Parshat Matot-Massei Numbers 302 - 3613 First Portion Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying This is the thing the Lord has commanded. If a man makes a vow to the Lord or makes an oath to prohibit himself, he shall not violate his word according to whatever came out of his mouth, he shall do. If a woman makes a vow to the Lord, or imposes a prohibition upon herself while in her father's house, in her youth, if her father heard her vow or her prohibition which she has prohibited upon herself, yet her father remains silent, all her vows shall stand, and any prohibition that she has imposed upon herself shall stand. But if her father hinders her on the day he hears it, all her vows and her prohibitions that she has imposed upon herself shall not stand. The Lord will forgive her because her father hindered her. But if she is betrothed to a man, with her vows upon her or by an utterance of her lips which she has imposed upon herself, and her husband hears it but remains silent on the day he hears it, her vows shall stand, and her prohibition which she has imposed upon herself shall stand. But if her husband hinders her on the day he heard it, he has revoked the vow she had taken upon herself and the utterance which she had imposed upon herself, and the Lord will forgive her. As for the vow of a widow or a divorced woman, whatever she prohibited upon herself will remain upon her. But if she vowed in her husband's house, or imposed a prohibition upon herself with an oath. and her husband heard and remained silent, and did not hinder her, all her vows shall stand, and every prohibition she imposed upon herself shall stand. If her husband revokes them on the day he hears them, anything issuing from her lips regarding her vows or self imposed prohibitions shall not stand her husband has revoked them and the Lord shall forgive her. Any vow or any binding oath of self affliction, her husband can either uphold it or revoke it. However, if her husband remained silent from day to day, he has upheld all the vows and prohibitions she has assumed he has upheld them since he remained silent on the day he heard it. If he revokes them after having heard them, he shall bear her iniquity. These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses concerning a man and his wife, a father and his daughter, in her youth, while in her father's house. Numbers Chapter 31 The Lord spoke to Moses saying, Take revenge for the children of Israel against the Midianites afterwards you will be gathered to your people. So Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm from among you men for the army, that they can be against Midian, and carry out the revenge of the Lord against Midian. A thousand for each tribe, a thousand for each tribe, from all the tribes of Israel you shall send into the army. From the thousands of Israel one thousand was given over for each tribe, twelve thousand armed for battle. Moses sent them the thousand from each tribe to the army, them along with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the kohen to the army, with the sacred utensils and the trumpets for sounding in his possession. They mounted an attack against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. And they killed the Midianite kings upon their slain Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, and Balaam the son of Beor they slew with the sword. The children of Israel took the Midianite women and their small children captive, and they plundered all their beasts, livestock, and all their possessions. They set fire to all their residential cities and their castles. They took all the booty and all the plunder of man and beast. They brought the captives, the plunder, and the booty to Moses and to Eleazar the kohen and to the entire community of Israel in the camp, in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. Second Portion Moses, Eleazar the kohen, and all princes of the community went out to meet them, outside the camp. Moses became angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had returned from the campaign of war. Moses said to them, Did you allow all the females to live? They were the same ones who were involved with the children of Israel on Balaam's advice to betray the Lord over the incident of Peor, resulting in a plague among the congregation of the Lord. So now kill every male child, and every woman who can lie intimately with a man you shall kill. And all the young girls who have no experience of intimate relations with a man, you may keep alive for yourselves. And you, encamp outside the camp for seven days whoever killed a person or who touched a corpse shall cleanse himself on the third and seventh day, both you and your captives. All garments, leather articles, any goat product, and every wooden article shall undergo purification. Eleazar the kohen said to the soldiers returning from battle, This is the statute that the Lord commanded Moses. Only the gold, the silver, the copper, the iron, the tin, and the lead whatever is used in fire you shall pass through fire and then it will be clean it must, however, also be cleansed with sprinkling water, and whatever is not used in fire you shall pass through water. You shall wash your garments on the seventh day and become ritually clean afterwards, you may enter the camp. