The short story of the daughters of Tzalophchad harkens back to several important stories in the Torah, sometimes in terms of their similarity, sometimes in terms of their extreme contrast. In the text itself, we can detect at least two: the Korach story and the Pesach Sheni story, the former much more explicit than the latter. In Rabbinic literature, another story is brought to the fore: the unnamed man who was put to death for collecting wood on the Sabbath. Let's look at them and perhaps learn a thing or two in their resonance to each other.
A reminder of what happens, Numbers 27:1-8:
And see Aryeh Kaplan's translation:א וַתִּקְרַבְנָה בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד, בֶּן-חֵפֶר בֶּן-גִּלְעָד בֶּן-מָכִיר בֶּן-מְנַשֶּׁה, לְמִשְׁפְּחֹת, מְנַשֶּׁה בֶן-יוֹסֵף; וְאֵלֶּה, שְׁמוֹת בְּנֹתָיו--מַחְלָה נֹעָה, וְחָגְלָה וּמִלְכָּה וְתִרְצָה. ב וַתַּעֲמֹדְנָה לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה, וְלִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן, וְלִפְנֵי הַנְּשִׂיאִם, וְכָל-הָעֵדָה--פֶּתַח אֹהֶל-מוֹעֵד, לֵאמֹר. ג אָבִינוּ, מֵת בַּמִּדְבָּר, וְהוּא לֹא-הָיָה בְּתוֹךְ הָעֵדָה הַנּוֹעָדִים עַל-יְהוָה, בַּעֲדַת-קֹרַח: כִּי-בְחֶטְאוֹ מֵת, וּבָנִים לֹא-הָיוּ לוֹ. ד לָמָּה יִגָּרַע שֵׁם-אָבִינוּ מִתּוֹךְ מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ, כִּי אֵין לוֹ בֵּן; תְּנָה-לָּנוּ אֲחֻזָּה, בְּתוֹךְ אֲחֵי אָבִינוּ. ה וַיַּקְרֵב מֹשֶׁה אֶת-מִשְׁפָּטָן, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה.
ו וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר. ז כֵּן, בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד דֹּבְרֹת--נָתֹן תִּתֵּן לָהֶם אֲחֻזַּת נַחֲלָה, בְּתוֹךְ אֲחֵי אֲבִיהֶם; וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ אֶת-נַחֲלַת אֲבִיהֶן, לָהֶן. ח וְאֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, תְּדַבֵּר לֵאמֹר: אִישׁ כִּי-יָמוּת, וּבֵן אֵין לוֹ--וְהַעֲבַרְתֶּם אֶת-נַחֲלָתוֹ, לְבִתּוֹ.
Let's just remind ourselves what happens in the Pesach Sheni story:
Tzelafchad's Daughters 27:1 A petition was presented by the daughters of Tzelafchad, son of Chefer, son of Gilead, son of Makhir, son of Manasseh, of the family of Joseph's son Manasseh. The names of these daughters were Machlah, No'ah, Chaglah, Milkah and Tirtzah. 27:2 They now stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the princes, and the entire community at the Communion Tent entrance with the following petition: 27:3 'Our father died in the desert. He was not among the members of Korach's party who protested against God, but he died because of his own sin without leaving any sons. 27:4 Why should our father's name be disadvantaged in his family merely because he did not have a son? Give us a portion of land along with our father's brothers.' 27:5 Moses brought their case before God.
Inheritance for Daughters27:6 God spoke to Moses, saying: 27:7 The daughters of Tzelafchad have a just claim. Give them a hereditary portion of land alongside their father's brothers. Let their father's hereditary property thus pass over to them. 27:8 Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man dies and has no son, his hereditary property shall pass over to his daughter.
ו וַיְהִי אֲנָשִׁים, אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ טְמֵאִים לְנֶפֶשׁ אָדָם, וְלֹא-יָכְלוּ לַעֲשֹׂת-הַפֶּסַח, בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא; וַיִּקְרְבוּ לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה, וְלִפְנֵי אַהֲרֹן--בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא. ז וַיֹּאמְרוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים הָהֵמָּה, אֵלָיו, אֲנַחְנוּ טְמֵאִים, לְנֶפֶשׁ אָדָם; לָמָּה נִגָּרַע, לְבִלְתִּי הַקְרִיב אֶת-קָרְבַּן יְהוָה בְּמֹעֲדוֹ, בְּתוֹךְ, בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. ח וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם, מֹשֶׁה: עִמְדוּ וְאֶשְׁמְעָה, מַה-יְצַוֶּה יְהוָה לָכֶם.
ט וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר. י דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֵאמֹר: אִישׁ אִישׁ כִּי-יִהְיֶה-טָמֵא לָנֶפֶשׁ אוֹ בְדֶרֶךְ רְחֹקָה לָכֶם, אוֹ לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם, וְעָשָׂה פֶסַח, לַיהוָה.
There are three obvious parallels here to me.
