Arachim 28: The Complications of Charem

We are introduce to a number of Mishnayot devoted to one who says that his property must be charem, dedicated or devoted to G-d. A cherem is a thing that must be fully destroyed, forbidden to all, or killed.  It is also the name of a serious oath, where the breaking of the oath results in death. Rabbinic interpretations include a type of excommunication from the community by the Rabbinic court.

Our Mishna uses the word cherem to mean that one has sanctified his property via that expression.  A cherem is completely removed from the original owner.  If one declares his ancestral plot to land to be sanctified in an ordinary way, he is redeemed to do so before the Jubilee year.  If the transfer was redeemed by means of cherem, the land is transferred to the Kohanim  immediate (transferred to the Kohanim).