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take a count of the plunder of the captive people and animals, you, together with Eleazar the kohen and the paternal leaders of the community. And you shall divide the plunder equally between the warriors who went out to battle and the entire congregation. And you shall levy a tax for the Lord from the soldiers who went out to battle one soul out of every five hundred, from the people, from the cattle, from the donkeys, and from the sheep. You shall take from their half and give it to Eleazar the kohen as a gift to the Lord. From the half belonging to the children of Israel you shall take one part out of fifty of the people, of the cattle, of the donkeys, of the sheep, and of all animals, and you shall give them to the Levites, the guardians of the Mishkan of the Lord. Moses and Eleazar the kohen did as the Lord had commanded Moses. The plunder, which was in addition to the spoils that the army had spoiled, consisted of six hundred and seventy five thousand sheep. Seventy two thousand cattle. Sixty one thousand donkeys. As for the people, of the women who had no experience of intimate relations with a man, all souls were thirty two thousand. The half that was the portion of those who went out to battle the number of sheep was three hundred and thirty seven thousand, five hundred. The tax to the Lord from the sheep was six hundred and seventy five. Thirty six thousand cattle, of which the tax to the Lord was seventy two. Thirty thousand and five hundred donkeys, of which the tax to the Lord was sixty one. Sixteen thousand people, of which the tax to the Lord was thirty two people. Moses gave the tax which was a gift to the Lord, to Eleazar the kohen, as the Lord had commanded Moses. And from the half allotted to the children of Israel, which Moses had divided from the men who had gone into the army. The community's half consisted of three hundred and thirty seven thousand, five hundred sheep. Thirty six thousand cattle. Thirty thousand five hundred donkeys. And sixteen thousand people. Moses took one part out of fifty from the half of the children of Israel, the people and the animals, and gave them to the Levites, the guardians of the Lord's sanctuary as G-d commanded Moses. The officers appointed over the army's thousands, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moses. They said to Moses, Your servants counted the soldiers who were in our charge, and not one man was missing from us. We therefore wish to bring an offering for the Lord. Any man who found a gold article, be it an anklet, a bracelet, a ring, an earring, or a body ornament, to atone for our souls before the Lord. Moses and Eleazar the kohen took all the gold articles from them. The total of the gift of gold which they dedicated to the Lord amounted to sixteen thousand, seven hundred and fifty shekels this was from the commanders of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds. The soldiers had seized spoils for themselves. Moses and Eleazar the kohen took the gold from the commanders of the thousands and hundreds and brought it to the Tent of Meeting, as a remembrance for the children of Israel before the Lord. Third Portion Numbers Chapter 32 The descendants of Reuben and Gad had an abundance of livestock very numerous and they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben came, and they spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the kohen and to the princes of the community, saying, Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, and Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, the land that the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock. They said, If it pleases you, let this land be given to your servants as a heritage do not take us across the Jordan. Thereupon, Moses said to the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war while you stay here? Why do you discourage the children of Israel from crossing over to the land which the Lord has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh barnea to explore the Land. They went up to the Valley of Eshkol and saw the land, and they discouraged the children of Israel from crossing into the land which the Lord has given them. The anger of the Lord flared on that day, and He swore, saying, None of the men from the age of twenty years and over who came out of Egypt will see the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, for they did not follow Me wholeheartedly, except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' The anger of the Lord flared against Israel, and He made them wander in the desert for forty years until the entire generation who had done evil in the eyes of the Lord had died out. And behold, you have now risen in place of your fathers as a society of sinful people, to add to the wrathful anger of the Lord against Israel. If you turn away from following Him, He will leave you in the desert again, and you will destroy this entire people. They approached him and said, We will build sheepfolds for our livestock here and cities for our children. We will then arm ourselves quickly and go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place. Our children will reside in the fortified cities on account of the inhabitants of the land. We shall not return to our homes until each of the children of Israel has taken possession of his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on the east bank of the Jordan. Fourth Portion Moses said to them, If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and your armed force crosses the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies before Him, and the Land will be conquered before the Lord, afterwards you may return, and you shall be freed of your obligation from the Lord and from Israel, and this land will become your heritage before the Lord. But, if you do not do so, behold, you will have sinned against the Lord, and be aware of your sin which will find you. So build yourselves cities for your children and