9:6 There were, however, some men who had come in contact with the dead, and were therefore ritually unclean, so that they could not prepare the Passover offering on that day. During the course of that day, they approached Moses and Aaron. 9:7 'We are ritually unclean as a result of contact with the dead,' the men said to [Moses]. 'But why should we lose out and not be able to present God's offering at the right time, along with the other Israelites?' 9:8 'Wait here,' replied Moses. 'I will hear what orders God gives regarding your case.'
Making Up the Passover Offering9:9 God spoke to Moses, telling him to 9:10 speak to the Israelites, saying: If any person is ritually unclean from contact with the dead, or is on a distant journey, whether among you [now] or in future generations, he shall still have the opportunity to prepare God's Passover offering.
First, the recurring themes. That is, there were people who were impure wanted to be able to eat meat and do stuff with the community (or, if you go with a more religious interpretation of their motives, they wanted the opportunity to perform a mitzva). This is very similar to the daughters of Tzelophchad story - they wanted to have land (and if you go for a more religious interpretation, they loved the land of Israel and they wanted to be able to own land in it). In addition, it marks a type of human intervention into the law which God approves of, which doesn't usually occur in the laws of the Torah.
Second, several recurring words. We find a very similar phrase in both places, and one can't help but understand that this must be deliberate. For the impure people, they ask, (Numbers 9:7) "לָמָּה נִגָּרַע לְבִלְתִּי הַקְרִיב אֶת-קָרְבַּן יְהוָה בְּמֹעֲדוֹ", and for the daughters of Tzelophchad, they ask, (Numbers 27:4) "לָמָּה יִגָּרַע שֵׁם-אָבִינוּ מִתּוֹךְ מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ". "Why should [we] miss out?" repeats itself in both stories, although it is used in slightly different ways, the first as why they should miss out on the sacrifice, and the other is why should their father's name be lost forever, because if the land is lost, the name is lost as well. Another recurring phrase is the approach to Moses to ask their requests, using the word for "coming close", "וַתִּקְרַבְנָה" vs "וַיִּקְרְבוּ".
Third, there are recurring structures between both stories (although with some differences).
- Such and such a people exist
- They come close to Moses and Aaron (or his replacement after he dies, Elazar, and others who have been added after Numbers 11:16)
- They voice their complaint
- Moses turns to God for help
- God tells Moses to proclaim to all of Israel an addendum to the law in response to the complaint
But the important thing to see here is that there are definite similarities, and intentional ones at that. So, why?
Let's look at another story that is explicitly referred to in this story, the rebellion of Korach. This story is similar to the daughters of Tzelophchad story and the Pesach Sheni story in that there is a request for change. For some reason, though, Moses immediately falls on his face, and a huge rebellion is sparked. Admittedly, this request was much larger in scope than the other requests, and Korach seemed to have been asking for a change in the law, not just an addendum to it. But we find several other contrasts here. Let's remind ourselves of how it all started, Numbers 16:1-5:
א וַיִּקַּח קֹרַח, בֶּן-יִצְהָר בֶּן-קְהָת בֶּן-לֵוִי; וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם בְּנֵי אֱלִיאָב, וְאוֹן בֶּן-פֶּלֶת--בְּנֵי רְאוּבֵן. ב וַיָּקֻמוּ לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה, וַאֲנָשִׁים מִבְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתָיִם, נְשִׂיאֵי עֵדָה קְרִאֵי מוֹעֵד, אַנְשֵׁי-שֵׁם. ג וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ עַל-מֹשֶׁה וְעַל-אַהֲרֹן, וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵהֶם רַב-לָכֶם--כִּי כָל-הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים, וּבְתוֹכָם יְהוָה; וּמַדּוּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂאוּ, עַל-קְהַל יְהוָה. ד וַיִּשְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה, וַיִּפֹּל עַל-פָּנָיו. ה וַיְדַבֵּר אֶל-קֹרַח וְאֶל-כָּל-עֲדָתוֹ, לֵאמֹר, בֹּקֶר וְיֹדַע יְהוָה אֶת-אֲשֶׁר-לוֹ וְאֶת-הַקָּדוֹשׁ, וְהִקְרִיב אֵלָיו; וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר-בּוֹ, יַקְרִיב אֵלָיו
We find some parallels, and some contrasts here to the daughters of Tzelophchad story. The fact that we have contrasts is something we are told by the daughters of Tzelophchad themselves, "Our father died in the desert. He was not part of Korach's rebellion." Some commentators ask why Moses would have believed them. It could have been a lie so that they can get their father's land, which would have been lost and reapportioned if their father was in fact part of the rebellion. I believe the answer is that they approached Moses so completely differently than how Korach approached Moses, and they were trying to impress on Moses that they were in fact their father's daughters. Just as the daughters approach Moses this way, so their father would have approached Moses this way, and not like Korach. Let's demonstarte some of this.
