At the beginning of chapter 32 of the Book of Bamidbar, we read about the tribes of Reuven and Gad approaching Moshe with a request to receive their inheritance in the land east of the Jordan:
 

And b'nei Gad and b'nei Reuven came to Moshe and Elazar and the princes of the congregation and said:
 

"Atarot and Divon and Ya'zer and Nimrah and Cheshbon and El'aleh and S'vam and Nevo and Be'on…"
 

However, at the end of the chapter, when Moshe actually gives them their portion, they are suddenly joined by half of the tribe of Menasheh:
 

"And Moshe gave to them, to b'nei Gad and to b'nei Reuven and to the half of the tribe of Menasheh the son of Yosef the kingdom of Sichon the king of the Emorites."
 

And the question arises: where did the half tribe of Menasheh come from all of a sudden and join the two other tribes? And if it already came, why didn't the entire tribe come to demand its portion?

We can offer four explanations to this question, according to different commentators:

The Ramban explains that the tribe of Menasheh did not intend to request this part of the land, and therefore initially only Reuven and Gad came. However, Moshe saw that this tract of land was far too large for two tribes, so he asked if any other tribe wanted to join them. Part of the tribe of Menasheh saw that this was a broad land with an abundance of room for development, and so part of the tribe desired it and requested to join the other two tribes:

"And to the half tribe of Menasheh ben Yosef – initially the tribe of Menasheh did not come before him, but when he gave the land to the two tribes he saw that the land was too large than what was appropriate for them so he asked who will want to inherit with them, and there were men of the tribe of Menasheh who desired this, perhaps they were herders of livestock, and he gave them their portion. (Ramban on 32:33)
 

According to the Ramban, it was Moshe who initiated the joining of the half-tribe of Menasheh to b'nei Reuven and b'nei Gad, since he was concerned that this large parcel of land would be underpopulated. What is good for livestock is not necessarily good for its owners or for national cohesion.

This, evidently, is the point which the Ramban desired to emphasize and to shed light upon: Moshe's attitude toward the request of b'nei Reuven and Gad to inherit the land across the Jordan went through three stages. From anger at first, to acceptance with conditions second, and to concern about their future (which proved to be correct over the course of time) - a third stage which isn't mentioned in the Torah at all.

The 'Emek Davar' offers another explanation. According to the Natziv, Moshe perceived b'nei Reuven and Gad's desire for money, since they spoke about making provisions for their property before their children: "We will build sheep corrals for our flocks, and cities for our children (32:16)." Moshe foresaw and was concerned about their future, he knew that they would be far from the center of spirituality and Torah in Am Israel and therefore he saw the need to send a type of 'garin Torani' (literally 'seed of Torah' - in modern parlance: a group of Torani families who are committed to teaching Torah in a less observant community) in the form of the tribe of Menasheh, who are sages of Torah who will influence and spread their Torah in the spiritual wasteland:
 

"Since Moshe Rabbenu saw that across the Jordan the strength of the Torah is less, therefore he made an effort to implant among them great men of Torah who will illuminate the land with the light of their strength, as it says (Shofetim 5:14): "From Machir will come down law-givers" meaning giants of Torah and Roshei Yeshivot. And Moshe made efforts to persuade them to settle across the Jordan, and because of this he increased their inheritance until they agreed… and this was known to all of Israel at that time, and afterwards he spoke to them about this, how much effort he made to infuse among them gedolei Torah, and from this the generations will learn to strive to live specifically in a place of Torah since Israel's life depends on this." (HaEmek Davar on Devarim 3:16)
 

And so, according to the Natziv, this is the reason that the half-tribe of Menasheh was not involved in the condition which was made with the first two tribes: Moshe requested their aid, to join the east-Jordan settlers.

In a place where faith flounders, in a place where the mainstream flows to other places, there is a need for 'spiritual mashgichim' in our terminology. The tribe of Menasheh was like a garin Torani or shelichim (emissaries) of Chabad who are sent to communities to strengthen and ingrain the Torah.
 

And this can explain why only half the tribe was sent: when a shaliach is sent to a community which is far away (spiritually) the danger exists that he will not only influence others, but will himself be influenced. But if there remains behind a 'home front' of family members who live closer to the nation's religious centers, then the connection between the two parts of the tribe will strengthen the part which is 'outside' as well.
 

