Pinchas
is a parasha that is close to my heart—it is my birth parsha. There are so many
ways it speaks to me personally. But this year, this week in particular, this
parasha speaks to us all.
During
the school year, I teach Torah to 7th graders. I constantly impress
upon them what I call “the magic” of the Torah—that these ancient teachings,
these stories, these precepts, have managed to speak to each generation with
relevancy for its time. And this week is one of the moments when the Torah’s
teaching come to life.
In
this parasha, there is mention, by name, of nine women—nine women. So often in the Torah we to have
look between the lines to find the stories of women in a document written in a
time of strong patriarchy, yet here, out front, nine are named, giving them a
true presence in our heritage.
We
have Cozbi bat Tzur, daughter of a Midianite chieftain, killed by Pinchas. Now,
granted, she is certainly not one to be emulated but still, she gets a name,
unlike Potiphar’s wife in the Joseph story or even Pharaoh’s daughter, who
plucked Moshe from the water.
During
the counting and the listing of the genealogies, we hear "ושם בת אשר שרח – v’shaim bat Asher,
Sarach” – The name of Asher’s daughter was Sarach. It is a name we have heard
only once before, in Genesis (46:17). Sarach is listed there as one of the 70 souls
who go to Egypt with Jacob, once Joseph’s true identity is revealed. She is the
only granddaughter of Jacob listed. We never learn anything else about her—yet
the mention of her name must note something of importance. One story is that
she is the one who told Jacob of Joseph’s survival, and lived long enough to
tell Moshe where to find Joseph’s grave in Egypt so that his remains could be
returned to the land of Israel, as he requested on his deathbed.
When
counting the clans of the Levites, we hear for the first time, the names of
Moshe’s parents—not just his father, Amram, but also his mother, Yocheved.
Yocheved is not just described as a wife or a mother, but as a Bat Levi—given
that honor in her own right. Miriam, his sister, is also named.
And
then there are the daughters of Tzelophchad, whom I have dubbed “Women with
Chutzpah” It is the story of these women that comes to the forefront today, in
this monumental week.
We
first meet the five sisters, Machlah, Noa, Chauglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, in the
list of genealogy (Num 26:33). There, we learn only that their father, Tzelophchad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh son of
Joseph—had these five daughters; he had no sons. But unlike Asher’s daughter
Sarach, we do learn more about them. After all the tribes are counted and named,
including the tribe of the Levites, their story is told.
Our
story begins (Num 27) with these five daughters of Tzelophchad, once again
mentioned by name—Machlah, Noa, Chauglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, who come forward.
They stand before Moshe, before Elazar HaCohen, before the Nese’im—the
chieftains, and before the entire Ai-dah—the entire community. They stand at
the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and state their case:
Our
father died in the wilderness. He was not part of the rebellion of Korach. And
he left no sons. למה—LAMA––WHY should his holding in the Land of Israel be lost
because of this—give us a place among our tribe. Moshe brings their case to
God.
And
God says, the words of these women are right, you should give them their place
in their tribe—transfer their father’s share of land to them. And so, God
relays these new laws of succession for the Israelites. The first of these
laws—if a man dies with no sons, his property will transfer to his daughter.
Before
the daughters of Tzelophchad spoke up, Jewish law dictated that only sons were
in line to inherit from their father—any sisters were excluded from the
inheritance. The daughters of Tzelophchad stood up to this injustice. Some
commentators note that in a time when so many of the Israelites were pining and
whining to go back to Mitzriyim, to Egypt, these women were looking forward,
wanting their portion of the Promised Land. Rashi notes that as the reason their genealogy, going back to Joseph, was
mentioned once again at this time. Just as Joseph cherished the land, wanting his
remains to rest there (Gen 50:22), these daughters of Tzelophchad were imperative
in their request for their portion –“תנה לנו אחזה בתוך אחי אבינו – t’nah lanu achuzah betoch achai
avinu" - Give us a possession as part of our family inheritance.”(Num 27:4)
Other commentators are impressed with
the manner with which the daughters of Tzelophchad
made their request. They did
not rebel, like those who stood with Korach. Reish Lakish, a 3rd
century Amorah, Talmudic rabbi, says that the women went through the channels
Moshe set up for these types of disputes on the advice of his father-in-law
Yitro—first they went to the chiefs of tens, who judged that since it was a
case concerning inheritance, it needed to go to a higher authority. They then
went to the chiefs of fifties, then hundreds, then thousands, then the
chieftains. All gave the same reply—this needs a higher authority. When the
daughters went to Elazar, he told them to go to Moshe.
