Mattot - Masei: Are Tribal Divisions a Good thing?

In last week’s parsha (Pinhas), the Daughters of Tzelofhad ask for a land portion in order to contine their father’s name. This week, their kinsmen come, and express their concern and desire to ensure that their tribal lands  stay within the tribe. The solution offered is that the daughters of Tzelofhad are to marry within their tribe. But this raises difficulties: what if they were married? Was this merely a temporary provision, before the actual land distribution? What would be so terrible about land moving from tribe to tribe? Is the notion of the tribe too particularist to map on to concepts we know today?

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