Parshat Pinchas; Numbers 25:10–30:1 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Towards the end of the portion, beginning in chapter 27 of Numbers, a curious case comes before Moses. The daughters of Zelophchad come to Moses and Elezar the High Priest and all the chieftans. There they cry out for justice.

Their father, Zelophchad died without sons to inherit the property and they demand that they be given the rights of inheritance. What chutzpah! What courage! They say “Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan just because he had no sons! Give us a holding among our father’s kinsmen.”

In a time when women often had no voice and in the Bible when women often were not identified by name, this story survives. The daughters who are named—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah, demand a kind of equality that has been unheard of. The tradition has clearly favored men. Men are priests not women in ancient Israelite culture. Men seem to talk with God at this stage in the biblical story, not women. With the exception of Miriam, there are no women who are leaders or chieftains at this time in our history. So for these 5 sisters to approach Moses and the leadership and demand and equal share is nothing short of remarkable. Imagine their conversation among themselves and what it must have taken to come forward and stand before the Tent of Meeting. These 5 women are a marvelous example of Jewish women’s bravery.

Interestingly, Moses doesn’t try to decide the case by himself. He takes it to God and God rules. God declares their cause just. And so the laws of inheritance changes.

Which tells us another interesting take—that laws can change. When the injustice of a law on the book is pointed out—even God can change positions. This ought to help us understand that for a covenant, or Constitution to be a living document, one that meets the needs of the people in every generation, it is going to change. What works in one generation may not work so successfully in the next. New situations arise that haven’t been anticipated and thus must be figured out within the context of the covenantal bond or Constitutional parameters.

So we can gain important insight from these 5 strong women who had the courage to voice their concerns and bring light to an inherent injustice in the law and in their lives. May they be a shining example to us all to challenge injustice wherever we see it.

Posted by Lee at July 18, 2005 11:30 AM