Bava Batra 122

Amidst a long discussion about inheritance, the Talmud asks about the first Jewish inheritance: the division of the land of Israel among the tribes.

A dilemma was raised: Was the land of Israel divided according to the tribes (meaning each received the same acreage) or was it divided according to men’s skulls (meaning more populous tribes received more land)?

There is an argument to be made that both methods of division are fair. So which was the deciding factor? The Talmud brings a beraita based on Numbers 26:56, which states: “According to the lot shall their inheritance be divided between the more and the fewer.”  The rabbis understand this to mean that the land was divided according to population, so individual holdings were of roughly equal size. 

Even if equally sized, not all holdings are equally valuable. The Talmud cites a second beraita which claims:

And the land was divided only with money, as it is stated: “Between the more and the fewer.” Rabbi Yehuda said: The area of land whose yield is a se’a of grain in Judea is so valuable that it is equal in value to the area necessary to produce five se’a of grain in the Galilee.

The rabbis understand from this that tribes that received more valuable land — in particular, land closer to Jerusalem — compensated tribes that received less valuable land with money. Later, the Gemara will wonder why anyone would choose money over valuable land and, in doing so, tacitly acknowledge that it is virtually impossible to find a truly fair way to divide a large territory among so many people. Nonetheless, if the Israelites were to occupy the land, it had to be divided and people needed to believe it was fair. The beraita explores how this was accomplished:

And the land was divided only by a lottery, as it is stated: “Only by lot shall the land be divided.” (Numbers 26:55)

And the land was divided only with the urim and tummim, as it is stated: “By the pronouncement of the lot.” (Numbers 26:56)

Verses 55 and 56 in Numbers 26 appear repetitive: Both state that the land was divided by lots. The beraita understands the first instance of lot to mean a human-run lottery and the second to refer to the mystical, oracular devices (urim and tummim) that were worn and consulted by the high priest. The beraita then explains how this was possible:

Elazar (the high priest) was dressed with the urim and tummim, and Joshua and all the Jewish people were standing before him, and a lottery receptacle containing the names of the tribes and another lottery receptacle containing the names of the boundaries of allotments were placed before him. And Elazar would ascertain the assignments of land with the divine spirit (urim and tummin) and say: The name of the tribe Zebulun now emerges from the receptacle in the lottery, and the region whose boundary is Akko emerges with it from the other receptacle. After stating this, he would mix the lots in the receptacle of the tribes and the lot of Zebulun would emerge in his hand. He would then mix the lots in the receptacle of the boundaries, and the boundary of Akko would emerge in his hand.

The high priest would announce the decision of the urim and tummim about which tribe would receive which portion, and then plunge his hands into the two vessels containing the names of the tribes and the portions, and this drawing would confirm what the urim and tummim already pronounced. In this way, there were two simultaneous lotteries that confirmed the land assignments and, hopefully, ensured all assembled that the process had been just — thereby reducing future conflict.

When I was a kid, I was often told that fair is a four-letter word. Instinctively, we want things to be fair, but the more we experience of life the better we understand how unattainable that standard is. Perhaps the double lottery — receiving human and divine imprimatur — encouraged the Israelites to be satisfied with their portions. But true fairness is only possible in the messianic future, as the beraita concludes:

And unlike the division in this world is the division of portions in the World to Come. In this world, if a person has a field of grain, he does not have a field for an orchard; if he has a field for an orchard, he does not have a field of grain. But in the World to Come, you do not have any person who does not have a portion in the mountain, and in the lowland, and in the valley, as it is stated: “The gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one” (Ezekiel 48:31), which is to say that everyone’s portion will be the same. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, will distribute it to them personally, as it is stated: “And these are their portions, says the Lord.” (Ezekiel 48:29)

Read all of Bava Batra 122 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on October 25, 2024. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.