And said unto me: Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
English: Rav Acha bar Yaakov said: The tribe of Levi is not called a kehilla, as it is written “I will make of thee a company of peoples” — whoever has a portion of land is called a kehilla, and whoever has no portion is not called a kehilla.
On the daf / in context: The end of the verse (“and I will give this land \ldots for an everlasting possession”) is used to limit the term “kehal” to those tribes that received a territorial inheritance. Levi, whose cities were a gift rather than a full nachalah, is excluded according to this view.
Type of Learning
Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — the juxtaposition of “kehal amim” with the grant of the land defines which groups qualify as a kehal.
What Is Learned
According to Rav Acha bar Yaakov, a kehilla requires territorial inheritance. The tribe of Levi therefore does not constitute a kehal for the purposes of certain communal obligations.