Korach's Rebellion 16:1 Korach son of Yitz'har (a grandson of Kehoth and great-grandson of Levi) began a rebellion along with Dathan and Aviram (sons of Eliav) and On son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben. 16:2 They had a confrontation with Moses along with 250 Israelites who were men of rank in the community, representatives at the assembly, and famous. 16:3 They demonstrated against Moses and Aaron, and declared to them, 'You have gone too far! All the people in the community are holy, and God is with them. Why are you setting yourselves above God's congregation?' 16:4 When Moses heard this, he threw himself on his face. 16:5 Then he spoke to Korach and his whole party. '[Tomorrow] morning,' he said, 'God [will show that He] knows who is His and who is holy, and He will bring them close to Him. He shall choose those who shall [be allowed to] present [offerings] to Him.
The themes are very similar, people with a complaint about missing out on something they want to do, whether for power or for religious reasons.
But let's look at the structure. Some similarities are here. The people are identified, then they approach Moses in their varying ways, and then voice their complaint. But instead of saying "lama yigara", it says, "וּמַדּוּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂאוּ" "Why have you set yourselves..." It would seem the concern was not about why they couldn't perform the mitzva, but why the sons of Aaron get to and they don't. The difference being, they focused only on what others were doing, and not why they couldn't perform the mitzva. This is an indication of what their intentions were, and how lishma (or lack thereof) their wishes were. Another difference is that instead of turning to God like he did with the daughters of Tzelophchad, Moses falls to the floor, and says to wait for tomorrow where God will show what's what. He evidently saw what their motivations were, and knew it would not stand.
Let's look at the contrast in wording. The daughters of Tzelophchad approach Moses by getting closer, as noted above. Korach approached Moses by "taking" "וַיִּקַּח", "standing up" "וַיָּקֻמוּ", and "confronting" "וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ". This was not an attempt to question and understand, but a fight.
All of this comes together to show how people should approach change to a system. The daughters of Tzelophchad were obviously motivated by what they were missing out on. They didn't want to lose their father's land. Not once do they say, "Why should the men get to have land, but we don't?" That wasn't their argument, although it could have been. The fundamentally unfair concept of women not being able to own property was a pernicious one, especially in paternalistic societies, and even existed in America until the late 1800's. Undoubtedly, the daughters of Tzelophchad accepted their fate, and chose not to focus on what was unfair about the situation. Instead, they argued based on what made them different than Korach - all they want was what should rightfully belong to their father. Korach, on the other hand, just wanted what others had. He couldn't understand why they should be able to serve God with the sacrifices and he couldn't. The focus was on others, and that made his request doomed to fail.
This may help us understand why Tzelophchad is identified by some rabbis of the Talmud as the unknown person who collected sticks on the Sabbath and was put to death. Besides the obvious - we don't know who Tzelophchad is and we have a story of someone we don't know, so its easy to stick him on that face, as well as that "he died for his own sins" which sounds like this guy - is there anything from this description that we've been talking about that would point to the mekoshesh eitzim? Numbers 15:32-36:
לב וַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, בַּמִּדְבָּר; וַיִּמְצְאוּ, אִישׁ מְקֹשֵׁשׁ עֵצִים--בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת. לג וַיַּקְרִיבוּ אֹתוֹ, הַמֹּצְאִים אֹתוֹ מְקֹשֵׁשׁ עֵצִים--אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, וְאֶל-אַהֲרֹן, וְאֶל, כָּל-הָעֵדָה. לד וַיַּנִּיחוּ אֹתוֹ, בַּמִּשְׁמָר: כִּי לֹא פֹרַשׁ, מַה-יֵּעָשֶׂה לוֹ. {ס} לה וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, מוֹת יוּמַת הָאִישׁ; רָגוֹם אֹתוֹ בָאֲבָנִים כָּל-הָעֵדָה, מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה. לו וַיֹּצִיאוּ אֹתוֹ כָּל-הָעֵדָה, אֶל-מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה, וַיִּרְגְּמוּ אֹתוֹ בָּאֲבָנִים, וַיָּמֹת: כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה, אֶת-מֹשֶׁה
The Man Gathering Sticks on the Sabbath 15:32 While the Israelites were in the desert, they discovered a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath. 15:33 The ones who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses, Aaron and the entire community. 15:34 Since it was not specified what must be done to him, they placed him under guard.
The Penalty for Sabbath Violation15:35 God said to Moses, 'That man must die. Let the entire community pelt him with stones outside the camp.' 15:36 The entire community took him outside the camp, and they pelted him to death with stones. It was done as God had commanded Moses.
We have the same structure here. A person exists. He is brought close to Moses and Aaron "וַיַּקְרִיבוּ אֹתוֹ". The law is unclear. God tells Moses what to do.
Instead of coming close on his own volition to ask if he could gather sticks on the Sabbath, he is forced to appear after he already sinned. As they say, it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, and God was not forgiving. But why did he do this? All we know is what he did, but we don't know his motivation. It could be that he gathered sticks to help out the camp - he wanted to be part of the service of God. But he didn't ask, and made a fateful mistake. Korach didn't ask, he justr ebelled, and these two stories are situated right next to each other. His daughters, though, went before any controversy, or any sin, and asked, by their own volition, if they could fulfill their father's dream of being able to be part of the people. And this, they were granted.
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