And there is a great message here: on one hand the paramount importance of living in a place of Torah, in a place where people of Torah have influence and create the spiritual atmosphere, and on the other hand, that those who go to influence in a foreign kind of environment must retain the connection with the strong spiritual centers – from this connection they can draw strength and not be influenced.
 

A third explanation: we can learn from what happened at the end of the Book of Yehoshua, there we find the two and a half tribes constructing an altar, and responding to the charges of the delegation which came from the (western) Land of Israel in the name of all the nation: the two and a half tribes respond that the altar was intended as testimony that they are part of the same nation, that we are all one nation and that in the future, a situation must never arise where the generations to come will claim that there are two nations here.
 

Apparently here as well Moshe foresees the future. Moshe is concerned about the disunity of the nation which was liable to emerge. Here we have two tribes living far from the rest of the nation, and they are isolated since there is no connection or communication between them, and this could lead to a situation of separation between the two tribes and the nation as a whole. Moshe searches for a way to preserve unity and looks for a tribe which is willing to split itself up, half here and half there, whereas the split tribe will assuredly preserve its unity, since family connections exist and certainly there is always transit between the two halves of the tribe, and this itself will retain unity and peace between the two parts of the nation.
 

When one tribe has part of its families living here and another part there, no one can say that this is not the same nation. There is a natural connection – people go to celebrations, to events and visits, and de facto the connection between the two parts of the nation strengthens. It is exactly the splitting up of the two parts of the tribe which contributes to the nation's unity.  
 

From this learn how vital and powerful are the unity and peace of the nation, to the point that a tribe was willing to split up in order to preserve this.

A fourth explanation can be offered according to the verses in the Book of Devarim: "And we took possession of this land at that moment: From Aro'er which is on Nachal Arnon and half of the mountain of Gilad I gave to the Reuveni and the Gadi. And the rest of the Gilad and all of the Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half tribe of Menasheh – all the region of Argov and all the Bashan… Yair the son of Menasheh took all the region of Argov to the border of the Geshuri and the Ma'achati, and he called them after his name, the Bashan – Chavot Yair until this day. And to Machir I gave the Gilad."
 

And the question arises: When did these events happen, that Yair took the Argov territory? A student of HaRav Saadya Gaon writes:
 

"And Machir, the father of his mother was the head and father of Gilad, and Yair took possession of the Gilad after him, and therefore it is called by the name of his mother's father and on the name of the inheritance which they took during the days in which Yosef was king over the land… And therefore B'nei Machir desired to settle in the land of the Gilad, and Moshe gave it to them by virtue of their father's taking possession of it, and Yehoshua also gave it to them. Let it be clear that these events in the Chumash regarding Machir, Yair and Novach – these are stories from the past [meaning that they did not occur at the time of the Exodus from Egypt but much earlier] since Machir and Yair and Novach took nothing in the desert, and when Yosef and his brothers died, they gained power and took Geshur and Aram which were gentiles nations, and they took possession of Chavot Yair."
 

That is to say that during the time they dwelled in Egypt, the sons of Yosef went out on campaigns of conquest in the Land of Israel and conquered part of the east side of the Jordan. And now when their sons and grandsons prepared to enter the Land, they requested their father's inheritance.
 

And the Radak writes in his commentary on the Book of Yehoshua: "That is to say, since he (Menasheh) was Yosef's first-born, and Machir was his (Menasheh's) first-born, and was a man of war, because of this he received inheritance in the land of Gilad. Since b'nei Gad and b'nei Reuven asked for this land because they possessed an abundance of flocks and this was a land suitable for livestock, but the half tribe of Menasheh received it only by virtue of the valiance of Machir who conquered the land. And he received this blessing because his father was Yosef's first-born, and he too was the first-born. And Moshe alluded to him in his blessing: The first-born of the bull, glory is his, and his horns are the horns of a ram. With them, he will gore nations together."
 

Therefore the half tribe of Menasheh joined the request out of entirely different motives – to settle in the inheritance of their fathers. This was their goal and this was the basis for their request.
 

May we merit the imminent redemption and the ingathering of all the Jews to their Land, accompanied by national unity and inspired by Torah which reaches the lives of all the parts of the nation!
 

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