This coming Shabbat we will complete Sefer Bamidbar with the reading of Matot and Masei, and the focus of our shiur is a continuation of last week’s shiur, where we focused on the process of allocating the land of Eretz Yisrael to the tribes (see Rav Rosenblum English Shiurim, Pinchas 5784).
To the large, increase their inheritance, and to the small, diminish their inheritance; each person, according to his number, shall be given his inheritance. Only by lot should the land be divided, according to the names of their fathers’ tribes should they inherit it. By word of the lottery should their inheritance be divided, with regard to whether they are many or few.
Both Rashi, the Gemara (Bava Batra 122b), and the Midrash (Tanchuma, Pinchas 6) provide details of this unique process and its three steps. First, the Kohen Gadol received direct indication from the Urim v’Tumim as to which tribe matched up with which boundary. Following the notification of a tribe and boundary, a lottery produced matching results. Two lots – that of a tribe and a boundary – were pulled by either the Kohen Gadol, the leader of the tribe, or two young kohanim, and these two tablets reflected exactly what the Urim v’Tumim had just highlighted. Finally, the lots themselves spoke their allocation aloud for all to hear. These three steps all came after a precursor event several generations earlier, when Yaacov Avinu informed each of his sons where they’d be positioned around the Mishkan and what land they’d receive in Eretz Yisrael.
I would like to add several interesting ideas to this topic, and most importantly, address our open question as to why these three unique steps were required. Theoretically, each of the steps described in last week’s Parsha – i.e., the Urim v’Tumim, the lottery, and the lots speaking – should have been sufficient on their own to mitigate any allegations of an unfair process, or discord regarding who received what land. Yaacov Avinu’s blessings and allocations should also have sufficed, just as they were accepted and undisputed for the configuration around the Mishkan. The entire process told to us in last week’s Parsha seems repetitive and unnecessary.
In last week’s shiur, we also focused heavily on the talking lots, and why this miracle does not appear alongside the talking donkey in the Mishna (Avot 5:5) as being created at sunset on the sixth day of Creation. This was a question asked by the Tzeida LaDarech, who called out that this miracle of a domem (a silent or inanimate creation) speaking is greater than that of a chai (a member of the animal world) speaking. His answer, backed by numerous examples, pertained to the state of where the miracle – or act – occurred. In a place of pure holiness, lottery ballots can speak, sticks can speak, mountains such as Har Sinai can speak, and scrolls like Megillat Esther can self-turn their pages and narrate their own inscribed words. The laws of nature do not apply in such places of holiness, and there is no need for miracles that stem from special creations and deviations established during Creation. Bilaam’s donkey, however, requires a miracle that transcends the laws of nature to speak words of Ruach Hakodesh to its wicked master, because it occurred in a place of impurity. That miracle needs to be called out and we need to be told when that special arrangement was made, given that it deviates from the laws of nature. Our speaking lottery takes place on the doorstep of Eretz Yisrael, with a holy nation set to enter, and where the laws of nature do not govern how lottery tablets can or cannot behave.
Our two Parshiot – Matot and Masei – continue the focus on allocating the land of Eretz Yisrael. Firstly, we find the tribes of Reuven and Gad requesting to settle on the east bank of the Jordan River, essentially removing themselves from the process and lottery that distributed the land situated on the west bank. Therefore, in Parshat Masei, we no longer find twelve representatives (Nesi’im) taking part in the allocation process, but only ten. Reuven and Gad dropped out (and half of the tribe of Menashe was added to them). We won’t go into exactly why, as that is an entire topic on its own which we’ve discussed in years past, and which contains many aspects of Sod brought by the Arizal.
Next, the topic of the lottery also comes up several times this week. Our Parsha goes into detail as to the exact location and size of the land and its divisions, tracing the boundaries on all sides. This is important detail as the Torah refers to the land numerous times beforehand, but each time in different ways.
I would like to call out the closing Pasuk in particular, as it references our lottery:
Moshe instructed Bnei Yisrael, saying: “This is the land which you must distribute as hereditary property by means of a lottery, which Hashem has commanded to give to the nine-and-one-half tribes.”
The opening Pasuk of that section also contains a Pasuk we will refer back to shortly:
Instruct Bnei Yisrael and say to them: ‘When you come to the land of Canaan, this is the land which will fall to you as inheritance, the land of Canaan according to its borders.”
