יגעתי ומצאתי

(33) So Moses assigned to them—to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, the land with its various cities and the territories of their surrounding towns.

(1) The Reubenites and the Gadites owned cattle in very great numbers. Noting that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were a region suitable for cattle, (2) the Gadite and Reubenite [leaders] came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the chieftains of the community, and said, (3) “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon— (4) the land that ה׳ has conquered for the community of Israel—is cattle country, and your servants have cattle. (5) It would be a favor to us,” they continued, “if this land were given to your servants as a holding; do not move us across the Jordan.” (6) Moses replied to the Gadites and the Reubenites, “Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here? (7) Why will you turn the minds of the Israelites from crossing into the land that ה׳ has given them? (8) That is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to survey the land. (9) After going up to the wadi Eshcol and surveying the land, they turned the minds of the Israelites from invading the land that ה׳ had given them. (10) Thereupon ה׳ was incensed and swore, (11) ‘None of the men from twenty years up who came out of Egypt shall see the land that I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they did not remain loyal to Me— (12) none except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they remained loyal to ה׳.’ (13)ה׳, incensed at Israel, made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until the whole generation that had provoked ה׳’s displeasure was gone. (14) And now you, a breed of sinful fellows, have replaced your fathers, to add still further to ה׳’s wrath against Israel. (15) If you turn away from [God], who then abandons them once more in the wilderness, you will bring calamity upon all this people.” (16) Then they stepped up to him and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our flocks and towns for our children. (17) And we will hasten as shock-troops in the van of the Israelites until we have established them in their home, while our children stay in the fortified towns because of the inhabitants of the land. (18) We will not return to our homes until the Israelites—every one of them—are in possession of their portion. (19) But we will not have a share with them in the territory beyond the Jordan, for we have received our share on the east side of the Jordan.” (20) Moses said to them, “If you do this, if you go to battle as shock-troops, at the instance of ה׳, (21) and every shock-fighter among you crosses the Jordan, at the instance of ה׳, until [God] has personally dispossessed the enemies, (22) and the land has been subdued, at the instance of ה׳, and then you return—you shall be clear before ה׳ and before Israel; and this land shall be your holding under ה׳. (23) But if you do not do so, you will have sinned against ה׳; and know that your sin will overtake you. (24) Build towns for your children and sheepfolds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.” (25) The Gadites and the Reubenites answered Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. (26) Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our other livestock will stay behind in the towns of Gilead; (27) while your servants, all those recruited for war, cross over, at the instance of ה׳, to engage in battle—as my lord orders.” (28) Then Moses gave instructions concerning them to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes. (29) Moses said to them, “If every shock-fighter among the Gadites and the Reubenites crosses the Jordan with you to do battle, at the instance of ה׳, and the land is subdued before you, you shall give them the land of Gilead as a holding. (30) But if they do not cross over with you as shock-troops, they shall receive holdings among you in the land of Canaan.” (31) The Gadites and the Reubenites said in reply, “Whatever ה׳ has spoken concerning your servants, that we will do. (32) We ourselves will cross over as shock-troops, at the instance of ה׳, into the land of Canaan; and we shall keep our hereditary holding across the Jordan.” (33) So Moses assigned to them—to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, the land with its various cities and the territories of their surrounding towns. (34) The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, (35) Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, (36) Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified towns or as enclosures for flocks. (37) The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, (38) Nebo, Baal-meon—some names being changed—and Sibmah; they gave [their own] names to towns that they rebuilt. (39) The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, dispossessing the Amorites who were there; (40) so Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he settled there. (41) Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, which he renamed Havvoth-jair. (42) And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its dependencies, renaming it Nobah after himself.

(1) The daughters of Zelophehad, of Manassite family—son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph—came forward. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

MISHNA:Zelophehad’s daughters took three portions of land in the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael: Their father’s portion that he received because he was among those who left Egypt; and his portion that he received with his brothers in the property of Hepher, their father; and an additional portion that he received from Hepher because he was a firstborn, and a firstborn takes two portions of inheritance from his father.

ויקרב משה את משפטן AND MOSES BROUGHT THEIR CAUSE [BEFORE THE LORD] — The law on this subject escaped him (Sanhedrin 8a). Here he received punishment because he had assumed a “crown” (he had set himself up as the supreme judge) by saying, (Deuteronomy 1:17) “And the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring to me”. Another explanation: This chapter ought to have been written by Moses (i.e., like most laws in the Torah it should have been spoken to the people by Moses without his having waited until some incident made its promulgation necessary), but for the fact that the daughters of Zelophehad had so much merit, it was therefore written through them (it was their complaint which gave occasion for stating it) (Bava Batra 119a; Sanhedrin 8a).

(29) But if you search there, you will find your God ה׳, if only you seek with all your heart and soul—

§ Rabbi Yitzḥak said in the style of a previous passage: If a person says to you: I have labored and not found success, do not believe him. Similarly, if he says to you: I have not labored but nevertheless I have found success, do not believe him. If, however, he says to you: I have labored and I have found success, believe him.

The Gemara comments: This applies only to matters of Torah, as success with respect to Torah study is in accordance with the toil and effort invested. But with regard to success in business, it all depends upon assistance from Heaven, as there is no correlation between success and effort. And even with regard to matters of Torah, we said this only with regard to sharpening one’s understanding of Torah, as the more one labors, the deeper the understanding of the material he achieves. However, to preserve what one has learned, it is dependent upon assistance from Heaven. Not everyone achieves this, even with much effort.