MATTOT-MASEI 5778
THE FIVE DAUGHTERS – WHO MAY THEY WED?
July 12, 2018
29 Tammuz 5778
And the Lord said to Moses, the plea of Zelophehad's (five) daughters is just. You shall give them a hereditary holding among their fathers' kinsmen. Transfer their father's share to them [Numbers 27: 6].
So Moses, at the Lord's bidding, said: The plea of the tribe is just… No inheritance of the Israelites may pass over from one tribe to another; the Israelites must remain bound each to the ancestral portion of his tribe. Every daughter who inherits a share must marry someone from a clan of her father's tribe [ibid 36: 5-8].
This Shabbat, we conclude the Book of Numbers in which is recounted many of the events that took place during the 40 years desert trek. Numbers concludes with the Israelites encamped east of the Jordan and awaiting the Divine command to cross over the river and begin the conquest of Eretz Yisrael. This final Torah portion, Masei (Lit: Journeys) begins with a concise review of the many encampments during the 40 years in the desert. The book then concludes with a description of the boundaries of Eretz Yisrael, thereby indicating to the community the land available to them that would be proportionally distributed to each tribe.
The prospect of this allotment led to a petition by the leaders of the tribe of Manasseh. They accepted the Divine ruling in the earlier chapter of Numbers that the daughters of Zelophehad were entitled to inherit their father's portion of land. The tribal elders were concerned that, were these women to marry out of the tribe, their future husbands would ultimately inherit the land, thereby significantly reducing Manasseh's tribal allotment.
God's response was immediate and direct. The sisters were entitled to their father's inheritance, but to ensure the integrity of their tribe's portion, they were to marry only within the tribe, and Numbers concludes that they did marry accordingly.
The five sisters are celebrated as the first suffragettes. Their insistence was that it was both their privilege and their right to assure that their father's name be preserved in the tribal rolls. God was clear that the sisters' claim was legitimate, relevant and reasonable. This was a triumph of individual rights. Subsequently, while what was given in chapter 27 was not revoked, in chapter 36, the sisters' options were clearly limited.
It was clearly in their interest to marry, raise families and transmit their father's legacy to their children and, through them, to the generations that followed. Yet, their freedom of movement was constrained; they could choose only husbands from their own tribe.
These days, we are focused on the tension between individual rights and community expectations and needs. The ongoing drama surrounding the forthcoming confirmation hearings of Judge Kavanaugh will unfold in the context of the decades' long debate regarding Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision affirming a woman's right to affect the fetus embedded with her.
The ongoing debate focuses on the community's right (and duty?) to "protect the unborn" at all costs regardless of the will of the pregnant woman. Should we allow community values to prevail over the right of an individual? While, at first glance, the Biblical resolution of the Sisters of Zelophehad case affirms individual rights, these are clearly subject to the tribal community's needs and concerns. That case was settled by Divine fiat: the sisters were to restrict their marital options to men of their tribe. Obviously, there are those who would resolve the current Roe v. Wade controversy by quoting Divine fiat, but no Heavenly voice has clearly interceded in this ongoing and polarizing debate.
As Americans we cherish individual rights. The tension arises when these rights are perceived by others as running counter to the common good. Sadly, in the current intensely polarized climate, each side perceives itself to be in a zero sum game. In resolving the case of the Five Daughters, God affirmed that both the daughters and the tribal community had legitimate rights and peaceful progress was possible only if both sides agreed to some concessions and compromises. Hopefully, a modicum of good will and good sense will help fashion a contemporary compromise that will prove to be a true blessing for our polarized society.
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From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and blessing.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
PINCHAS 5778
WALKING HUMBLY BEFORE GOD
July 5, 2018
22 Tammuz 5778
Pinchas, Aaron's grandson and Moses' great-nephew, is furious about the flagrant violation of the sanctuary precincts by Zimri, the head of the tribe of Simeon, as he engaged in sexual activity with a Midianite Princess. With the elders stymied in their response, Pinchas took spear in hand and impaled the sinning Israelite and his consort. God commends Pinchas for "being zealous in my behalf" and extends to him the covenant of peace. Leaving aside the ambiguity of this Divine promise, the Torah clearly praises Pinchas' total devotion to God.
The rabbinic tradition, however, has a more nuanced evaluation of Pinchas' action. It was the Rabbis' experience that zealotry often has tragic results. Hence, their choice of the prophetic selection (haftarah) this past Shabbat concludes with the question posed by the prophet Micah: what does God require of us but to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly before the Lord our God (Micah 6:8).
Justice and mercy are often in tension. Justice demands unwavering respect for the law and total obedience to its dictates. Mercy, on the other hand, challenges us to be sensitive to the impact law will have upon those in need of special consideration. This drama of conflicting values is currently playing out on our Mexican border as large numbers of asylum-seekers seek entry into the United States. The harsh and merciless response, separating children from their parents and detaining them in special facilities, was highly condemned.
Micah's formulation challenges us to walk humbly before God. He urges us not to lose sight of the human being before our eyes. To be sure this places us in an awkward position since we can find all sorts of reasons to exclude the stranger. Yet, humility hopefully leads to the empathy that opens our hearts to those in legitimate need of asylum and safety.
As Jews, our history should sensitize us to this issue. It was 80 years ago, July 1938, that the leading democracies convened at Evian-les-Bans, France to discuss the Jewish refugee problem. With increasing numbers of Jews fleeing persecution by Nazi Germany, the participating nations debated how to open the doors to what was clearly an endangered population. Theodore Achilles, then a young diplomat in the American Embassy in London, summed up the conference's shameful conclusion, "No one wants any more Jews." This merciless closed-door policy clearly added to the number of Jews who sadly perished during the Holocaust.
The American position then was clear. Our immigration laws then in effect were to be strictly enforced; it was a view of justice that trumped a basic commitment to mercy. There was a concern that major hordes of outsiders invading our borders would drain our economy and challenge our carefully created American culture. The hardliners were no less zealous in their embrace of the law than was Pinchas in his day
Yesterday (Wednesday) we celebrated American independence. Hopefully we reflected upon the determination of our founding personalities who in the Declaration of Independence confirmed that all "men" are created equal. The goal of our Republic since those words were penned was to expand the definition of "men" to include all citizens regardless of socioeconomic status, religion, color or ethnic origin.
As a nation, we are still in the process of becoming. We are consistently evolving and, hopefully, fairness and an open heart will help us traverse the tricky divide between justice and mercy. For the prophet Micah, the ultimate challenge God places before us is to never close our eyes before human beings in need of help and support who are standing before us.
Micah had it right. The extent to which his teaching is embraced by our culture will determine the quality of our national life.
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From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and blessing.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman