Art by Yitzchok Schmukler
A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY
This week we begin to wind down the final portions of the original Four Books of the Torah (the Fifth takes on a different tone as it reiterates much of the previous four and is written in first person by Moses). It includes several episodes – primarily starring Pinchas, the Parsha’s namesake – but also another which I would like to mention today. The story is conveyed of the “Daughters of Zelafchad,” women whose father passed away with no male heirs and who felt left out as the Land of Israel was being divvied up. They complained to Moses, asking for exception and permission to inherit a portion of the land; Moses relays their request to G-d Who, in turn, grants it.
Wait a minute.
Moses was the brilliant leader. Moses, you may recall, needed Jethro his father-in-law to advise him to bring on additional judges because he spent his entire day adjudicating cases relating to his people and their newly-received Torah. Does this mean to say that every time anyone asked him a question, all he did was passed it on to G-d? Was he merely a gatekeeper? Of course not.
So this case was clearly an exception. But why? Why was this such a special case to decide if these heiresses should inherit?
Let’s look briefly at their request to Moses. “Our father died with no male heirs,” they tell him, “and he did not die with Korach and his rebellion…” OK, fair enough. So he died and not because he was with the band of Korach who died rebelling against Moses. What’s the big deal?
The deal is, in fact, huge. You see, Moses was ready to judge; he was all geared up to hear their case, and they threw in just one little line that rendered it all for naught in his eyes: “He was not with Korach.” It may seem like a harmless factoid, but Moses, as perhaps the greatest judge who ever lived, heard that line and threw up his hands. “I am tainted,” he determined. Because, while these daughters certainly meant well and did not want to bribe Moses, by mentioning this fact they drew out an inner bias within him. “Not with Korach,” he may have said inside, “which means he was an upstanding citizen and not a no-goodnik rabble rouser who questioned my authority.” Stop. Over. I can no longer rule in this case and need to turn to G-d Himself to determine the proper outcome.
This is certainly a lesson for leadership, but there is much to learn for of us. How often are we asked our opinion and we truly have the best interest of the asker in mind? Surely it’s common for us to advise, knowing that somewhere, somehow, there is a selfish benefit to us. Or we just have an innate bias one way or the other. So Moses teaches us the value of being impartial. Sure, he could’ve reasoned that he, the greatest leader of all time, is incorruptible, but that would just be his ego speaking. Instead, he knew that he was corruptible, which allowed him to truly be incorruptible. So let us take this lesson from Moses, let us care for our “fellow man” just because he is our fellow man and not for any ulterior motives. And that, in turn, will make our world a more just and fair place, something we need to promote more than ever. Good Shabbos!