Parshat Pinchas brings us together with a story of female power. The story of the daughters of Zelophehad takes place in the desert at the time of Hashem’s commandment to Moshe to divide the land into inheritances for each household in Am Israel. Zelophehad, from the tribe of Menashe (son of Joseph), died in the desert and had five daughters. According to the inheritance distribution system, only sons would inherit an estate from their father, while daughters would join their husband’s estate.
The daughters of Zelophad, who were not yet married, understood that they were not going to receive a part of their tribal estate, and they approached Moshe: “Our father died in the desert… Why should our father’s name be removed from his family, because he has no son? Give us a possession, among our father’s brothers.” Moshe brings the question before the Lord and indeed, Hashem states that the law is that the daughters of the deceased come before the brother of the deceased in the order of inheritance.
Many midrashim have been written about this empowering story, I will mention some of them that show how the Sages praise the daughters of Zelophehad and their female strength and power, as well as humility and the deepest connection to the Land of Israel.
The courage to step up and ask:
Our Sages praise the daughters of Zelophehad for simply raising the issue. They see it as a clean and pure desire to reach the true meaning of Hashem’s will regarding their situation. They understand this from the very answer of God, “כן בנות צלפחד דוברות [(I) agree to the words of the daughters of Zelophehad]” with the word כן also meaning honesty. Zelophehad’s girls show us to not to be afraid to ask questions. Thoughts like: “I won’t get it anyways” or “I’m not smart enough for this” paralyze us from asking, and we prefer to stay silent, instead of getting answers to everything. Rashi writes about these verses: “This Parsha was worthy of being written by Moshe Rabbeinu, except that the daughters of Zelophehad merited and it was written by them.” Our Sages explain that what they did for this merit was simply getting up and asking. This story strengthens us to ask and reach true answers.
Humility is contagious:
Reish Lakish claims in the Gemara that Moshe Rabeinu would have known the answer for their question. But he explains that the daughters of Zelophehad brought this question before their local Torah Judges, the ministers of 10’s. Once they had realized that there was no instruction from Moshe in this particular case, they told the girls that this was a question for a higher authority and sent them to the ministers of the fifty. The ministers of 50 told the daughters of Zelophehad that this was a question for a higher authority, and so they went higher up to the ministers of 100, 1000, the elders, and finally were brought before Moshe himself. Moshe saw that his predecessors did not want to answer this question because they respected the authority and knowledge that was greater than theirs, and in turn, although Moshe knew the answer, he also asked the Almighty, in order to show the greatness of Hashem and the importance of humility to everyone. The daughters of Zelophad created a situation in which humility “infected” everyone in such a beautiful way.
For all there is a time:
It is known that the cycle of time and women is a bond that cannot be disconnected, thanks to the physiological structure in which the woman’s body was created. It also seems here that the connection between time and the feminine abilities is not by coincidence. The wisdom of the daughters of Zelophehad to ask their question in the right time, is a wisdom that the Sages praise them for. The midrash calls Zelophehad’s daughters “wise and righteous”. What was their special wisdom? Right when the Torah mentiones Moshe’s involvement in dividing the land into household inheritances, Zelophehad’s daughters decide that this is the right time to bring up this matter. The ability to not push off an important topic, while not bringing it up too soon, is truly a balance to admire.
We learn from the story of the daughters of Zelophehad that the wisdom to ask questions with humility, modesty and at the right time is the key to building another level of empowerment. Precisely what seems to be the “opposite” of strength, humility and asking questions, is what is interpreted at the end of the act as a great initiative. Thanks to the wisdom of the daughters of Zelophehad, it can be said that they merited an inheritance, a home. Therefore, the phrase “Women’s wisdom has built her house” can be linked to the wisdom of the daughters of Zelophehad and their special connection with the Land of Israel, not only any house – THE home.
Shabbat Shalom,
Yiska Guberman and the JET Team
