Commentaire de citation sur Les Nombres 33:54

“And if it will be the Jubilee, etc.” The Rabbis of blessed memory explained (Jerusalem Talmud Ketubot 9:1) that if here means “even,” and the meaning is that even if the Jubilee comes, nonetheless this field will not be released in the Jubilee. It is difficult to interpret if as meaning “even though,” and even if you were to say that it does mean that, it is still difficult [to understand]: From where would we derive that the Jubilee would be a remedy for this field [being transferred to another tribe]? If so, what was the initial assumption [of the verse], and what is it coming to teach us?
Furthermore, one must be precise about the verses that state, And their inheritance will be diminished from the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they will belong, and from the lot of our inheritance it will be diminished. Why do I need the word diminished twice? And why is it first called the inheritance of our fathers and afterward called our inheritance? And afterward, it returns and says, And if it will be the Jubilee, etc., and from the inheritance of his tribe it will be diminished. Surely this change means something.
Additionally, it is difficult [to understand] why would their inheritance be [considered] diminished; does it not say To the numerous you shall increase and to the few you shall decrease (Numbers 33:54)?

FROM THE MANY YE SHALL TAKE MANY, AND FROM THE FEW YE SHALL TAKE FEW. Here too,⁶⁶See 26:54 where Ramban presents a similar explanation about the allocation of the whole Land amongst the twelve tribes; he now applies the same principles to the manner in which the tribes contributed to the number of cities given to the Levites. in the opinion of our Rabbis [the meaning is that] from the paternal families which received a large amount as their inheritance, they should take many [cities], as He mentioned according to your families,⁶⁷Above, 33:54. while each tribe received exactly the same amount of land [and therefore had to provide an equal number of cities for the Levites]. And although you will find in the Book of Joshua that the number of cities which they gave to the Levites was not equal,⁶⁸In Joshua Chapter 21, where a list of all these cities is given, it is stated that while most of the tribes each gave four cities to the Levites, the tribe of Judah gave eight, Shimon one, the half tribe of Menasheh in Canaan two, and Naphtali three [thus totalling thirty-eight cities in the land of Canaan and ten on the eastern side of the Jordan]. Ramban’s statement that “the number of cities which they gave to the Levites was not equal” is thus clear, as is proven in the cases of Judah, Shimon, and Naphtali. according to the number of tribes, that was because of the [different] value of the particular cities, since some were more important than the others, for the Land was divided according to its value.⁶⁹Baba Bathra 122a. Thus, land nearer to Jerusalem was appraised more valuable than land further away, both because it was nearer to the Sanctuary and also it was further away from the border of the nations (Rashbam, ibid.). A proof to this is the fact that from [the tribes of] Judah, Shimon and Benjamin they gave thirteen cities [to the Levites],⁷⁰Thus: Judah gave eight, Shimon one, Benjamin four, totalling thirteen cities. Similarly: Issachar and Asher each gave four, Naphtali three, the half-tribe of Menasheh two, totalling thirteen cities. and from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Menasheh, [also] thirteen [cities were given],⁷⁰Thus: Judah gave eight, Shimon one, Benjamin four, totalling thirteen cities. Similarly: Issachar and Asher each gave four, Naphtali three, the half-tribe of Menasheh two, totalling thirteen cities. and yet these [latter tribes] were larger than the former ones in their population.⁷¹The figures used here are those of the census, above Chapter 26. Judah (Verse 22 ibid.), Shimon (Verse 14), and Benjamin (Verse 41) totalled 144,300. Issachar (Verse 25), Asher (Verse 47), and Naphtali (Verse 50) totalled 163,100. The complete tribe of Menasheh (Verse 34) totalled 52,700. Assuming that the half-tribe of Menasheh mentioned in Joshua was exact half [i.e., 26,350] we have a total for the latter group mentioned of 189,450, which is far more than the 144,300 of the first group. And from the tribe of Ephraim they gave four cities [to the Levites],⁷²Joshua 21:20-22. and from the tribe of Dan four cities,⁷³Ibid., Verses 23-24. and yet the children of Dan were double [the population] of the children of Ephraim.⁷⁴The children of Ephraim totalled 32,500 (above, 26:37), while Dan totalled 64,400 (ibid., Verse 43)! Thus we must say that the cities were not given in proportion to the population of the tribes, but according to the appraised value of the city.

To the large [tribe], increase. According to Rashi they gave a larger portion to the bigger tribe, and yet it was all by means of lots. The ones causing the inheritance were those who went out of Egypt. According to Ramban the Land was divided into twelve equal portions, and the tribe was divided into families according to their size. It seems to me that the lottery would inform in which region of the Land the tribe’s inheritance would be, and afterwards Yehoshua and the elders would make the boundary according to the number of persons in the tribe. This is the meaning of (Bamidbar 33:54): “To whomever the lottery [system] ordains, it shall be his.” And this was the complaint of the tribe of Menashe to Yehoshua — that he gave them too little.