Parshat Pinchas  23 Tammuz 5761, 14 July 2001

By Shlomo Riskin

Efrat, Israel - One of the most fascinating aspects of the entire Torah is the portion which deals with the case of the daughters of Tzlophad (Numbers, Chapter 27), an incident considered of such significance that it is repeated at the conclusion of the Book of Numbers as well (ibid., 36). What do we learn from these special women? Perhaps the even earlier question must be, is it indeed permissible for men to learn Torah from women in the first place?

The Bible refers to Torah as well as to the Land of Israel as morasha, a heritage. From a literal perspective, a heritage (morasha) is an inheritance (yerusha) which has the additional directive that it must be handed over from generation to generation (hif'el, causative grammatical form). Torah applies to women as well as to men: "And Moses went up to G-d, and the Lord called to him from the mountain saying, 'Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob (Rashi: this refers to the women) and shall you declare to the children of Israel (Rashi: the males)' " (Exodus 19:3). Therefore, the commandment of hakhel, to gather the Israelites once every seven years and establish a re-affirmation of the covenant, includes the women as well as the men (Deuteronomy 31:12) . And if women must learn and accept Torah (at least the Torah necessary to properly observe the commandment of G-d), then they must likewise be responsible to pass Torah down to the next generation - parent to child, teacher to student.

It is for this reason that Deborah was allowed to be one of the first Judges in Israel (Judges 4: 4,5), that Bruriah disagreed with her father Rabbi Hananya Ben Teradyon and her view is recorded (Tosefta Bava Kama 4) and that the Sefer HaHinukh rules (Negative Commandment 152) that a learned woman fit to render religio-legal decisions may do so, (Similarly rule the Hida, Birkat Yosef Hoshen Mishpat 7,12, and the Rishon LeZiyon HaRav Bakshi Doron, Binyan Av, Siman 66). To cite only one anecdotal example amongst many, when a difficult eiruv question came up before the father-in-law of Rav Shneur Zalman of Ladi, the founder of Habad Hassidut, that learned sages asked his daughter Rachel to decide the issues - despite the presence of a number of male Talmudic scholars. (Shulhan Arukh of the Rav, Orakh Haim 266, 303).

The practical Torah that we learn from the daughters of Tzlophad is that women do not only have a portion in Torah, but that they also have a portion in the Holy Land of Israel. Their particular case, which was ultimately adjudicated by the Almighty Himself because Moses did not have the answer, was that they were correct in insisting that since their father had no sons, they - the five women - were to receive their rightful portions in the Land of Israel (Numbers 27:7). And as a direct result of their vindication, the Almighty conveyed all of the laws of inheritance to Moses and Israel (ibid., 8-11). Indeed, women's inheritance rights developed from this case to such an extent that if a father bequeaths a small amount of property, it is the daughters whose sustenance and dowries must be provided for - even to the exclusion of the sons (Mishnah Ketubot 108b).

But what we really learn from the daughters of Tzlophad is true love of the Land of Israel. After all, the Bible is describing the desert generation, which has just experienced the sin of the scouts, the rebellions against Moses by Korach, Datan and Aviram, and the insolence of Zimri, Prince of the tribe of Shimon, who rendered Moses 'impotent' by publicly cohabiting with a Midianite woman. It looked as if Jewish history was coming to a close almost before it began. It was into this maelstrom of cynical disillusionment - when the majority of Israelites probably doubted that the people of Israel would ever leave the desert and inhabit the Land of Canaan - that five young women fought for their eventual rights to the Land of Israel.

Their righteous determination and their indomitable faith - both in our eventual settlement of the land as well as in the justice of their cause - defy the imagination. Imagine the energy, drive and financial outlay which must have been expended by these five orphaned women - devoid of special parentage or privilege (the Midrash even identifies their father as having been the Sabbath violator put to death for gathering wood) - in order to enable them to present their case before the Highest tribunal: Moses, and then G-d. They climbed all of the bureaucratic channels, they fought the desert - Tammany equivalent of City Hall - and they won! Only a passionate love for and faith in the Land of Israel could have inspired such spirited dedication and stubborn ingenuity.

It is on this basis that Rav Efraim Lunshitz, known as the Kli Yakar, gives the following "feminist" spin to his interpretation of the introduction to the sin of the scouts: "And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 'Send forth your men that they may scout out the land.' " (Numbers 13:1) Writes the Kli Yakar: "Since our Sages say that the men hated the Land (of Israel) and said 'let us return to Egypt' whereas the women loved the land, as they (the daughters of Tzlophad) said 'Give us an inheritance.' The Holy Blessed be He, who Knows the future, said it would be better to send women, but according to you, you (Moses) trust (your) men."

Shabbat Shalom.

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