Does anyone think feminism was conceived in the 1960s? Long before anyone dreamed of it, the very first feminists appeared in the Bible. And they make their dramatic entry in this week’s Torah reading, Pinchas.
As the discussions began concerning the future distribution of the promised land to the 12 tribes of Israel, five sisters approached Moses with a request. They were the daughters of Tzelafchad, and their father died without any sons to inherit his share. They were quite direct, even demanding, in their dialogue with Moses. “Our father died here in the desert … he had no sons. Why should our father’s name be omitted from his family because he had no son? Give us a possession of the land together with our father’s brothers.”
Moses himself was uncertain as to what the law was, so he approached the Almighty directly. Indeed, God gave Moses a new chapter in the laws of inheritance. “If a man dies and has no son, you should transfer his inheritance to his daughter.”
And so it was for posterity that women were empowered in Jewish law. But it wasn’t until those five sisters took the initiative and approached Moses with their request.
The obvious question is, why did they have to make their demands at all? Why didn’t God give that law when He gave Moses the basic laws of inheritance? Why did it have to wait for these sisters to come and be bold and strident enough to state their case? Surely, it should have been included in the laws from the very beginning.
And the answer advanced by our sages is that there are times when God waits to see if we really want something. How important is it to us? How genuine is our longing for it? Only when we demonstrate our sincere desire does He respond in kind.
There is a similar situation earlier in Chapter 9 of the book of Numbers. Some people could not participate in the Paschal offering through no fault of their own, and they, too, approached Moses, using almost the same words as the daughters of Tzelafchad, “Why should we lose out?” So there, God gave Moses the law of the Second Passover. Why did it have to wait for those people to come and make their demands? For the very same reason. God was waiting to see if they truly desired it.
Of course, God always knows our thoughts and desires even before we express ourselves. Yet, He decided that this should be the paradigm.
This same idea expresses itself in many areas of life. “God helps those who help themselves” is an old proverb with much truth. God does not want us to wait for Him to make things happen. We must do whatever we can, and He will surely respond and bring the project to fruition. “And God will bless you in all that you do,” it says in Deuteronomy (15:18). Yes, He will bless us, but we must do our part first. While we fully believe in miracles, we may not rely on them.
In Pirke Avot, “Ethics of the Fathers” (2:6), Hillel taught, “The bashful cannot learn.” If we are too shy to ask a question, we will never find the answers we are looking for. Or, as a colleague once told me, “The only stupid question is the one that doesn’t get asked.” We need to take the initiative.
My son was once taught a valuable lesson by a master fundraiser in Cape Town, South Africa. He told my son, “Do you know why people don’t give tzedakah? Because nobody asks them!”
In dealing with synagogue committees throughout my rabbinic career, I discovered, to my detriment, that “if you don’t ask, you don’t get.” It wasn’t in my nature. I never enjoyed asking for myself, but sadly, such is the reality.
I sit on the board of a Jewish day school system in Johannesburg. We are currently looking to fill the position of principal in one of our schools. We’ve interviewed several candidates. One that we let go was because, in the words of one of our board members, “They didn’t want it enough.” We didn’t see any passion for the position. It’s an important quality in achieving success.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, more familiarly known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, took pleasure from children chanting, “We want Moshiach now!” The Rebbe wanted kids to sing it frequently, to cry out, to demand the coming of the messiah. He explained that in English, the word “want” isn’t only a desire or a craving, but a need. Where there is a want, something is lacking. Wanting Moshiach means that we have a void in our lives without him. If we show God that we really do want Moshiach and we want him now, then hopefully He will respond.
God wanted to know that the women longed for a share in the Land of Israel. When the daughters of Tzelafchad demonstrated that they did, it was given to them immediately.
