Rambam In-Depth: Why the Beis HaMikdash Was Divided—But Yerushalayim Wasn't
Welcome to Rambam In-Depth: Hilchos Tumas Tzara’as, Perek Yud-Dalet, Halacha Yud-Alef.
Why doesn’t a house in Yerushalayim ever become tamei from a nega, even though the same house anywhere else in Eretz Yisrael would? The Rambam’s answer opens up a real machlokes about who actually owned Yerushalayim—and whether the Beis HaMikdash itself was ever divided among the shevatim.
The Rambam rules (Hilchos Tumas Tzara’as 14:11) that Yerushalayim and chutz la’aretz are not subject to tumas nega’im, because the halacha only applies to “a house in the land of your inheritance” (b’veis eretz achuzaschem)—and Yerushalayim, the Rambam holds, was never divided among the shevatim.
That ruling runs into a real problem: several sugyos in Maseches Zvachim (43b, 118b) sound like they say the opposite—that the Beis HaMikdash was b’chelko shel Binyamin, the Sanhedrin was b’chelko shel Yehuda, and Yerushalayim generally was divided like any other territory. The Rambam even explains elsewhere, in the Moreh Nevukhim, that the Torah deliberately never names the location of the Beis HaMikdash—precisely to prevent the shevatim from fighting over the honor of hosting it. But that explanation only makes sense if the site was genuinely up for grabs. If Yerushalayim had already been divided, there’d be nothing left to fight over.
In this shiur we trace two different answers to how the Rambam reconciles all of this—one from the sefer Yemos HaMashiach BaHalakha, sharpened by a question from the Rebbe, and one from the sefer Siach Yitzchak, who offers two independent resolutions: a historical one (the division did happen, but didn’t last) and a halachic one (the shevatim had the right to use the land, but never full legal ownership of it).
🔎 In this video we explore: • Why a nega in a Yerushalayim home never makes it tamei—and what “achuzaschem” actually requires • The Zvachim sugyos that seem to prove Yerushalayim WAS divided among the shevatim • The Rambam’s own explanation (Moreh Nevukhim) for why the Torah hides the Beis HaMikdash’s location • The Rebbe’s sharp question: if the Beis HaMikdash could be divided, why not the rest of Yerushalayim? • The Sifri’s account of Doshnas Yericho—how Yehuda and Binyamin were compensated when their portion in Yerushalayim was taken away • The halachic distinction between kinyan haguf and kinyan peiros—and how it resolves the entire contradiction
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro — Rambam, Hilchos Tumas Tzara’as 14:11 00:26 Why Yerushalayim Isn’t “Achuzaschem” of Any Shevet 00:53 The Zvachim Question — Sugyos That Say Otherwise 01:46 Moreh Nevukhim — Why the Torah Hides the Beis HaMikdash’s Location 02:25 Resolving the Contradiction — Beis HaMikdash vs. Yerushalayim 02:58 The Rebbe’s Question — If the Mikdash Was Divided, Why Not Yerushalayim? 03:08 Siach Yitzchak’s First Answer — Doshnas Yericho and What Didn’t Last 04:44 The Second Answer — Kinyan HaGuf vs. Kinyan Peiros 05:51 Conclusion
🙏 If this shiur clarified a sugya you’d wondered about, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone learning through Hilchos Tumas Tzara’as. Drop a comment with which answer—the historical one or the kinyan peiros one—you find more compelling.
📚 Sources discussed: Rambam, Hilchos Tumas Tzara’as 14:11; Rambam, Moreh Nevukhim; Gemara Zvachim 43b, 118b; Tosafos Yom Tov; Sefer Yemos HaMashiach BaHalakha, Chelek Alef (Rav Avraham Galitzky); Sefer HaChida (Ha’Azov); Sefer Siach Yitzchak; Sifri
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