right of usufruct

Individuals do not own the land they have "rights of usufruct", rights to use land as they need it for their families.

The historian B. R. Rodil notes that 'a territory occupied by a community is a communal private property, and community members have the right of usufruct to any piece of unoccupied land within the communal territory.'

In order to offset the husband's duty to support his wife, she was required by the Talmud to surrender all her earnings to her husband, together with any profit she makes by accident, and the right of usufruct on her property; the wife was not required to do this if she wished to support herself.