had first right of refusal to purchase the abutting property. Search for that term in these pages for more information:
http://www.besr.org/dvartorah/tamari/balak.html
http://dafyomi.shemayisrael.co.il/bmetzia/points/bm-ps-108.htm

I realize that this law doesn’t go as far as you seem to want, but at least you can confirm that your supposition about the “‘Jewish’ thing to do” is along the lines of Halachah on the books.