Rashi, in explaining the words – which will fall to you, quotes the Midrash’s elementary question (Tanchuma, Masei 4): Does a land fall? A book falls, a piece of food falls, but how exactly does land fall? He answers, the land itself moves neither up nor down, but dividing the land according to a lottery leads to a piece of it falling upon a person. We find similar language of falling (נְפִ ילָה) connected to lottery results in Megillat Esther:
The Torah then provides us with the names of the ten Nesi’im who represented their tribes in the allocation process, and all but one of the names presented are brand new to us. Kalev ben Yefuneh is the only name we’ve heard before.
There is a set of words in this section repeated twice, and the Ba’al HaTurim picks up on them: – These are the names of the men. Quoting the Midrash, he says the repetition teaches us they were נָאִים בִּשְׁמוֹתָם וְנָאִים בְּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶם – Pleasant in their names and pleasant in their deeds. The Chida (Nachal Kedumim) explains each of their names, in the name of Rabbeinu Ephraim, and there are a few leaders I‘d like to analyze in brief summary form. Doing so requires that we determine who they actually are.
כָּלֵב בֶּ ן־יְפֻנֶּה – Kalev was all heart (כּ וּלוֹ לב), knowing how to distribute the land to each according to what they were entitled to. The rest of his name (בֶּ ן־יְפֻנֶּה) represents him turning away from the other spies along with his clearing the land from all bad intentions.
אֱלִידָד בֶּן־כִּסְלוֹן – The Nasi of Binyamin was actually Eldad, from the earlier story where he and Meidad received Ruach Hakodesh and their prophecy did not cease (Bamidbar 11:26), leading to Yehoshua reporting the matter to Moshe Rabbeinu. A yud was added to his name of אֶ לְדָּ ד, as there are ten terms to describe Nevuah, just as Tefillah has numerous names based on what type of prayer it is.
בֻּקִי בֶּן־יׇגְלִי – Who was this individual? He was called Buki because he was בּ ָ קִ יא – well-versed, in Torah, as Hakadosh Baruch Hu revealed to him (גִילָה) the mysteries of Torah. This name appears many times in Torat HaKabbalah, as its letters rearranged form the word יַבּ וֹק, as in מַ עֲבַ ר יַבּ ֹק – the crossing of the Yabbok River, which on a mystical level represents the crossing over from this world into Olam Haba. The name is ascribed to the tribe of Dan as he will judge on that day of crossing worlds.
קְמוּאֵל בֶּן־שִׁפְטָן – A son that Hakadosh Baruch Hu destined to be both a prince (נָשִׂ יא) and judge (שׁ ו ֹ פ ֵ ט). The Midrash (Beha’alotcha) says this was Meidad, the partner of Eldad who prophesied beyond all others. Of note, Eldad and Meidad were the only two of the original seventy elders that merited entering into Eretz Yisrael. They both benefited from direct prophecy from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, unlike the other elders who received their Nevuah indirectly via Moshe Rabbeinu. Eldad and Meidad, through their humility in not running to the camp despite being on the list of who would receive prophecy, were rewarded.
There is one more idea to dive into before we return to the topic of the lottery and our outstanding question. The following idea is found in several sources, including the Chizkuni, the Ibn Ezra, and the Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh, although I first saw it in the writings of the Chida (Rosh David) and will therefore quote him. The Chida says, the names of the tribes of Bnei Yisrael are listed in the Torah fifteen times – יָ שׁ ִ בְ טֵ י – and in none of these locations does Binyamin appear third in the list. Our Parsha, and this list of who will lead each tribe in the allocation of Eretz Yisrael, is the only time Binyanim is found third in order. The Chizkuni adds, this is because the other lists are either in order of age, lineage, or positioning in the encampment around the Mishkan – none of which find Binyanim in the third slot. This occurrence here, however, is unlike the rest and seems to be completely out of order and without rhyme or reason.
The Ibn Ezra answers that our list opens with the names of Elazar HaKohen and Yehoshua Bin Nun, which makes perfect sense. Last week’s Parsha called for Elazar to lead this process and receive the assignment from the Urim v’Tumim, and Yehoshua would lead them into the land. Next, Reuven and Gad were pulled from the process, leaving ten tribes and that of Yehuda leading off, just as he does for the Korbanot of the Nesi’im in the Mishkan (Naso). The Ibn Ezra says, however, our list begins with Yehuda because his name was drawn from the lottery first. The other three commentators who brought forth this idea say the same, leaving us to understand why Yehuda was first. But why was Binyanim third? They point to Sefer Yehoshua (21) where each tribe of Bnei Yisrael assigned a portion of their land to the Levi’im, as instructed in our Parsha.
