Parshat Masai
We live at a time when women’s place in Torah learning and active
participation in community life is in a state of transformation. Many Jewish
women, although passionately religious, are not satisfied with the traditional
roles of Jewish women. They no longer accept limitations to their expression of
Jewish ritual, and they request equal legal rights to take responsibility and
participate in every aspect of Jewish community life, including the halachic
decision-making process. We are in the process of clarifying the Torah
parameters which allow a paradigm shift in the status of Jewish women. In this
process, we need to ask ourselves as Orthodox Jewish women, how to follow the
Torah path in engendering positive change, without infringing on the halachic
authority of the tradition. The daughters of Tzelafchad can serve as role
models for the accepted way for women to take responsibility in bringing about
the necessary change that allows women greater leeway of expression in Judaism.
These five sisters came before Moshe to request a portion of the land of Israel
as an inheritance, since their father had passed away without leaving behind
any sons. Not only was their request fulfilled, but moreover, the Torah and the
Talmud praise the daughters of Tzelafchad for being wise, learned and
righteous. From the daughters of Tzelafchad, we can glean the proper guidelines
for how women can affect the necessary change in women’s roles, within the
framework of halacha. These five righteous sisters
got together to present their petition, that their father’s land inheritance
should be transferred to his daughters since he passed away without any sons.
When they came before the entire congregation, publicly presenting their
petition before Moshe and the elders, no one even hints that they stepped out
of line as women. Not only were they not criticized for venturing forward to
address the male Rabbis, but they were even praised for their bold request.
Wise, Righteous and Learned
תלמוד בבלי מסכת בבא בתרא דף קיט/ב תנא בנות צלפחד חכמניות הן דרשניות הן
צדקניות הן חכמניות הן שלפי שעה דברו דא”ר שמואל בר רב יצחק מלמד שהיה משה רבינו
יושב ודורש בפרשת יבמין שנאמר כי ישבו אחים יחדו אמרו לו אם כבן אנו חשובין תנה
לנו נחלה כבן אם לאו תתיבם אמנו מיד ויקרב משה את משפטן לפני ה’. דרשניות הן שהיו
אומרות אילו היה [לו] בן לא דברנו …אפילו היה בת לבן לא דברנו. צדקניות הן
שלא נישאו אלא להגון להן:
It is taught that the daughters of Tzelafchad were
wise, learned and righteous. They were wise since they knew to speak at the
proper time. Rabbi Shmuel, son of Rabbi Yitzchak, teaches that Moshe Rabbeinu
was in the middle of teaching the section dealing with levirate marriage: “If
brothers abide together...” (Devarim 25:5). They said to him, if we are
considered as a son, give us a portion in the land like a son, if not then let
our mother be taken in levirate marriage. Moshe then immediately brought their
cause before Hashem. They were learned since they said if he had a son, we
wouldn’t have spoken...even if he had a daughter of a son we wouldn’t have
spoken. They were righteous since they didn’t marry except those who were
befitting them (Babylonian Talmud, Baba Batra 119b).
Wisdom: The
Secret of Proper Timing
A person gains continuation in the world through
his children and through his land, which is the outer manifestation of his
soul. The fruits on the trees, which he planted, are like his children – his
continuation in the world. If a person passes away without children, he has no
continuation. The children continue the work of their parents. The children
begin where their parents left off, rectifying their unsolved issues and
problems. There are two ways in which a person’s name is carried on even after
death. One is levirate marriage (yibum)
– where the brother of the deceased or his closest relative marries his widow.
Their child will be called in the name of the deceased. The second way is when
the deceased transfers his heritage to his offspring. The father’s name will be
remembered through his field which is passed on to his children. As it states, “…to raise up the name of
the dead upon his inheritance” (Ruth 4:5). The daughters knew to
speak at the proper time, when Moshe and the elders were learning about
Levirate marriage. Each moment comes with its own lights and possibilities of
transformation. The daughters of Tzalafchad understood the secret of timing. It
is a deeply intuitive wisdom. From their example, we derive an essential
principle: one must wait for the moment when an injustice or wrong attitude
impacts upon the physical plane and blocks the path of truth for someone who is
ready, now, to travel that path. The daughters waited to present their case
until the precise moment when channels aligned to facilitate the needed change
(Sarah Yehudit Shneider). We must learn the secret of proper timing from the
daughters of Tzelafchad. The revelation of the Feminine Divine Presence goes
hand in hand with the revelation of the feminine light. However, imminently
before the birth, there is often a very strong urge to push. Giving in to this urge, before its time, may
have detrimental consequences. This was the case with B’nei Efraim, who
hastened the end and left Egypt prematurely. We must balance the dichotomy of רָצוֹ וָשׁוֹב – “running and
returning” – Going forward in the dynamic process of change, yet returning
and staying connected with the roots of our tradition. This inner process must
temper our urge to push forward and guide us on the way of renewal, as it
states, חָדָשׁ יָמֵינוּ
כְּקֶדֶם/chadesh yameinu ke’kedem
– “Renew our days as of old” (Eicha 5:21).
