ויקרא • פרק כ"ה • פסוק ל' ואם לא יגאל עד מלאת לו שנה תמימה וקם הבית אשר בעיר אשר לא [לו] חמה לצמיתת לקנה אתו לדרתיו לא יצא ביבל it's enough to write לו as לא to be connotative that sometimes yes and sometimes no (whether was walled from Yehoshua's time). In spite of the rule of the Torah not using extra letters or words, on 35a we need לוא to connote, as Rashi explains כתיב מלא למדרש ביה לו לא. Why the extra letter, if it merely wrote לו instead of לא, that should get us our same result?
Daniel Gray, Canada
Shalom R' Daniel,
It's great to hear from you!
Interestingly enough, some say the word "Lo" in Vayikra 25:30 is, in fact, spelled Lamed-Vav-Alef. See, for example, Rashi in Erchin (32a, DH Lo Chomah). According to this view, your excellent question seems to be resolved.
But others maintain that the correct spelling in the Pasuk is Lamed-Alef but pronounced Lamed-Vav. See Tosfos ad loc. (DH Asher Lo Chomah). Our Chumashim agree with the latter view. And accordingly, your very strong Kashya stands.
What can we say to resolve the discrepancy? Without yet having found commentaries who address this conflict, we might suggest the following to distinguish between the cases.
The word "Lo" in Vayikra 5:1 is spelled with both a Vav and an Alef. Therefore, the Gemara in Shevuos 35a can interpret it to mean:
אם לו לא יגיד
in which both words appear together.
The word "Lo" in Vayikra 5:1 is spelled with both a Vav and an Alef. Therefore, the Gemara in Shevuos 35a can interpret it to mean, "If he does not tell him" -- in other words: "אם לו לא יגיד", in which both words appear together.
Although this needs further analysis, my current belief is that Vayikra 25:30 is read either as אֲשֶׁר־ל֣וֹ חֹמָ֗ה or as אֲשֶׁר לא חֹמָ֗ה, but not as אֲשֶׁר לא ל֣וֹ חֹמָ֗ה, unlike Vayikra 5:1. Therefore, it does not need to include both letters.
May you continue to attain greatness in Torah and Yir'as Shamayim!
Warmly,
Yishai Rasowsky