D’var Torah – Pinhas 5785

As the Children of Israel prepare to come to the final stages of their journey to the Promised Land, God instructs Moses to “Take a census of the whole Israelite community from the age of twenty years up, by their ancestral houses, all Israelites able to bear arms.” [Numbers 26:2]

Each clan is described by their tribal name and then descendants – overwhelmingly male descendants (aside from Serah, daughter of Asher) … until we get to the descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph, when we hear – interestingly enough – about daughters:

Now Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, only daughters. The names of  Zelophehad  daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah… [Numbers 26:33]

Hmmm. Why such specificity at this point in the listing? Perhaps we will hear about them soon enough…

The total enrollment is then shared, as are the instructions for apportioning the land. And now, five women stand up before Moses and those assembled around him:

The daughters of Zelophehad, of Manassite family—son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Makhir son of Manasseh son of Joseph—came forward. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chieftains, and the whole assembly, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and they said, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not one of the faction, Korah’s faction, which banded together against the LORD, but died for his own sin; and he has left no sons. Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father’s kinsmen!” [Numbers 27:1-4]

Wait a minute. Who was gathered for this discussion? And how did these women gain access? And how does Moses respond?

Moses brought their case before the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses,

“The plea of Zelophehad’s daughters is just: you should give them a hereditary holding among their father’s kinsmen; transfer their father’s share to them…”

“Further, speak to the Israelite people as follows: ‘If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall transfer his property to his daughter.

If he has no daughter, you shall assign his property to his brothers.

If he has no brothers, you shall assign his property to his father’s brothers.

If his father had no brothers, you shall assign his property to his nearest relative in his own clan, and he shall inherit it.’ This shall be the law of procedure for the Israelites, in accordance with the LORD’s command to Moses.” [Numbers 27:5-11]

God issues a general law to accommodate the five daughters. What these daughters request will benefit other women in the same situation. Daughters now take precedence over other family members when there are no sons. God extends this decree as a law for all generations.

At this point, we now have an idea of how the land will be parceled and inherited. There will be adjustments to this, but let’s talk about Zelophehad’s daughters. How did they manage the gumption to stand before the male leaders of the community?

Let’s begin to answer this with comments from the rabbis. In Bava Batra 119b, the rabbis are in the midst of discussing the biblical laws of inheritance, and then turn their attention to the daughters of Zelophehad:

“The Sages taught: The daughters of Zelophehad are wise, they are interpreters of verses, and they are righteous.”

The rabbis go on to explain how they displayed each of these characteristics:

“That they are wise can be seen from the fact that they spoke in accordance with the moment, i.e., they presented their case at an auspicious time [bringing it up during a Torah study session with Moses] … That they are interpreters of verses can be seen from the fact that they were saying: If our father had had a son, we would not have spoken [as they are able to read the text carefully and generate their own insights] … That they are righteous can be seen from the fact that they did not rush to marry, but rather waited to marry those fit for them [and, even marrying later in life, they were able to conceive successfully] …”

As Dr. Sara Ronis points out in her commentary about the daughters of Zelophehad, these women were exceptional for their knowledge of Torah, their ability to interpret Torah, and they knew their worth – and were willing to wait to find their life partner.

These five sisters were able to find their voice and speak up for themselves. They were assertive, but not aggressive; they were smart, and also showed enthusiasm, optimism, and a willingness to speak up for themselves – and for other women finding themselves in a similar circumstance.

In our Torah portion, we know the name of their father – Zelophehad; we know their names: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. But we don’t know the name of their mother… and what might she have had to do with this?

How do young women develop a strong sense of identity and an “I can do this” attitude? In her advice to mothers of teenage girls, Dr. Sylvia Rimm, psychologist and parenting specialist, has written: “You can’t anoint your daughter with self-esteem. She has to earn it independently. You can, however, encourage her, cheer her on and help her understand that accomplishing excellence in any area takes major effort… Parents who believe in their daughters’ abilities and encourage perseverance, initiative and independence, help them to become I CAN Girls.”

I believe that Mrs. Zelophehad was quite a special woman to have raised such fine daughters. No, she didn’t have Dr. Rimm to turn to for parenting advice, and she didn’t have the rabbis to tell her how wise and righteous her daughters were. But I believe she was encouraging, she cheered on her daughters, and helped them find their inner strengths to become the exceptional women they were. I believe Mrs. Zelophehad was very proud of her girls.
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***** Special Note: As it happens, I offer this D’var Torah in loving memory of my mother, Sydel Coslow, whose eighth yahrzeit this year corresponds to this week’s Torah portion. She was a kind and loving mother who, along with my father, Maurice, raised two I CAN daughters… who in turn raised I CAN daughters and sons… who in turn are raising I CAN daughters and sons… L’dor va’dor… What can I say? We had great models. May my parents’ memories be for a blessing.

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Enid C. Lader (AJR ’10) is the Rabbi Emerita at Beth Israel – The West Temple in Cleveland, Ohio. She serves on the AJR Board of Directors, and is the visiting rabbi for the Jewish residents of Kendal at Oberlin, a senior community. She and her husband, Harry, enjoy the blessings of grown children, grandchildren, and retirement.