Friday, December 11, 2009

Bava Batra 112 - Not to Transfer Land in Israel Between Tribes

A man inherits his wife, but she does not inherit him. In discussing the laws of inheritance, it says, "You shall give his inheritance to … his flesh, and he shall inherit her," and "his flesh" means his wife because "they shall become one flesh."

In connection with this, there was a commandment for a Jewish woman to marry only within her tribe. The commandment was in force only during the years of conquest of the Land of Israel. It applied only to a woman who could potentially inherit land at the time of marriage - that is, if she had no brothers and was thus her father's prospective heir.

Art: The Sculptor Jacques Lipchitz and His Wife Berthe Lipchitz by Amedeo Modigliani

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