Tzelofhad's Daughters

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  1. The Daughters of Tzelofhad

    Shani Taragin |

    The story of Tzelofhad's daughters introduces five sisters who turn to the patriarchal leadership seeking to preserve the name of their deceased father. Their claim - "why should our father's name be omitted" (למה יגרע שם אבינו) parallels another claim brought in an earlier chapter of BeMidbar. The people who were impure due to contact with the dead approach Moshe with the same terminology - למה נגרע - regarding their inability to offer the Pessah sacrifice due to their impure state. The link between the two stories leads to the conclusion that Tzelofhad's daughters are correct, and their positive initiative is accepted. 

  2. Erev Shabbat Parshat Pinchas - Pinchas, Yehoshua, and Bnot Tzlofchad

    Rabbi Ezra Bick | 20 minutes

    A few personalities are prominent in Parashat Pinhas: Pinhas, Yehoshua, and Bnot Tzlofchad.  We examine different opinions of the meaning of God establishing a "Brit Shalom" - "covenant of peace" with Pinhas. Was this a correcction for a problematic trait, or a badge of honor for orchestrating peace between Bnei Yisrael and God? 

    We take a look at a midrash about the elders' response to Yehoshua as Moshe's successor: Moshe shines like the sun,but Yehoshua shines like the moon.  Is this a negative reflection of Yehoshua or a negative reflection on others, seeing that Yehoshua, a more "regular" person than Moshe, was nevertheless able to reach enormous heights through his dedication and hard work?

    Finally, we look at the example of the Daughters of Tzlofchad, as well as other women in the desert generation (according to the midrash), who exemplified love and dedication to God and to the Land of Israel, who "fixed the breach in the fence" in the relationship between God and Israel. 

  3. Mattot - Masei: Are Tribal Divisions a Good thing?

    Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 15 minutes

    In last week’s parsha (Pinhas), the Daughters of Tzelofhad ask for a land portion in order to contine their father’s name. This week, their kinsmen come, and express their concern and desire to ensure that their tribal lands  stay within the tribe. The solution offered is that the daughters of Tzelofhad are to marry within their tribe. But this raises difficulties: what if they were married? Was this merely a temporary provision, before the actual land distribution? What would be so terrible about land moving from tribe to tribe? Is the notion of the tribe too particularist to map on to concepts we know today?

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  4. The Daughters of Tzelofhad

    Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky

  5. The Significance of Tzelofhad not Joining Korach

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  6. “The Daughters of Tzelofchad Speak Rightly”?!

    Rabbi Gad Eldad

    The appeal by the daughters of Tzelofchad to Moshe arouses empathy in the casual reader who is glad when they receive a positive response. The daughters of Tzelofchad belong to a venerable list of figures who, faced with the letter of the law that was to their detriment, did not resign themselves but rather took up their fight – and won.

    However, a comparative review of the different situations reveals a more accurate perspective of how the Torah directs us to view them.

     

    Translated by Kaeren Fish