enclosures for your sheep, and what has proceeded from your mouth you shall do. The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, Your servants will do as my master commands. Our children and our wives, our livestock and our cattle will remain there, in the cities of Gilead. But your servants will cross over all who are armed for combat before the Lord, for the battle, as my master has spoken. Moses commanded Eleazar the kohen and Joshua the son of Nun and all the paternal heads of the tribes of the children of Israel concerning them. Moses said to them, If the descendants of Gad and Reuben cross the Jordan with you armed for battle before the Lord, and the Land is conquered before you, you shall give them the land of Gilead as a heritage. But if they do not cross over with you armed for battle, they shall receive a possession among you in the land of Canaan. The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben answered, saying, We shall do as the Lord has spoken to your servants. We shall cross over in an armed force before the Lord to the land of Canaan, and then we shall have the possession of our inheritance on this side of the Jordan. Moses gave the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan the land together with its cities within borders, the cities of the surrounding territory. The descendants of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer. And Atroth Shophan, Jazer, and Jogbehah. And Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fortified cities and sheepfolds. The descendants of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kirjathaim. And Nebo and Baal Meon, their names having been changed, and Sibmah. And they were called with names of the names of the cities they built. The children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and conquered it, driving out the Amorites who were there. Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. Jair the son of Manasseh went and conquered their hamlets, and called them the hamlets of Jair. Nobah went and conquered Kenath and its surrounding villages, and called it Nobah, after his name. Numbers Chapter 33 These are the journeys of the children of Israel who left the land of Egypt in their legions, under the charge of Moses and Aaron. Moses recorded their starting points for their journeys according to the word of the Lord, and these were their journeys with their starting points. They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month on the day following the Passover sacrifice, the children of Israel left triumphantly before the eyes of all the Egyptians. And the Egyptians were busy burying because the Lord had struck down their firstborn and had wrought vengeance against their deities. The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped in Succoth. They journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham, at the edge of the desert. They journeyed from Etham and camped in Pi hahiroth, which faces Baal zephon and they camped in front of Migdol. They journeyed from Penei hahiroth and crossed in the midst of the sea to the desert. They walked for three days in the desert of Etham and camped in Marah. They journeyed from Marah and arrived in Elim, and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. They journeyed from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. They journeyed from the Red Sea and camped in the desert of Sin. They journeyed from the desert of Sin and camped in Dophkah. They journeyed from Dophkah and camped in Alush. They journeyed from Alush and camped in Rephidim, but there there was no water for the people to drink. They journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the Sinai desert. They journeyed from the Sinai desert and camped in Kivroth hataavah. They journeyed from Kivroth hataavah and camped in Hazeroth They journeyed from Hazeroth and camped in Rithmah. They journeyed from Rithmah and camped in Rimmon perez. They journeyed from Rimmon perez and camped in Libnah. They journeyed from Libnah and camped in Rissah. They journeyed from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. They journeyed from Kehelathah and camped in Mount Shepher. They journeyed from Mount Shepher and camped in Haradah. They journeyed from Haradah and camped in Makheloth. They journeyed from Makheloth and camped in Tahath. They journeyed from Tahath and camped in Tarah. They journeyed from Tarah and camped in Mithkah. They journeyed from Mithkah and camped in Hashmonah. They journeyed from Hashmonah and camped in Moseroth. They journeyed from Moseroth and camped in Benei jaakan. They journeyed from Benei jaakan and camped in Hor hagidgad. They journeyed from Hor hagidgad and camped in Jotbathah. They journeyed from Jotbathah and camped in Abronah. They journeyed from Abronah and camped in Etzion geber. They journeyed from Ezion geber and camped in the desert of Zin, which is Kadesh. They journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom. Aaron the kohen ascended Mount Hor at the Lord's bidding and died there, on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year of the children of Israel's exodus from Egypt. Aaron was one hundred and twenty three years old when he died at Mount Hor. The Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelt in the south, in the land of Canaan, heard that the children of Israel had arrived. They journeyed from Mount Hor and camped in Zalmonah. They journeyed from Zalmonah and camped in Punon. They journeyed from Punon and camped in Oboth. They journeyed from Oboth and camped at the ruins of Abarim, on the Moabite boundary. They journeyed from the ruins and camped in Dibon gad. They