So,
the daughters of Tzelophchad—Machlah, Noa, Chauglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, stood
in front of the whole community—including all the chieftains, Elazar HaCohen,
and Moshe, in a place for all to see, and stated their case. And Moshe, seeing
the deference shown both by and to these women, realized that this case needed
to be taken to his “Supreme Court”, God. God ruled in favor of the daughters of
Tzelophchad, and the law was changed. And while, as we will see next week, there
was some modification of the law, the women were granted their inheritance in
the land as stated in Joshua (17:3-6), “Ten portions fell to Manashe…because
the women of Manashe received a heritage among his sons.
These
righteous women saw the injustice they were subjected to, the denial of their
inheritance, and knew the time had come to stand up and be counted. Imagine the
courage and the chutzpah they had to have to question the patriarchal rulings
of the time. A group of five women making a claim for all to see in a time of
strong patriarchy. They stated their case with respect, and were treated with
respect. They wished to honor their father and their heritage. They showed
their desire to move forward into the land of Israel when others wished to go
backwards. Their righteousness was rewarded with an implementation of a change
from an unjust system of inheritance to one of justice. Aviva Zornberg, a
pre-eminent Torah scholar of our time, teaches that this is the first instance
of oral Torah – these women were responsible for setting Jewish law.
Fast
forward thousands of years-------
Starting
in 1989, a group of righteous women, soon dubbed the Women of the Wall, women
who simply wish to respectfully and fully pray at the Kotel, the remaining
Western Wall of the Temple, are harassed each time they go to pray. Harassed
not just with words, but with chairs thrown at them. They, like the daughters of Tzelophchad, keep going through the system, saying LAMA—WHY can we not, rightfully, partake of our
heritage. And while that struggle continues, they, like Machlah, Noa, Tirtzah,
Milcah, and Chaglah, are bringing changes to the laws.
And
then there’s Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer—two more “Women with Chutzpah” who
literally danced together through life. These two women met in 1965, and fell
in love. In 1967, Thea proposed to Edie, presenting her with a diamond
brooch instead of a ring to avoid attracting attention. In 1975, when Thea was
diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, they modified their dancing—whirling on
crutches, then a wheelchair—and remained committed to each other. In 2007, they
were finally legally married in Canada, this time with a very public
announcement. Thea died in 2009. And that beautiful, vibrant, loving 44 year
relationship was treated like it never happened.
But
Edie, in the name of Thea and their love, stood up like the daughters of
Tzelophchad, went through the system from one court to another, and this week,
the Supreme Court of our land said, “כן—YES” this women is right, this law is
wrong and it must be changed.
It
is my bond with the daughters of Tzelophchad, that makes this parasha my
parasha, but we are all a part of their inheritance. They stood up for their
rights and for equal justice. They did so with respect and with strength. As do
Anat Hoffman and the Women of the Wall. As did Edie Windsor and her lawyer,
Roberta Kaplan. And as did Wendy Davis and Leticia Van De Putte in the Texas
statehouse this week, literally standing up for women’s rights and access to
the health care they need. And as did Kris Perry and Sandy Stier who, along
with Paul Katami, Jeffrey Zarrillo and their lawyers, fought and won the right
for marriage equality in our state of California—and hopefully soon, throughout
our country.
Rabbi
Arthur Green teaches that each generation leaves a bit of their oil on the
Torah as it passes through their fingers. What happened in this country this
week will become some of that oil, bringing light and relevance to the story of
Chaglah, Machlah, Noa, Milcah, and Tirtzah—the righteous daughters of
Tzelophchad—and pass that on to the next generation of “Women—and Men—with Chutzpah.”
כן יהי רצון – Ken y’hi ratzon – May it be so
Shabbat
Shalom
One is that they are learning something new--a part of American and Jewish history they have not been exposed to before. It was great to hear a collective "that's cool" when I showed them a prayer written in Hebrew to honor the ratification of the Constitution that included an acrostic of "Washington" in Hebrew. They had also never considered that there would be Jews who were slave owners, as we considered what seders would have been like for southern Jews, speaking of their ancestors' liberation from slavery while being served by their own African-American slaves.
