Some Land Cannot Be Sold

I was thinking about whether, in our modern society, there are any items which are simply off-limits from being sold.  I definitely think that there are a number of family heirlooms which are things beyond charity that would not have any value to anyone (an old book, a photo album) but at the same time are priceless to the beholder.  Even if they could be sold, they would not.

But at the same time I cannot really say the same for any parcels of land.  The closest thing we have to that is, say, protected government land, of which we have a ton of here in the West.  But even then, the government still leases most of it out for natural resource production - timber, oil, cattle grazing, and the like.  And, more importantly, at least in this context, the government says that "it" "owns" the land.

Contrast this to VaYikra 25:34, in which the Torah discusses the fields of the Levi'im, which "may not be sold, for a heritage that is eternal it is for them."

If there is one take-away from studying land transfers and so-called land ownership (perhaps better stated as "possession") in the Torah, it is that we humans are merely just grateful tenants and that, of course H' is the true and eternal owner of the land.  H' can give it and take it away, based upon our deeds or otherwise, and has no qualms about doing so violently when necessary.  The land is truly a direct extension of H' and is one of the holiest things we actually have here.  (I just heard yesterday a Hasidic tale about how the land will speak to a tzaddik in words he or she can understand, as if G-d was speaking through the land.)

Along these lines, the holiest of the land - that given to the kohen - simply cannot be sold.  But it goes beyond just a rule and a prohibition.  It goes to the fact that this land must remain in certain hands because its spiritual power is so concentrated and potent and must be maintained amongst the other Israelites so that this holiness suffuses others and their land as well.  

What a blessing it would be, especially for those that provide the greatest spiritual strength and support, to know that land and property could simply never be taken away - at least by anyone other than H'.  And that, I'm positive, definitely has no modern-day equivalent.