| The Portion of Pinchas Who is Considered a Father's Son The Children of Israel are at the end of their forty years of wandering in the desert and are now ready to enter the Land of Israel. Moses undertakes a census, and G-d instructs him as to how to apportion the land between the tribes. "And to these shall you divide the land…" (Numbers 26;53). It is clear that women were not included in the division of the land. The daughters of Tzelafchad turn to Moses and demand a portion of their father's inheritance. Moses relays their demand to G-d and the Almighty responds that their demand is just. "And to the Children of Israel you shall say: if a man dies and has no son, you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter" (Numbers 27;8). Who is considered a father's son? The Mishnah in tractate Yevamot (chapter 2, Mishnah 5) deals with the obligation of a man to marry his widowed and childless sister-in-law (a levirate marriage), and from this verse we learn that if the brother of the deceased had a son, be he legitimate or illegitimate, the brother is not obligated to marry his sister-in-law- unless the child is the son of a servant or non-Jewish woman. All of this is learned from the words "and he has no son" (Numbers 27;8)- meaning you should consider his status. An allusion to this law is found in the addition to the right side of the "final nun" in the words "ben" (son) and "ain" (he has no"). (Rokeiach on the Torah)
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