PARSHAS

MASEI

יעסמ

SELECTIONS

From Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein

INHERITING THE LAND UPON CONQUERING(םכינפמ ץראה יבשוי לכ תא םתשרוהו (בנ ,גלושירותש תנמ לע ןדריה תא םירבוע םתא המ לע ועד ,עשוהי םהל רמא ןדריב לארשי םדוע ('א ד"ל הטוסםכינפמ ץראה יבשוי תא

So it is written in Sefer Yehoshua that the Cohanim carriers of the Aron stood in the Jordan River whileYehoshua stood on the west bank and the people stood on the east bank, while Yehoshua spoke thewords which Moshe had commanded.T.T. It appears that Yehoshua not only said the one verse, but the entire parsha (verses 53-56. He did thisto fulfill the conditions of an oath (requires doubling of the conditions with first the positive and thenthe negative, plus requires saying the condition first and then the action to be done.

THE LAND AND ITS BOUNDARIES(אוה דחא לובג לארשי ץרא הלוכש דמלמ ('א ה"נ תורוכב ביבס היתולבגל ץראה (בי ,דל

Even though each tribe received a portion with prescribed boundaries as written in Sefer Yehoshua,nevertheless, the entire land was considered as if one bordered property.T.T. The practical difference is in regards to the law of Maaser of one’s animals. If one owns 10 or moreanimals, you place the animals in a fenced area, and as they exit, the 10

animal becomes Maaser. If you have five animals in Eretz Yisrael, and five outside of the land, they are not joined together to beobligated. However, if one has five animals in one Tribe’s portion and another five within close proximity (16 mil but in another Tribe’s portion, one does connect them and is obligated in Maaser.This is due to this concept that the whole land is considered one set of bordered property.

(ץרא ןדרי ףא ץרא וחרי המ ,וחריל ןדרי שיקה ('א ה"נ תורוכב וחרי ןדריל רבעמ (וט ,דל

T.T. Same practical different as above rgarding Maaser of one’s animals. This is to say that Yardein hasthe same law as the Land of Israel. If one person owns five animals on the West side of the Yardeinriver and also five animals on the East side of the Yardein river, he performs Maaser.

CITIES OF REFUGEׁ(הנייהת ל"ת ןיינמ ץראל ץוחב ,ץראב תוטלוקש אלא יל ןיא (ירפס הנייהת טלקמ ירע (גי ,הל

We can not explain this as per the simple meaning, since these cities were only set up in Eretz Yisrael.Kesef Mishneh explains either it is referring to the cities in Ever HaYardein (other side of the river,or is a case of a person from outside that Land that flees to these cities after an accidental murder T.T. Can not be the first explanation, because we never find Ever HaYardein referred as outside of theLand. Rambam brings another Sifri on a latter verse הלא which explicitly limits these cities to withinthe Land. However, our texts do not have this Sifri. This is another example where the Rishonimhave certain portions of texts, and we do not have them.PARSHAPAGES.com www.parshapages.blogspot.com