journeyed from Dibon gad and camped in Almon diblathaimah. They journeyed from Almon diblathaimah and camped in the mountains of Abarim, in front of Nebo. They journeyed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. They camped along the Jordan from Beth jeshimoth to Abel shittim, in the plains of Moab. Fifth Portion The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying Speak to the children of Israel and say to them When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their temples, destroy their molten idols, and demolish their high places. You shall clear out the Land and settle in it, for I have given you the Land to occupy it. You shall give the Land as an inheritance to your families by lot to the large, you shall give a larger inheritance and to the small you shall give a smaller inheritance wherever the lot falls shall be his according to the tribes of your fathers, you shall inherit. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the Land from before you, then those whom you leave over will be as spikes in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will harass you in the land in which you settle. And it will be that what I had intended to do to them, I will do to you. Numbers Chapter 34 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying Command the children of Israel and say to them, When you arrive in the land of Canaan, this is the land which shall fall to you as an inheritance, the land of Canaan according to its borders. Your southernmost corner shall be from the desert of Zin along Edom, and the southern border shall be from the edge of the Sea of Salt the Dead Sea to the east. The border then turns south of Maaleh Akrabim elevation of Akrabim, passing toward Zin, and its ends shall be to the south of Kadesh barnea. Then it shall extend to Hazar addar and continue toward Azmon. The border then turns from Azmon to the stream of Egypt, and its ends shall be to the sea. The western border it shall be for you the Great Mediterranean Sea and the border this shall be your western border. This shall be your northern border From the Great Mediterranean Sea turn yourselves toward Mount Hor. From Mount Hor turn to the entrance of Hamath, and the ends of the border shall be toward Zedad. The border shall then extend to Ziphron, and its ends shall be Hazar enan this shall be your northern border. You shall then turn yourselves toward the eastern border, from Hazar enan to Shepham. The border descends from Shepham toward Riblah, to the east of Ain. Then the border descends and hits the eastern shore of Lake Kinnereth. The border then continues down along the Jordan, and its ends is the Sea of Salt the Dead Sea this shall be your Land according to its borders around. Moses commanded the children of Israel saying, This is the Land which you are to apportion for inheritance through lot, that the Lord has commanded to give to the nine and a half tribes. For the tribe of Reuben's descendants according to their fathers' house, and the tribe of Gad's descendants according to their fathers' house, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance. The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, near Jericho in the east, toward the sunrise. Sixth Portion The Lord spoke to Moses saying These are the names of the men who shall inherit the land on your behalf Eleazar the kohen and Joshua the son of Nun. You shall take one chieftain from each tribe to help you to acquire the land. These are the names of the men for the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. For the tribe of the descendants of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud. For the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. The chieftain for the tribe of the descendants of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli. For the descendants of Joseph the chieftain for the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod. The chieftain for the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. The chieftain for the tribe of the descendants of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. The chieftain for the tribe of the descendants of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan. The chieftain for the tribe of the descendants of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. The chieftain of the tribe of the descendants of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. These are the ones whom the Lord commanded to apportion the inheritance to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan. Numbers Chapter 35 The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan at Jericho saying Command the children of Israel that they shall give to the Levites from their hereditary possession cities in which to dwell, and you shall give the Levites open spaces around the cities. These cities shall be theirs for dwelling, and their open spaces shall be for their cattle, their property, and for all their needs. The areas of open space for the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward, one thousand cubits all around. You shall measure from outside the city, two thousand cubits on the eastern side, two thousand cubits on the southern side, two thousand cubits on the western side, and two thousand cubits on the northern side, with the city in the middle this shall be your cities' open spaces. Among the cities you shall give to the Levites, shall be six cities of refuge, which you shall provide as places to which a murderer can flee. In addition to them, you shall provide forty two cities. All the cities you shall give to the Levites shall number forty eight cities, them with their open spaces. And