TORAH-FAX BAMIDBAR SUMMARY

MATTOTMA
PARSHA SUMMARY
BY RABBI SYLVAN KAMENS
The first Parsha begins with laws concerning vows and oaths, vows made by
women which may be annulled by their husbands or fathers, but on the day
they learn of it.
Then we read about the war against the Midianites, including the distribution
of spoils. The Reubenites and Gadites as for the land east of the !ordan.
Moses agrees to their re"uest after Reuben, Gad and half of the tribe of
Manasseh promise to participate in the con"uest of #anaan.
The second portion describes the $sraelites% wilderness wanderings, beginning
with Ramses in &gypt up to the steppes of Moab across the !ordan from
!ericho. There is an additional warning to uproot idol worship from #anaan
and instructions on dividing #anaan among nine'and'a'half tribes.
(ollowing a list of the tribal heads, the Torah decrees that forty'eight cities
are to be given to the )evites. Then the te*t outlines the laws concerning the
cities of refuge, to protect the accidental slayer from the victim%s avenging
family.
There are final discussions concerning the ruling that the daughters of
+elophchad could inherit their father%s portion of the )and. These Parshat
conclude ,umbers -.admidbar/.