GUIDELINES FOR RABBIS
The story of the daughters of Tslafchad also has lessons for the rabbis who are the gatekeepers responsible for selecting which changes come in and which are shut out, which are Torah, and which are not. Some of these teachings are discussed in Midrashim and commentaries, while others are surmised by the absence of negative comment.
1
Conspicuously absent is any criticism from Moshe himself, as well as from later commentaries regarding the gender appropriateness of their action. No one even hints that they stepped out of bounds when they came before the entire congregation and publicly presented their petition before Moshe and the elders.
2
Also conspicuously absent is any sign that the rabbis felt personally threatened by their assertiveness or intellectual prowess.
3
The contrast is poignant. While the men were calling for mutiny, abandoning Israel and preparing to turn back to Egypt (Num. 14:4),[9] the daughters of Tslafchad kept their sights forward and asked for their own piece of the land.
Moshe inquired after their strength of faith and they said, “When the people are abandoning Your Torah (i.e. the men turning back to Egypt) that is the time to intensify one’s commitment to service of G‑d” (Ps. 119:126 ).[10]
The Midrash then cites an example that supports the principle from Ps. 119: cited by the daughters of Tslafchad. The story concerns a young Jewish woman captive who became the maidservant of a Syrian general.[11] Her knowledge of all the detailed laws of leprosy enabled her to engineer a great public sanctification of G‑d, His people and His Torah. The Midrash wonders how this woman became so educated in such an esoteric matter of law, especially at a time when even the men had abandoned learning.
The Midrash answers that she learned in her father’s house that “When the people are abandoning the Torah [one makes use of every resource at one’s disposal, even presumably the women] to strengthen the remnant that holds strong to the service of G‑d” (again Ps. 119:126, but inverted), (Sifri Zutra 27:1, YS Pinchas 27).[12]
Since we are now in a time of national crisis with Jews assimilating at a frighteningly rapid rate, the faith and intellectual strength of women is a resource we cannot squander. There are women in this generation who are deeply rooted in love and fear of G‑d, and who possess a strength of mind and love of Torah that can be of great service to the Jewish people. This Midrash implies that in such circumstances, “It is a time to act for G‑d” and empower women wherever halakhah permits. If a law is clear and closed, so be it. But if the law has room to expand, then the Midrash argues for empowering women to serve their people with all of their G‑d given gifts.
4
The daughters of Tslafchad began their petition to Moshe with the following words, “Our father died in the wilderness…he died in his sin…”[13] The Midrashim bring several opinions about which of the sins recounted in the Israelites’ forty year sojourn through the desert was the one that caused Tslafchad’s demise. The Zohar presents an opinion based on the equivalency of two words, מדבר (desert) and מדבר (to speak). It then substitutes the latter for the former and rereads the verse above not as, “Our father died in the desert,” but rather, “Our father died as a result of his speech (בדיבור)… He didn’t guard his mouth and spoke improperly against Moshe…[14] Consequently Tslafchad’s daughters were afraid that Moshe might hold a grudge against them and not rule objectively because of his bias… Moshe understood their concern…and brought their case before G‑d…instead of deciding on his own. (Zohar 3:205b, based on Hebrew translation, מתוק מדבש by R. Daniel Parish)