as for the cities that you shall give from the possession of the children of Israel, you shall take more from a larger holding and you shall take less from a smaller one. Each one, according to the inheritance allotted to him, shall give of his cities to the Levites. Seventh Portion The Lord spoke to Moses saying Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan to the land of Canaan, you shall designate cities for yourselves they shall be cities of refuge for you, and a murderer who killed a person unintentionally shall flee there. These cities shall serve you as a refuge from an avenger, so that the murderer shall not die until he stands in judgment before the congregation. The cities that you provide shall serve as six cities of refuge for you. You shall provide the three cities in trans Jordan and the three cities in the land of Canaan they shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge for the children of Israel and for the proselyte and resident among them, so that anyone who unintentionally kills a person can flee there. If he struck him with an iron instrument and he dies, he is a murderer, and the murderer shall be put to death. If he struck him with a fist sized stone which is deadly, and he dies, he is a murderer, and the murderer shall be put to death. Or with a fist sized wooden instrument which is deadly,and he dies, he is a murderer, and the murderer shall be put to death. The blood avenger shall kill the murderer he may kill him when he meets him. If, out of hatred, he pushed him, or threw something at him with premeditation, and he died, or if he maliciously struck him with his hand and he died, the assailant shall be put to death he is a murderer the blood avenger may kill the murderer when he meets him. But if he pushed him accidentally, without malice, or threw an object at him without premeditation, or, with any stone which is deadly, and without seeing his victim he threw it down at him and it killed him, but he was not his enemy and bore him no malice Then the congregation shall judge between the assailant and the blood avenger, on the basis of these judgments. The congregation shall protect the murderer from the hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall remain there until the Kohen Gadol, who anointed him with the sacred oil, dies. But if the murderer goes beyond the border of the city of refuge to which he had fled, and the blood avenger finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger slays the murderer, he has no blood. For he shall remain in his city of refuge until the Kohen Gadol dies, and only after the Kohen Gadol has died, may the murderer return to the land which is his possession. These shall be for you a statute of justice for all your generations, in all your dwelling places. Whoever namely the blood avenger kills a person, based on the testimony of witnesses, he shall slay the murderer. A single witness may not testify against a person so that he should die. You shall not accept ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, for he shall be put to death. You shall not accept ransom for one who has fled to his city of refuge, to allow him to return to live in the Land, before the kohen has died. And you shall not corrupt the land in which you live, for the blood corrupts the land, and the blood which is shed in the land cannot be atoned for except through the blood of the one who shed it. And you shall not defile the land where you reside, in which I dwell, for I am the Lord Who dwells among the children of Israel. Numbers Chapter 36 The paternal heads of the family of the sons of Gilead the son of Machir the son of Manasseh of the families of the sons of Joseph approached and spoke before Moses and before the chieftains, the paternal heads of the children of Israel. They said, The Lord commanded my master to give the Land as an inheritance through lot to the children of Israel, and our master was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. Now, if they marry a member of another tribe of the children of Israel, their inheritance will be diminished from the inheritance of our father, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and thus, it will be diminished from the lot of our inheritance. Even if the children of Israel will have a Jubilee, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be diminished from the inheritance of our father's tribe. Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of Joseph's descendants speak justly. This is the word that the Lord has commanded regarding Zelophehad's daughters. Let them marry whomever they please, but they shall marry only to the family of their father's tribe. Thus, the inheritance of the children of Israel will not be transferred from tribe to tribe, for each person from the children of Israel will remain attached to the inheritance of his father's tribe. Every daughter from the tribes of the children of Israel who inherits property, shall marry a member of her father's tribe, so each one of the children of Israel shall inherit the property of his forefathers. And no inheritance will be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for each person of the tribes of the children of Israel shall remain attached to his own inheritance. As the Lord had commanded Moses, so did Zelophehad's daughters do. Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah married their cousins. They married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained with the tribe of their father's family. These are the commandments and the ordinances that the Lord commanded the children of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan at Jericho.