The verse states, "Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages and called them Havoth Jair."
Rashi comments, "Their villages — their hamlets" (which is the language of the Targum Onkelos and Yonatan here), meaning that "Havoth" refers to villages. However, Ibn Ezra explains here that it is "like cities," meaning towns. Radak, commenting on the verse "And the Philistines gathered at Lehi," explains that "Lehi" [the word "Havoth" is derived from the root "Lehi," with the substitution of the yud with a vav] is "an unwalled city."
It is puzzling why Rashi was compelled to interpret (like the Targum) that "their villages" means hamlets, and did not interpret them as cities, which would seemingly fit better with the straightforward understanding of "and he captured their villages," since according to the Targum's interpretation, Jair's conquest was only of the hamlets of the land of Og. Besides the difficulty in the interpretation itself, later in Parshas Devarim regarding the conquest of the land of Og, it is explicitly stated, "Sixty cities, all the region of Argob, etc., fortified cities with walls, etc., besides the cities of the Perizzites, etc.," and further in the matter, "Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob up to the border, etc., and he called them after his own name, Bashan Havoth Jair, etc." From the straightforward text, it seems that these sixty cities were (at least some of them) in the region of Argob. It is explicitly stated that there were cities in Jair's portion, so why interpret "and he captured their villages" as referring to the capture of hamlets?
Furthermore, earlier (in Parshas Chukas) on the verse "in Heshbon and all its daughters," Rashi explains "its daughters — the villages adjacent to it," that "villages" are called "daughters" of the city (as explained by the commentators that the city is like a "mother" and the villages dependent on the city are called "daughters"), so why did the text change here to call the villages "their villages" instead of "their daughters," as the text itself states in the following verse, "And Nobach went and captured Kenath and its daughters" (and not "its villages")?
This will be understood by first explaining Rashi's commentary on the following verse: "And he called them Havoth Jair — because he had no sons, he called them by his name as a memorial." Commentators have already questioned, "What need is there for this reason, for all builders and conquerors of cities customarily name them after themselves, like Nobach in the following verse" ("And Nobach went, etc., and called it Nobach after his own name").
Moreover, it is explicitly stated in the verse, "And Cain built a city and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch," and Rashi there explains that it was "in memory of his son Enoch." Thus, it is customary to name a city in memory of a person even if he has descendants, etc. (for "and to Enoch was born Irad"), so what compels us to explain that Jair had no sons and that is why he named them after himself?
Simply put, one could say that it is not possible to interpret that he named the city after himself just as all city conquerors do, because if so, why does the text tell us this? In other words, when the Torah tells us about the naming of a new place, it is understood that this matter comes to teach us something, for otherwise, what difference does it make that he named this place with a new name? [And similar to what Rashi explains earlier regarding the changing of the names of the cities of Sihon by the children of Reuben — "They changed the names of the cities they built," that "the Amorites named their cities after their idols, and the children of Reuben changed their names to other names," meaning that it comes to teach us the merit of the children of Reuben, who nullified the names of the cities that were names of idols.]
Therefore, it must be said in our case that "he called them Havoth Jair" was due to a special circumstance, and this is what Rashi explains: "Since he had no sons, he named them after himself as a memorial." This means that the text itself comes to teach us through this story that Jair had no sons. However, there is still a difficulty: even though it is necessary to say there is something special here, how do we know from the simple meaning of the text that it was "because he had no sons," and not for another reason? Especially since in the Midrashic literature of our Sages, there is no source for the claim that Jair had no sons.
On the other hand, later in Parshas Devarim, we find a special matter regarding this naming: "and he called them after his own name, Havoth Jair, until this day" (unlike the naming of Nobach, where the name did not endure).
It can be said that these two explanations of Rashi are connected. Rashi's explanation that the naming of the city after himself was "because he had no sons" follows his earlier explanation that "Havoth" means "villages." In other words, since it must be said that there was something special in this naming, it is reasonable to say that the unique aspect is hinted at in the language of the text itself. Therefore, Rashi chose the interpretation of the Targum, that "Havoth" means "villages," because according to this interpretation, the matter of "he had no sons" is hinted at in the text itself.
