Shabbos Parashas Mattos-Maasei - 5777

Shabbos Parashas Mattos-Maasei - 5777

Rabbi Hal Miller

The cities that you shall give from the possession of the children of Israel, from the many

you shall increase and from the few you shall decrease, each according to his inheritance

that they shall inherit shall he give of his cities to the Levites. [Vayikra 35:8]

The lottery system for dividing the land is confusing at best. We saw it presented in

parashas Pinchas, and it shows up again this week in Maasei for the division to the

Levites. In Pinchas we see a conflict, whether the land is divided by the size of the population

of each tribe, or equally where everyone gets a share. The commentators spend a great

deal of effort on this issue, trying to define how the lottery fit in, whether the population

referenced those who left Egypt or those who came to the land, etc. Once that was settled in

Pinchas, we now have to take another look this week with regard to who supplies the cities

to the Levites.

Again, we see language about the size of the tribes, here with regard to how many cities

each tribe must cede to Levi. But it also says, "each according to his inheritance", which

does not necessarily equate to the tribal populations.

Ramban notes that the number of cities donated is anything but equal. In the book of

Joshua, the city names are listed, and a simple counting shows that some tribes gave

more cities, other tribes gave fewer. Ramban says it had to do with the value of the

cities, in other words the total value contributed by each tribe was equal. Sforno concurs,

and ties it to the earlier division, which he says was done strictly on value, not quantity.

This seems equitable, but there are a few problems yet. For instance, two and a half

tribes took their inheritance across the Jordan. Were cities there donated to the Levites

with the same valuation rules? How do you compare the value of land on the opposing

sides of the Jordan?

Further, our verse does not only say that the tribes should contribute based on the value

of their land, but based on their population.

Most commentators see three divisions here. The first was a lottery assignment of areas

to tribes. The second assigned within each area to the families for actual inheritance.

The third is the donation of cities to the Levites. The first was done by Divine inspiration

in the lottery. The second was done by Joshua with the head of each tribe. The third was

done by each tribe on its own, with the number of cities allotted to each tribe given them

by Joshua based on population. When the head of each tribe picked the cities, that part

of the process was done based on value.