The first lot among the Levites fell to the Kohathite clans. To the descendants of the priest Aharon, there fell by lot 13 towns from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Shimon, and the tribe of Binyamin.
In the first list of tribes that combined to hand over thirteen cities, Binyamin is listed third. The Chizkuni adds, this set of three tribes is unique in that the title נָשִׂ יא does not appear next to any of their leaders’ names in the list found in our Parsha, whereas the rest of the tribes have the title נָשִׂ יא listed next to their leader’s names. Have a look at the Pesukim and you’ll quickly spot this. Why do the first three who delivered cities to the Levi’im not have the title נָשִׂ יא next to their names? The Chizkuni answers, Kalev didn’t need the title given he was already presented as leader when the spies were appointed, not to mention that the title given to him by Hakadosh Baruch Hu – כָלֵב ִ י עַ בְ ד – was of a higher level than Nasi; Binyamin was represented by אֱלִידָד בֶּן־כִּסְלוֹן, which is Eldad, who also had a higher title than Nasi – that of Navi; and Shimon’s leader did not have Nasi next to his name because the previous Nasi from that tribe – זִמְ רִ י בֶּן־סָלוּא נְשִׂיא בֵית־אָב לַשִּׁמְעֹנִי – had just sinned in Shittim, leading to a major plague. Two were left off to elevate and one to lower, according to the Chizkuni.
The Ohr HaChaim adds another nice reason as to why these initial three tribes do not have the title נָשִׂ יא next to their leader’s name. The Torah says: וְ נָשִׂ יא אֶ חָ ד נָשִׂ יא אֶ חָ ד, and given we already know Kalev was a Nasi, the next two names appearing in the list are then covered by these two mentions of נָשִׂ יא and need not have the title repeated for them.
With that, we can advance into the main topic of our shiur, which connects us to our Tefillah while addressing the question regarding the allocation of land through multiple steps and means. It is important to note that slight variations exist within different nuscha’ot, but overall, this idea is the same across all siddurim regardless of the precise words that appear in your siddur of choice. It is important to periodically dive into the words we recite regularly in our Tefillah, otherwise we can go sixty years without understanding what we’re saying and why we’re saying it! If I were to ask where in our daily Tefillah we mention a גּוֹרָ ל (lottery), would it lead to an instant response? Going forward, it will. Each morning, sometimes in a bit of a fog, after the section of the Akeida within the Korbanot, we find:
Therefore, we are obligated to thank You, to praise You, and to glorify You; to bless, to sanctify, and to offer praise and thanks to Your Name. We are fortunate! How good is our portion! How pleasant is our lot! How beautiful is our heritage! We are fortunate we who rise early and stay late in synagogues and houses of study, and unify Your Name each day—always and lovingly say twice: Shema Yisrael...
The first line contains seven different terms of thanksgiving and praise. (Bnei Sepharad have a different combination of terms but the same total of seven.) Why seven? There’s no shortage of items to point to where seven is the symbolic number, but it is important to learn the intent of those who compiled this Tefillah, and to understand the number’s exact significance here. Of note, before this group of seven, there is another group of seven found:
What are we? What is our life? What are our acts of kindness? What is our righteousness? What is our deliverance? What is our strength? What is our might?
This initial group of seven questions (מָ ה) corresponds to the seven times Shlomo HaMelech said הֲבֵל (futility) in Kohelet:
Utter futility! Said Koheleth - Utter futility! All is futile!
The seven are: 1) הֲבֵל, 2) הֲבָלִים, 3) הֲבֵל הֲבָלִים אָמַ ר קֹהֶ לֶת, 4) הֲבֵל, 5) הֲבָלִים, 6) הֲבֵל הֲבָלִים, 7) הַ כּ ֹל הָ בֶל. According to the Midrash, these seven vanities correspond to שׁ ִ בְעָה עוֹלָמוֹת שׁ ֶאָדָ ם רוֹאֶה – The seven worlds that a person sees. The Midrash then lists these seven worlds, or stages of life: A one-year-old is like a king who everyone runs to, dotes on, and gives their undivided attention to. A two or three-year-old is like a pig that extends its hands into the dirty places. A ten-year-old jumps around like a goat. A twenty-year-old neighs like a horse, as he beautifies himself and seeks a wife. When he marries a wife, he is like a donkey, working hard to sustain the household. When he has children, he is like a dog, maneuvering audaciously and barking to bring home food. Finally, when he grows old, he is like a monkey. These seven stages of futility correspond to the seven times we ask “What?” and therefore, we conclude with:
What can we say before You, Hashem, our G-d and G-d of our fathers. Are not all the mighty men as nothing before You, famous men as though they had never been? The wise as if they were without knowledge? And men of understanding, as if they were devoid of intelligence? For most of their actions are a waste, and the days of their life are futile in Your presence. The superiority of man over the animal is nil, for all is futile.
