Pinchas-Feinstein

Five Fatherless Women

By Rabbi Morley T. FeinsteinUniversity Synagogue, Los Angeles
Treasurer, Board of Rabbis of Southern California

Pinchas
Numbers 25:10-30:1
Haftarah: Jeremiah 1:1-2:3
July 15, 2006 / 19 Tammuz 5766

Sometimes there's an internal logic to the stories we read about in the Torah. Take the book of Numbers which describes the Jewish people enduring one adolescent crisis after another. Scouts, rebels and dissenters abound. Moses errs in choosing the wrong committee members, and the scouts' interpretation of their sites almost dooms the Jewish people in the wilderness. The scouts lose faith, and are severely punished. The rebel Korach screams and yells at Moses in front of the whole community, and never gave the leader of the Jewish people a chance to deal with his problem in private conversation. It appears to be illogical jealousy over who should lead the Jewish people, the man God chose, or the one I want, says Korach-me! And he's joined in this irrational quest by machers in the community who want to abandon Moses' leadership.

All these events provide great models of how not to act for the daughters of Zelophechad, the five fatherless women who plead their case for inheritance. Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah argue in a rational manner for their point of view. They speak with one voice, yet each is an individual. They want to protest an unjust inheritance law which would deny them their due: land their father would have received had he been alive. Every Israelite was to receive a portion when the land was divided, and the eldest of each clan, a double portion. Since their father died without bearing a son, there was no "proper" heir, and his clan would become landless. Without land, the daughters feared that their father's name would be lost, and theirs in turn.

But did they enlist the support of like-minded thinkers and attempt to embarrass Moses in a public gathering? Did they moan in the parking lot outside their school or synagogue? Did they storm a meeting to surprise Moses with their emotional challenge to his authority? Did they scream out to Moses in an email blindly copied to a host of others? No, in a rational approach, they asked Moses with a calm attitude. They neither yell nor rant nor send nasty text messages. They focus instead on the logic of their argument. Moses is so taken by their question-can't we also have a share in our father's inheritance, even if we are female?-that he immediately brings their complaint to God. And God's response is to honor their request.

By their words and their behavior the five daughters acted in a righteous manner. Resh Lakish in Talmud Sanhedrin 8a suggests that their complaint is a proper one, and that the daughters went through the proper channels. Rabbi Alan Cook suggests that "first they drew near to one another, then they consulted with their tribal chiefs, and so on up the appropriate chain of command until they reached Moses. To show appreciation of the respect that they had shown him, Moses honored them by bringing their case before God." And Rabbi Larry Kushner in his book, Five Cities of Refuge, says that the daughters distanced themselves from a rebel like Korach by saying, "'Our father was not part of Korach's group, and we, his five daughters, are not a bunch of rebels either. We have what we believe is a legitimate complaint against the present regime and therefore we request a hearing.' And of course, unlike Korach and his band, their request is granted."

I like these plucky, stalwart, valiant women. At a time when few had the ability to speak with care, at a time of discouraging words and divisive actions, these determined daughters are a model of courage, assertiveness, tact, diplomacy, and smarts. In a world plagued by too many mean words and too much impudent behavior, I hope they continue to remain an inspiration.