5
Although reluctant to appear in public, Tslafchad’s daughters overcame their natural modesty because their question was fundamental (Tiferet Tzion, Num. 27:2).
The daughters of Tslafchad were holding an actual piece of the written Torah and their mission was to get it accepted into the text. There is no holier priviledge than to reveal a Torah law that will influence the behavior of Jews till the end of time. The explication of beautiful insights is always a blessed task, but to originate one of the 613 mitzvot is the highest honor accorded a soul.
Though the written Torah is fixed and final, the oral Torah is alive and evolving. Each generation has new technologies and cultural phenomena with halakhic implications that have not been explored. The process of formulating questions and generating halakhic discourse is the life blood of the Jewish people. Spirit touches matter as the Torah enclothes itself in the bodies of Jews who live by the contemporary applications of Sinaic law.
Every Jew of every generation is also carrying a piece of the Torah[6] and each of them, too, must discover how to insert it into the evolving body of law and teachings called the Oral Tradition. The daughters of Tslafchad are role models for this labor.
6
Daughters: Give us a portion of the land along with our father’s brothers.
Moshe: It is impossible for a daughter to inherit.
Daughters: Why?
Moshe: You are women.
Daughters: Then let our mother enter into yibbum[7] and conceive an inheritor that way.
Moshe: Impossible. Since once there are children, yibbum is not possible.
Daughters: You are contradicting yourself, Moshe. Either we are not seed and the obligation of yibbum applies to our mother, or we are seed and can inherit the land ourselves.
At that moment they convinced Moshe. When he heard the justice of their complaint he immediately presented their case before G‑d. (YS 27)
The daughters of Tslafchad did not back down when encountering resistance. Moshe said, “no” repeatedly before he conceded to the logic of their position.
The system does not shift easily; that is its strength. It selects changes that have a momentum of belief and purity of intention that can propel them through layers of resistance. In this way the changes themselves are also purified in the process, and only those that are clean and strong get through. Similarly, a convert is refused three times. Only candidates who are driven by the non-negotiable truth of their soul will find the motivation to overcome the obstacles and claim their place among the Jewish people.
Every new concept or halakhic innovation is a “convert” of sorts. A new spark is seeking entry into the community of Israel. It, too, will be refused at least three times, but if its proponents are strong and of clean heart, it will find its way in, for no spark is ever permanently exiled. Every truth will find its way back to Torah.
7
“The daughters of Tslafchad speak rightly…” Rashi explains that G‑d was teaching through this statement that, “‘[As the daughters of Tslafchad spoke] so the section is written before Me on high.’ This informs us that their eye saw what the eye of Moshe did not see” (Num. 27:7; TY 27:7 YS, Pinchas 27; Sifri Num. 27:7).
Moshe is the greatest prophet who ever lived, and yet the daughters of Tslafchad saw something he did not see.[8] Each soul comes into the world with some specialty. Whatever its level in the hierarchy of enlightened (or unenlightened) beings there is some piece of truth that only it knows and only it can bring into the world.
A creative tension develops between the people and its leaders. On one hand, we defer to the wisdom of our elders, yet on the other hand we may know something that they do not because it is our piece of the Torah. In that case we have no choice but to engage in respectful dialogue, following the model of the daughters of Tslafchad, honoring the system, honoring our truth, and finding a way to transform personal wisdom into oral Torah. There is no other option.
8
The daughters of Tslafchad were righteous women (צדקניות). They did not marry until they were forty years old. They waited for suitors that were worthy of them (BB 119b, BR 21:11, YS Pinchas 27).
Every choice has consequences, and when the costs outweigh the gains, an option becomes less feasible. Sometimes, however, though the stakes are high there is no choice, for integrity requires that path.
G‑d designs each soul with specific talents for He wants certain revelations to come through it. He then implants a drive for self-actualization which compels it, from the inside, to fulfill its mission.
The daughters of Tslafchad developed themselves in certain ways that would narrow their options of appropriate marriage partners. Their exceptional intellect and strength of integrity put them in a category that was not easily matched. And yet, our sages call them righteous because they were willing to pay this price for authenticity, because they refused to compromise the precious gifts that G‑d had given them.
