הא נמי תנינא ושהיה בכור נוטל שני חלקים ועוד מאי אלא
Furthermore, what [is the force of] EXCEPT?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' What is the antithesis? The first part of the Mishnah speaks of the equality of a son and a daughter, and the second part speaks of the difference (not between a son and a daughter but) between the the estates of a mother and a father!
');"><sup>20</sup></span> — But, said R. Ashi, it is this that was meant: [As regards] both, a son [of the deceased] among [his other] sons and a daughter<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. supra n. 3.
');"><sup>24</sup></span> among [his other] daughters, if [the deceased] had said, 'he [or she]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' pointing out one of his heirs.
');"><sup>25</sup></span>
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
The following paragraph, dealing with the laws of inheritance, also contains allusions to the Ineffable Name of G–d. The Kabbalistic commentator Rekanati expresses it thus: "The verse commencing with: ואל בני ישראל תדבר לאמור, איש כי ימות ובן אין לו “Say to the children of Israel ‘if a man dies and he does not leave behind a son, etc.” (27,8), tells us that even laws covering such mundane matters as the inheritance laws and other laws concerning interpersonal relationships, depend on the מרכבה עליונה Divine entourage in the Celestial Regions. Their evolution and emanation are rooted in those regions. תפארת ישראל and שכינת עזו respectively, are called בן ובת, who inherit חכמה and בינה known as אב ואם. These four concepts are mystically part of the Ineffable four-lettered Name of G–d. Keeping this in mind you can understand why the בן, son, takes precedence over the daughter when inheriting the property of their father or mother, and why the son is obligated to provide for the daughter (his sister). Our sages called this system “the sons inherit, whereas the daughters are provided for” (Baba Batra 122b).
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