62Vayihyu fekudeihem shloshah ve'esrim elef kol zachar miben chodesh vamalah ki lo hotpakdu betoch bnei Yisrael ki lo nitan lahem nachalah betoch bnei Yisrael
27:1Vatikravnah bnot Tzlofchad ben Chefer ben Gil'ad ben Machir ben Menasheh lemishpechot Menasheh ven Yosef ve'eleh shmot benotav Machlah No'ah veChoglah uMilkah veTirtzah
The third aliyah of Parashat Pinchas (Numbers 26:52 - 27:5) holds some of the deepest themes in the parashah: the division of the Land, the roots of the leaders, and the daughters of Tzlofchad.
Dividing the Land: by names, not only by numbers
God commands Moshe (26:52-56) how the Land is to be divided among the tribes:
“La’eleh techalek ha’aretz benachalah bemispar shemot… Ach begoral yechalek et ha’aretz…” (To these shall the Land be divided as an inheritance, according to the number of names… but by lot shall the Land be divided, verses 53-55)
On the one hand, each tribe receives an inheritance according to its size, “Larav tarbeh nachalato velame’at tam’it” (to the large one increase its inheritance, and to the small one reduce it). Yet on the other hand, the division itself is carried out by lot!
The Talmud (Bava Batra 122a) learns from these two verses that both lived together: “the Land was divided only by lot… and it was divided only by the Urim veTummim.” Elazar the priest wears the Urim veTummim, “directing himself by the holy spirit,” and the lot comes up and confirms. Both precise human order and a guiding hand from above.
The count of the Levites: a tribe with no inheritance
The tribe of Levi does not inherit land, and is therefore counted separately:
“Ki lo nitan lahem nachalah betoch bnei Yisrael” (for no inheritance was given to them among the children of Israel, verse 62)
The names mentioned here are especially important: Amram, Yocheved, Aharon, Moshe, Miriam. Like a moment in which the Torah pauses to mark the roots of the leaders.
Special attention is given also to the death of Nadav and Avihu, “behakrivam esh zarah” (when they offered a strange fire), a reminder that even the greatest can fail when they step outside the divine framework.
The list of the counted: closing a circle
The Torah notes that the new census list differs from that of the wilderness generation:
“Uv’eleh lo hayah ish mipkudei Moshe ve’Aharon… ki amar Adonai lahem mot yamutu” (And among these there was not a man of those counted by Moshe and Aharon… for the Lord had said of them: they shall surely die, verses 64-65)
Only Yehoshua and Kalev survived, for they did not take part in the sin of the spies. This is a wake-up call for every generation: whoever is faithful to God will enter the Land.
The daughters of Tzlofchad: trailblazers
The final verses of the aliyah bring a rare and beautiful story:
the daughters of Tzlofchad approach Moshe and demand an inheritance even though they have no brother. They speak directly, eloquently, and with daring, and the Talmud (Bava Batra 119b) says of them: “the daughters of Tzlofchad are wise, they are expounders, they are righteous.”
“Avinu met bamidbar… uvanim lo hayu lo… tenah lanu achuzah betoch achei avinu” (Our father died in the wilderness… and he had no sons… give us a holding among our father’s brothers, Numbers 27:3-4)
Moshe does not answer immediately; he turns to God:
“Vayakrev Moshe et mishpatan lifnei Adonai” (And Moshe brought their case before the Lord, verse 5)
This is a rare example in the Torah of a human claim changing halachic reality and entering as a new divine command. Of this moment the Talmud says (Bava Batra 119a): “the passage of inheritances was worthy of being written by Moshe, but the daughters of Tzlofchad merited, and it was written through them.”
Division, justice, leadership. And above all: the place of women as a moral, active force within the Torah.