Learned: Able to Separate Between
Personal Interest and the Truth of The Torah
The daughters claimed: If we do not inherit our
father’s land, it would seem as if females are not considered offspring.
Therefore, shouldn’t our mother be taken in levirate marriage? If you give us our inheritance, then our
father’s name will carry on. Otherwise, let our mother be taken in levirate
marriage, so that our father’s name won’t be lost. Only because their father
never had a son, did they have an argument from the section about levirate
marriage (yibum). Had their father had a son, even if this son had died
and only left a daughter, the daughter of the son would exempt their mother
from levirate marriage. Therefore, it would not have been Tzalafchad’s
daughters preventing their mother from yibum and for this reason they would
have no argument that the inheritance should be passed on to them (Tosfot, Baba
Batra 119b). The daughters were learned since they acknowledged that they
would have no right to speak, had their father had a son or even a son’s
daughter. They were able to learn out the intricate law, even when it went
against their own personal interests. This exemplifies the ultimate ideal of
Torah scholarship, that entails putting the objective truth before the
slightest tinge of self-interest. All the halachot, established throughout the
generations, were decided by the great people of the generation, who were able
to separate between their personal interest and the
truth of the Torah. For this ability, the daughters are praised by being
called דַּרְשָׁנִיּוֹת /darshaniot – masters of textual analytical skill.
Righteousness: Ultimate
Self-sacrifice
Before making their petition, the daughters of
Tzelafchad cleansed themselves of any ulterior motives or attachment to
anything less than truth (based on Targum Yonatan, Bamidbar 27:1).
Although they hoped for a favorable outcome, they gave the matter up to G-d and
cleansed themselves of any desire other than to fulfill G-d’s highest will for
them and for all concerned. We to can affirm our commitment through prayer,
“G-d not my will but yours be done. If my labor serves you, please prosper its
path and if not, please block itand let me know as gently as possible how to
adjust my course.” This methodology of
attitude practiced in good faith by all parties, will draw the unfolding of
G-d’s highest will into the halachic discourse generated by our times (Sarah
Yehudit Shneider). Often our petitions and requests are colored by
self-interest. We may not even be aware ourselves that our idealistic words may
be rationalizations, and what we truly care about is our own comfort. The fact
that the daughters of Tzelafchad with great self-sacrifice chose to marry
within their own tribe proves that their petition indeed emanated from holy
intentions. They requested an inheritance for the sake of the continuation of
their father’s name, in order that his soul should have an eternal, physical
manifestation by means of his spiritual inheritance of the land. Had they
afterwards married men from other tribes, their father’s land would have passed
from his eternal, spiritual possession to the tribe of their husbands. This
would have indicated that their request was merely a rationalization for their
personal desire to grab land for themselves, G-d forbid. “Rabbi Eliezer son of
Ya’acov taught, even the youngest among them did not marry before she turned
40…” (Babylonian Talmud, Baba Batra 119b). The fact that they were
willing to wait until the age where they risked being too old for having their
own children, proved the complete altruistic intentions of their petition. This
self-sacrifice is hinted in the beginning of their story: וַתִּקְרַבְנָה בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד – “The daughters of Tzelafchad came close” (Bamidbar
27:1). The word וַתִּקְרַבְנָה/vatikravna is related קָרְבָּן/korban – ‘sacrifice.’ The daughters were willing to
sacrifice their own future by only marrying within their tribe.