The explanation of the matter is as follows: Since in the inheritance of Jair there were several cities, it is difficult to understand why he named only the villages after himself and not the cities, which are more important than villages and are the main part. Rather, Jair wanted to hint at the memorial of his name in place of not having sons: "Villages" are called "daughters" of a city, and as mentioned above, the city is considered the "mother" and the villages its "daughters." Thus, by naming specifically the villages after himself, it emphasizes that he wanted them to be in place of sons (for the purpose of remembrance), since "villages" are akin to the offspring ("daughters") of the cities.
It can be said that the reason Jair specifically used the term "Havoth" (and not "daughters" or similar) is because it emphasizes the aspect of remembrance, as Rashi says, "he named them after himself as a memorial." The choice of the villages to be named after him emphasizes that the reason for the naming is "because he had no sons," and the use of the term "Havoth (Jair)" highlights the purpose of the name — "as a memorial."
"Havoth" in singular form is "Chavah," which is rooted in "chai" (where the yud is exchanged for a vav), as explicitly stated in the verse, "and he called her Chavah because she was the mother of all living." It can be suggested as a hint that the villages are called "Havoth" because the inhabitants of the villages supply the cities with food, thus they are the source of life for the cities. This is the hint in the name "Havoth Jair," that Jair's memory is established in the names of these villages, so that they are the continuation and memorial of his life, "Havoth Jair."
It is possible to explain the connection between the concept of remembrance and specifically "villages" in the inner dimensions of the matter, by prefacing with what is explained in Rabbeinu Bachya regarding the reason the children of Reuben changed the names of the cities to other names. Sihon and Og "were idol worshipers... Therefore, the children of Gad and the children of Reuben, when they knew this, changed the names of the cities to other names and wanted to settle there and serve the Holy One, blessed be He, and unify Him... Therefore, they requested, 'Let this land be given to your servants as a possession,' as a reason to nullify idol worship and to unify the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He."
Based on this, we can also explain the content of the matter that "Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages and called them Havoth Jair," which in spirituality means that he "captured" them spiritually, by nullifying the aspect of idol worship within them. It can be said that this is why specifically regarding Jair, the text explains the new name.
The name "Havoth Jair" signifies the general theme of transformation that was accomplished in the Transjordan. Instead of being a place of idol worship, which is considered a place of death, it became a place of life and light. "Havoth Jair" implies vitality and illumination (for holiness is life and light), reaching a level of life that is the source of life (Chavah) and a light that will shine in the future, "until this day."
Based on this, we can further explain why he specifically captured "their villages" — villages — because the general theme of transforming the klipah is emphasized in the concept of the "village."
This can be understood through the teaching of our Sages that there is a difference between a villager who sees the king and a city dweller who sees the king. A city dweller is in close proximity to the king, so seeing the king is not a novelty for him. In contrast, for a villager who is far from the king's place, seeing the king causes great excitement due to the novelty of the experience.
Similarly, in spirituality, regarding seeing the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, a city dweller symbolizes one whose service is in the realm of holiness, where the revelation of G‑dliness is not a novelty. In contrast, a villager is one whose service is in the concealment and hiddenness of the world (far from "the city of our G‑d"). When he succeeds in refining and elevating the concealment of the world to holiness, the revelation of holiness for him is with "great tumult" due to the novelty of the matter (similar to how specifically the "Ofanim" — the angels of the world of Asiyah — say "Blessed be the glory of the L‑rd from His place" with great tumult).
Thus, the concept of a "village" alludes to the overall service of refining and purifying the concealment and hiddenness of the world.
Accordingly, we can also explain the connection of "villages" to the concept of remembrance: Although in terms of "revelation," the service of a "villager" (which is in a place of concealment and hiddenness) is lower than the service of a "city dweller" (who is in close proximity to the king), due to the self-nullification in this service, one reaches the essence and being of G‑d, the "essence" that is beyond revelation. This is why specifically the naming of the villages by Israel effects a matter of remembrance, because from the "essence" that is beyond the realm of revelation, the aspect of eternity is drawn, which is not subject to change (and forgetfulness) at all. Therefore, specifically the name "Havoth Jair" has endured "until this day."