Bava Basra, Chapter 3, Mishnah 2. In the previous Mishnah, we learned that when the mara kamma, the original presumed owner of the property, and the machazik, the occupier actually residing on the property, dispute who owns the land - the burden of proof rests on the machazik, and he must prove with a deed of sale that he purchased the property legally. However, if he consumed the produce of the land for three full years, meaning he used the property for three complete years, and the mara kamma did not protest or notify him that he is contesting his residency there - the tables turn. From now on, the machazik is believed to claim: "More than three years have passed, and I have lost the deed; if he were contesting my ownership, he should have protested. Where was he until now?" - and the burden of proof shifts to the mara kamma.
However, all of this applies only when the mara kamma could have known that the machazik was occupying his land, and he could have protested in a way that, at the very least, word of the protest would reach the ears of the machazik, so that he would understand that a challenge to the ownership would arise and he must guard his deed. Our Mishnah therefore teaches that if there is no travel on the roads allowing messages to be passed from the place of the machazik to the place of the mara kamma, the rule does not apply, since the mara kamma did not necessarily know about the matter, and even if he did protest - he had no way to bring his protest to the attention of the machazik.
The Mishnah assumes that this was the situation at the time it was written: the Land of Israel was divided into different regions, and travel between regions was infrequent. Since there were no caravans transferring information between the two regions, and the machazik is situated in one region and the challenger in another region, the law of three years does not apply, since information does not flow between the parties.
"Shalosh aratzos lachazakah" - There are three regions for chazakah:
Regarding establishing the chazakah described in the previous Mishnah, the Mishnah divided the Land of Israel into three regions:
Yehudah - The southern part of the Land of Israel.
Ever HaYarden - Literally, across the Jordan River, the eastern part.
HaGalil - The northern part.
Since there was no regular travel between them and communication did not pass from region to region, the machazik might not know about the protest of the mara kamma, and vice versa. Therefore we learned: "Hayah biYhudah vehichazik baGalil" - If the mara kamma was in the south, in Yehudah, and the machazik occupies the property in the north, in the Galil, or vice versa, where the mara kamma is in the Galil and the property is occupied in the south - even if the machazik resided there for three full years, it is not a valid chazakah, because the information could not have passed, unless both of them, the mara kamma and the machazik, are in the same region. It goes without saying that nowadays, in the age of phones and the Internet, this discussion is not relevant.
The view of Rabbi Yehudah:
In the second part of the Mishnah, Rabbi Yehudah disagrees on two matters: both on the time frame of three years mentioned in the previous Mishnah, and on the rule that information does not pass from region to region.
First, Rabbi Yehudah argues that the reasoning of the Sages in establishing three years is not rooted in the consumption of produce for three years without protest. This is not the issue at all, but rather a completely different reason: a normal person would not sit quietly for even one season and see another living in his house or on his farm without protesting. According to this logic, one year would have been enough. However, sometimes the mara kamma is located at the edge of the world, so to speak, and it takes a long time for information to cross the distance.
The Mishnah mentions the farthest point from the Land of Israel that was known in its time: Aspamya, the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, far to the west. This is a journey of more than five thousand kilometers, over three thousand miles - an enormous distance. Therefore, Rabbi Yehudah says that since there could be a situation where the mara kamma is in Aspamya and the machazik is in the Land of Israel, three years are required to complete the process.
Here it is appropriate to note an important point: the protest of the mara kamma, as emerges from the entire Mishnah, does not need to be said directly into the ears of the machazik. It is enough for him to appoint two people and inform them: "There is someone occupying my field somewhere in the Land of Israel, and you are my witnesses that I do not accept this. The one sitting there is a thief and the one consuming is a thief, and I intend to exhaust my full legal rights when I am able." And this is more than enough, since these two will tell their friends, and there is a rule established by the Gemara: "Chavrach chavrah is leih" - every person has a friend, and the friend tells his friend, and the rumor spreads. This is, after all, a great scandal, that a person invades his friend's field, and therefore the rumor will eventually reach the ears of the machazik that the mara kamma is contesting his right to reside there.
And these are the words of the Mishnah: "Lo amru shalosh shanim ella kedei sheyehei beAspamya, veyachazik shanah, veyeilchu veyodi'uhu shanah, veyavo leshanah acheres" - they only stated three years so that he could be in Aspamya, and he holds it for a year, and they go and inform him for a year, and he returns the following year. Meaning, the three-year rule was only stated for a case where the mara kama is very far away, such as in Spain, and the breakdown of the years is as follows:
"Veyachazik shanah" - the machazik takes possession of the land and utilizes it without permission for a year.
"Veyeilchu veyodi'uhu shanah" - an additional year until the news reaches the mara kama in Aspamya.
"Veyavo leshanah acheres" - another full year until his protest returns and reaches the machazik.
In truth, had the distance between the parties been shorter, the process would have taken less than three years. However, the Sages did not want to differentiate between different timeframes, and therefore they established three years as a uniform standard. Regardless, according to Rabbi Yehudah, when both are in the same city, one season is enough for the machazik to establish his status as the presumptive owner.
Regarding the second matter, Rabbi Yehudah disagrees with the very division into three regions, which is the primary novelty of our Mishnah. According to him, even if there are no large caravans passing from north to south and there is no frequent travel, news travels and people move from place to place occasionally. Unless an iron wall divides the regions, the news will eventually reach its destination. Therefore, even when the mara kama is very far away, in Aspamya, "a friend has a friend," and the news spreads, since it is a scandal and it is newsworthy. We find that in his opinion, the information is transmitted, and the rule remains in force: once three years have passed, the burden of proof falls on the mara kama, even if they are far from each other.
In summary: The halachah is decided in accordance with the Tanna Kamma, both in the previous Mishnah and in this Mishnah, and Rabbi Yehudah's opinion is rejected. The rule is therefore three full years for all these types of properties - three complete years from day to day, in order for the machazik to establish himself as the presumptive owner.