While the name of this week’s parsha connotes the famous Biblical story of Pinchas’ zealotry, the Torah portion also contains a lesser known narrative. The daughters of Zelofchad, perturbed by the current inheritance laws, present their case to Moses. “Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he had no son? Give unto us a possession among the brethren of our father."[i]
This request parallels another story earlier in Numbers, where the origins of the holiday of Pesach Sheini are narrated. The request of the ritually impure Israelites, “'We are unclean by the dead body of a man; wherefore are we to be kept back, so as not to bring the offering of the LORD in its appointed season among the children of Israel?[ii]”, mirrors the request of Zelofchad’s daughters.
These stories share multiple similarities. Both Zelofchad’s daughters and the ritually impure Israelites are impeded from performing mitzvoth and view this hindrance as a challenge. Both parties initiate their claim to enable their fulfillment of mitzvoth, as opposed to lessening their service to God (Hebrew root g-r-a). The daughters of Zelofchad wish to preserve their family’s name through inheriting the land, while the ritually impure Israelites wish to participate in the Passover sacrifice. In both cases, the specific rulings regarding the respective cases are not obvious to Moshe, and require God’s participation. God grants the requests of both groups, and demands that subsequent laws are permanently retained. In both stories, the reactions of the groups (to the rulings) are not described, hinting to the reader that these stories embody laws and lessons greater than the simple narratives imply.
These stories share multiple similarities. Both Zelofchad’s daughters and the ritually impure Israelites are impeded from performing mitzvoth and view this hindrance as a challenge. Both parties initiate their claim to enable their fulfillment of mitzvoth, as opposed to lessening their service to God (Hebrew root g-r-a). The daughters of Zelofchad wish to preserve their family’s name through inheriting the land, while the ritually impure Israelites wish to participate in the Passover sacrifice. In both cases, the specific rulings regarding the respective cases are not obvious to Moshe, and require God’s participation. God grants the requests of both groups, and demands that subsequent laws are permanently retained. In both stories, the reactions of the groups (to the rulings) are not described, hinting to the reader that these stories embody laws and lessons greater than the simple narratives imply.
While the book of Numbers is set in the desert, both of these stories serve as bridges that span the desert-Israel transformation for the Israelites. Both of these requests, one regarding the Passover ritual, reminiscent of the Israelites’ redemption from Egypt and the formation of the Jewish nationality, and the other involving inheritance in the new land, incorporate central tenets of the Israel experience for the Israelites. Contrasted with the spies’ reluctance to enter Israel, these stories enlighten us about the Israelites’ passionate desire to form a permanent nation, solidified via rituals and land claims.
Additionally, the merits of taking initiative are not lost on the reader. Both parties are considered to have been rewarded via the amendments of earlier laws in order that others will be able to participate extensively as well. Rashi also claims that both parties were rewarded by having these laws revealed through the respective narratives of their requests, as opposed to simply recording Moses’ declaration of the law[iii]. The desire to create and secure opportunities to worship God via the complete fulfillment of the commandments allows us to appreciate the significance of actively integrating God into our own lives. We are privileged to have multiple opportunities to expand the borders of our own worship. May we capitalize on all our challenges and transform them to opportunities that will be utilized to their greatest extent to serve God and our nation.
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