Quotation for Bava Batra 245:2

או כלך לדרך זו חלקו עם אחד וחלקו עם ה' מה חלקו עם אחד פי שנים בכל הנכסים אף חלקו עם ה' פי שנים בכל הנכסים

[let] his share [when he is co-heir] with one [brother] be compared with his share [when co-heir] with five [brothers]; as his share [when co-heir] with one is a double portion in all the estate<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., two thirds of the estate. In whatever way the division is arrived at, the double portion will, in this case, always consist of two thirds of the entire estate. ');">3 so [is the case when he inherits] his share with five [he should also receive] a double portion in all the estate?4

Ramban on Genesis

AND HIS SONS’ DAUGHTERS. These were Serah, the daughter of Asher, and Jochebed, the daughter of Levi. This is the language of Rashi. But what will Rashi include in the term, his daughters, [which is also plural, although Jacob only had one daughter, Dinah]? Rather, it is the way of Scripture, when mentioning the genealogy of many people, to refer to an individual in the plural form, as for example, And the sons of Dan: Hushim;¹⁸¹Verse 23 here. And the sons of Palu: Eliab.¹⁸²Numbers 26:8. The same is true here: “daughters” refer to Dinah. “His sons’ daughters” refers to Serah the daughter of Asher, but Jochebed [Moses’ mother] is not mentioned by Scripture [as being among the persons who went down to Egypt], as it is said, All the souls were threescore and six.¹⁸³Verse 26 here. She is, however, hinted at, according to the opinion of our Rabbis.¹⁸⁴Baba Bathra 123a. See also Ramban, next Verse.

Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy

Previous Verse Full Chapter Next Verse