Family

Pinchas

Numbers 25:10 - 30:1

Précis: This parasha begins with a reward for Pinchas’ zealotry in slaying the offending adulterers at the conclusion of the previous parasha. (His reward: the hereditary High Priesthood for his family). The parasha continues with a second census conducted by Moses, with war being declared against Midian. The laws of inheritance are amended to provide, at least in certain cases, for daughters to inherit their fathers’ estates. Joshua is appointed the successor to Moses as leader of the People. The parasha then shifts to details of daily sacrifices, offerings for the new moon, and Festivals.

Numbers 27:1-4   “And the daughters of Zelophehad… came forward… The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stood in front of Moses, saying, ‘Our father died in the wilderness…and he had no sons… Give us a possession among our father’s kinsmen....’”

When we look at Biblical narrative, one can easily see it as a story of sibling rivalry, generation after generation. (I remember being called on the carpet by a rabbi as a teenager when I said that certain parts of the Joseph saga revealed a “dysfunctional family”). But when we look objectively, from the story of Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Leah and Rachel  to Joseph and his brothers, the inability of siblings to get along is almost startling. (It is most telling that the unique positive relationship between Menashe and Ephraim is cited by the Sages as one of the reasons that we bless our children by hoping that they can be like that particular set of brothers!)

The rivalries between siblings is most commonly characterized by a fight between an individual’s wants and desires while he or she ignores the harmful, hurtful impact on the other sibling. In this light, the story in this week’s parasha about Zelophehad's daughters takes on a unusual and important aspect. The sisters act together to obtain a common goal, a point reinforced by the text’s specific inclusion of each of the individual names of daughters. Each daughter merits individual mention because their ability to work for the collective good is rare in Biblical narrative. Their ultimate success in securing a mutual inheritance occurs only because they work together.

We remember these names not only because their descendants inherited a portion of tribal land. More importantly, we recall their names because of their dedication to the essential Jewish values of family togetherness and cooperation. Their story thereby remains an inspiration to us all.