Only in That Generation
במדבר פרק לו פסוק ו זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ לִבְנוֹת צְלָפְחָד לֵאמֹר לַטּוֹב
בְּעֵינֵיהֶם תִּהְיֶינָה לְנָשִׁים אַךְ לְמִשְׁפַּחַת מַטֵּה אֲבִיהֶם
תִּהְיֶינָה לְנָשִׁים: (ז) וְלֹא תִסֹּב נַחֲלָה לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמַּטֶּה
אֶל מַטֶּה כִּי אִישׁ בְּנַחֲלַת מַטֵּה אֲבֹתָיו יִדְבְּקוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
“This is the thing that Hashem
has commanded concerning the daughters of Tzelafchad. Let them marry whomever
they please, but they shall marry only within the family of their father’s
tribe. Thus, the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not be transferred
from tribe to tribe for each person from the children of Israel will
remain attached to the inheritance of his father's tribe (Bamidbar
36:6-7).
From these verses, it is not clear whether the
daughters of Tzelafchad were commanded to marry within their own tribe. The
Talmud clarifies as follows: “Shemuel said, the daughters of Tzelafchad were
permitted to marry all the tribes as it states, ‘Let them marry whom they
please’ so how do we establish, ‘only within the family of the tribe of
their father shall they marry’? Scripture gave them good advice, that they
should only marry those who are fitting for them (Babylonian Talmud, Baba
Batra 120a). The daughters of Tzelafchad had full permission to choose any
marriage partners- even outside of their own tribe. However, in order to ensure
that their land would not be lost permanently from their tribe, they were
advised to marry within their tribe. The land receives its mission and shape
from the original ownership by the tribe it is assigned to, as if the land is
only born through the infusion of the soul of the particular tribe to whom it
belongs. Ba’al Turim notes that the words, זֶה הַדָּבָר/ze hadavar – ‘This is
the thing’ from our Torah verse shares the gematria of בְּדוֹר זֶה/b’dor
ze –‘in that generation.’ The advice to the daughters to marry within their
own tribe only pertained to them and their generation; otherwise, a situation
of apartheid would arise between the tribes. After the conquest of the Land of
Israel, when the portions of the tribes were established, it was no longer a
problem if the daughter would transfer her portion to the tribe of her husband.
It was vital only for the first generation that conquered the land, that each
portion be allotted according to the original Divine design.
Reframing Torah Laws to Concur with
Our Current Reality Brings Redemption
The story of the daughters of Tzelafchad and the
laws of inheriting the land conclude the traveling in the desert and the book
of Bamidbar. It occurs on the last of the 42-stage journey from Egypt to
the holy Land. Thus, its reenactment in the 6000-year scale of history will be
one of the last stages before the messianic age. This indicates that the final geulah
will be drawn down by righteous women, who are willing to employ self-sacrifice
and take risks in order to attach ourselves to the Land of Israel and reveal
new Torah laws. We can learn from the daughters of Tzelafchad how Torah laws
that seemingly denigrate women, can in truth be understood from a deeper
perspective, by researching and revealing the inner kernel of the Torah – its
eternal principle. Matters in the Torah that bother us as women cannot be
brushed away. The eternal dynamic of the Torah entails that over time, a
friction develops between the current reality and the exterior layer of the
Torah. In order to resolve this friction, rather than dismissing the Torah as
being old-fashioned, we need to reveal the inner layer of the Torah as the
daughters of Tzelafchad did. By understanding the inner dimension of the Torah,
we have an opportunity to reframe the usually accepted application of the Torah
in an appropriate way for our current reality. Yet, it is no less important to
accept that the endless depth of the Torah is beyond our limited understanding.
Since there is absolutely no way, we will ever be able to grasp it totally, we
must humbly accept even those matters in the Torah that bother us, and which we
have not yet been able to understand in a deeper way that is fully satisfactory
to us. The daughters of Tzelafchad exemplified this kind of bitul
(selfless humility) and faith in our sages when they displayed their trust in
the authority of Moshe in front of the entire congregation. They recognized the
fact that rabbis and elders are the gatekeepers of halacha, which applies
within the external world of action. However, in the internal higher worlds,
women are the leaders. This is why the geulah (redemption)–leading us
towards the internal world–is brought about by the righteous women. In geulah
times, the wellsprings are flowing outwards – יְפֻצּוּ מָעֲינוֹתֵךָ
חוּצָה/yafutzu ma’ayanoteicha chutza – as
the inner layer of the Torah must be revealed. We can speed up the redemption
process, when matters in Torah, which bother us as women, prompt us towards
revealing its inner layer. Thus, the daughters of Tzelafchad, who set the
precedent for new revelations in the Torah תּוֹרַת נָשִׁים /Torat
Nashim – ‘the Torah of women,’ paved the way for our final redemption.
