ספר במדבר - פרשת מסעי - לו:א-יג - שביעי

The verse says that the heads of the fathers' houses from the family of the sons of Gilad, son of Machir, son of Menashe, from the families of the sons of Yosef, came forward. They spoke before Moshe and before the leaders, the heads of the fathers of Bnei Yisroel. The heads of the families here are the leaders from the tribe of Menashe, specifically from the family of Gilad. Gilad was the son of Machir, who was the son of Menashe, and these are all from the families of Yosef. They came to Moshe and the leaders, who were the heads of the families of Bnei Yisroel, to discuss the matter of inheritance. The verse is emphasizing the lineage and the leadership structure as they approach Moshe with their concern.

They said to Moshe: 'Hashem commanded my master to give the land as an inheritance by lot to Bnei Yisroel, and my master was commanded by Hashem to give the inheritance of Tzlofchad, our brother, to his daughters.' They are referencing the earlier command that the land should be divided by lot among the tribes, and specifically that the daughters of Tzlofchad should inherit their father's portion since he had no sons.

They continue: 'If the daughters of Tzlofchad marry someone from another tribe of Bnei Yisroel, their inheritance will be taken away from our fathers' inheritance and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. Thus, our inheritance will be diminished.' Their concern is that if the daughters marry outside the tribe, the land that belonged to their tribe will pass to another tribe, reducing their own tribe's portion.

Rashi explains on the phrase Venosef al nachalas hamateh that since the son (of the daughters) will inherit, and the son is considered part of his father's tribe, the inheritance will be counted for the tribe of the husband, not the original tribe.

They add: 'If the Yovel (Jubilee) comes for Bnei Yisroel, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they married, and from the inheritance of our fathers' tribe, their portion will be diminished.' The concern is that even after Yovel, which usually returns land to its original owners, in this case, the inheritance will not revert to their original tribe.

Rashi explains on Ve'im yihiyeh haYovel that from here Rabbi Yehuda says: 'In the future, the Yovel will cease.' This means that the laws of Yovel, where land returns to its original owners, will not always apply.

On the phrase Ve'im yihiyeh haYovel, the teacher explains that this means it is not a sale that reverts in Yovel. In other words, this inheritance does not return to the original tribe at Yovel, unlike regular sales of land.

Rashi explains that the inheritance does not return, and even if there is a Yovel, the inheritance will not go back to its original tribe.

Rashi adds that it turns out that the inheritance is added to the tribe into which they married, and it remains there.

So Moshe commanded Bnei Yisroel according to the word of Hashem, saying: 'The tribe of the sons of Yosef speaks correctly.' Moshe acknowledges that the concern raised by the tribe of Yosef is valid and that their point about inheritance is correct.

This is the matter that Hashem commanded regarding the daughters of Tzlofchad: They may marry whomever they wish, but only to someone from their father's tribe. In other words, they have the freedom to choose whom to marry, but it must be within their own tribe, so that the inheritance stays within the tribe.

The verse continues that no inheritance should move from one tribe to another tribe, because each person in Bnei Yisroel should remain attached to the inheritance of his father's tribe. This is to ensure that the land remains within the original tribe and is not transferred through marriage to another tribe.

Any daughter who inherits a portion from the tribes of Bnei Yisroel must marry someone from her father's tribe, so that each person in Bnei Yisroel will inherit the portion of his fathers. This means that if a girl inherits because there are no sons, she must marry within her tribe to keep the inheritance there.

Rashi explains on V'chol bas yoreshes nachala that this refers to a daughter whose father had no sons, just like the case of the daughters of Tzlofchad. In such a case, the daughter inherits.

The verse repeats that no inheritance should move from one tribe to another, because each person should remain with the inheritance of his own tribe. This is to reinforce the idea that the land should not be transferred between tribes through marriage or inheritance.

As Hashem commanded Moshe, so did the daughters of Tzlofchad do. They followed the instructions to marry within their own tribe, as Hashem had commanded through Moshe.

The verse lists the daughters of Tzlofchad: Machlah, Tirtzah, Chaglah, Milkah, and No'ah. They married the sons of their uncles, meaning their cousins from their father's side, as was required to keep the inheritance within the tribe.

Rashi explains that here the daughters are listed according to their age, from oldest to youngest, and they married in the order of their birth.

Rashi adds that in all other places in the Torah, they are listed according to their wisdom, not their age. This teaches us that they were all equal in wisdom.

The verse says that they were from the families of the sons of Menashe, son of Yosef, and they became wives within their own tribe. Their inheritance remained with the family of their father's tribe, meaning the land stayed within the tribe of Menashe.

These are the commandments and the laws that Hashem commanded through Moshe to Bnei Yisroel in the plains of Moav, by the Jordan near Yericho. This verse summarizes that all these laws were given as Bnei Yisroel were about to enter Eretz Yisroel, concluding the section.