Yossef Carmel: The daughters of Tzelafchod were granddaughters of Chefer, the son of Gilad, the oldest son of Machir. Thus, the natural place for the family plot was on the East Bank, with the rest of the Machir family. In the description of the daughters of Tzelofchad story in Yeshoshua (17:4-7), the implication is that they made a specific issue of asking for their portion to be in Eretz Yisrael proper.
This helps us appreciate the midrash (Bamidbar Rabba, Pinchas 21:10). The midrash goes on to say that because of this great love of the Land, the daughters of Tzelofchad were actually given two plots of land – one in the east with their cousins and one in the west, where they requested their portion.
NEW ARITHMETIC (daughters of Tzelofchad)
I’ve been trying to explain
The parts are different but the sum is the same
Trying to make you realize
That half the winners taking all of the prize
1 2 3 4 5
Still breathing still alive
But when I disappear
Will anybody know that I was here
Two sides of a river, two sides of a coin
And a place in the middle where both sides join
The light of the moon and the light of the sun
And a place in the dark where the two become one
5 4 3 2 1
You tell us how it’s done
But your daughters and your sons
Know a new arithmetic will come.
I’ve been trying to explain
what you call a theory I call a game
Trying to make you understand
that you can’t count the stars and you can’t count the sand.
1 2 3 4 5
Still breathing still alive
But when we disappear
Will anybody anybody anybody know that we were here
