ABSTRACT
The rabbis of the Mishnah presume that biblical law prohibits one from allocating inheritance shares as one wishes. Portions are fixed by biblical law and precedent (see Deut 21:15–17 and Num 27:1–11, 36:1–13): two shares for the firstborn son, a single share for each other son, and no shares for daughters in the presence of sons. The text below presents the possibility of circumventing the strict biblical limitations by labeling the shares handed down as “gifts” and not “inheritance.” Accordingly, a gift of two shares may be gifted legally to a non-firstborn son, the firstborn may be gifted just one share, a daughter may be included, or a non-family member may receive a gift even when children are disinherited. It seems that for some tannaim the concept of “gifting” provided the flexibility necessary to enable one to allocate assets according to one’s own wishes, freeing one from having to distribute property as per prescribed allocations. One tannaitic sage, however, seemingly opposed the need for a change in terminology. Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroka was an advocate for full freedom on the part of a property owner to distribute his assets—even using terminology referring to inheritance—if the recipients are members of the family (those “qualified to inherit”).