Let’s now turn to the page with the aforementioned section containing seven terms of praise:
How good is our portion! How pleasant is our lot! How beautiful is our heritage!
Here is the lottery within our Tefillah! But we aren’t receiving a section of land in Eretz Yisrael when we awake each morning, so why is a lottery being invoked? Ask someone in the early morning how pleasant their lot and fortune is, and they’ll likely tell you to stay far away from it; that it isn’t good or pleasant for anyone! Yet, we recite this every morning. How pleasant is our lot! This is the first instance of גּוֹרָ לֵנוּ – our lot, that we recite each day, and it’s important to point that out because some people don’t even know it’s there. Some start their Tefillah with הוֹדוּ or ב ּ ָ ר ו ּ ך שׁ ֶ א ָ מ ַ ר, while others enter into their davening riding the horse of Pharoah: כִּי בָא סוּס פַּרְ עֹה.
There are then three additional times each day we find the idea of a lottery. B’ezrat Hashem, in two months’ time, we’ll be standing on Rosh Hashanah, where at the start of Malchuyot in Musaf we recite a Tefillah written by Yehoshua after conquering the city of Yericho:
It is our obligation to praise the Master of all, to ascribe greatness to the Creator of the world in the beginning: that He has not made us like the nations of the lands and has not positioned us like the families of the earth; that He has not assigned our portion like theirs, nor our lot like that of all their multitudes.
This same paragraph is recited three times every day, and its reference is not to the lot that determined land rights in Eretz Yisrael. What is it referring to? It would appear from these two sections of Tefillah – the bookends of Shacharit – that we’re occupied with a גּוֹרָ ל each and every day but one that is not what we read about in our Parsha. It appears to be a lottery that is pleasant to us, and one that is unlike that of the other nations. Bnei Ashkenaz have one additional instance of גּוֹרָ לֵנוּ.
On Yom Kippur, aside from the גּוֹרָ ל that determined which goat was offered to Hakadosh Baruch Hu and which thrown off the cliff to Azazel, we sing in the repetition of each Amidah:
We are Your inheritance; and You are our lot. By Yom Kippur, הַ בָּא עָלֵֽינוּ לְטוֹבָה, we will no doubt be together at the Beit Hamikdash where we will once again see this lottery carried out. I’m told that, B’ezrat Hashem, everyone is planning to join us in unison very soon; all our enemies in attack, that is. When they all come at us together, it is a promise and sign that Mashiach is arriving, without any doubt.
Given our focus on the lottery, let’s use this opportunity to better understand what we recite in our Tefillah, and through these ideas reach our long-sought answer. In Otzar HaTefillot, a siddur with multiple commentaries, the Etz Yosef divides the first paragraph into three sections defined as the ח ו ּ ט ה ַ מְ שׁ ֻ לָשׁ – the threefold cord (not readily broken) to choose life. In other words, the Neshama’s connection to its source within Hakadosh Baruch Hu above – לוֹ הּ ַ מִ מּ ַ עַ ל-חֵ לֶק אֱ.
אַ שׁ ְ רֵ ינוּ מַ ה טּ וֹב חֶ לְ קֵ נוּ – That we have a Neshama which is a part of G-d above. The Pasuk says: וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים – He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the Zohar notes, as long as He blows in His breath, we have a part of Hakadosh Baruch Hu deep within us. That part is why we declare: How good is our portion! We aren’t a random assembly of flesh and bones; rather, we understand and appreciate that we’re an extension of Hakadosh Baruch Hu!
וּמַה נָּעִים גּוֹרָלֵנוּ – As the Pasuk says: אַתָּה תּוֹמִיךְ גּוֹרָלִי – You control my fate. Hakadosh Baruch Hu, in His goodness, will direct us to the right choices.
וּמַה יָפָה יְרֻשָּׁתֵנוּ – This is the covenant formed with us, early on from the time of our ancestors, just as we find in the Pasuk: רַק בַּאֲבֹתֶיךָ חָשַׁק ה' לְאַהֲבָה אוֹתָם וַיִּבְחַר בְּזַרְעָם אַחֲרֵיהֶם – Only your forefathers did Hashem desire, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them.
Etz Yosef adds another beautiful explanation: מַ ה טּ וֹב חֶ לְ קֵ נוּ
