Voices of WRJ: Pinchas

by Liz McOsker Pinchas is a very interesting and eventful portion. For 40 years, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness and now their journey is almost over. They can see the Promised Land from their camp near Jericho. They have heard reports about the challenges and opportunities facing them as they prepare to cross the river and move in. It is now time to plan to allocate the land, to ordain the successor to Moses, and to enumerate the sacrifices for various holy days. There is a story in this portion that I find fascinating and will discuss here. In order to allocate the land fairly both among the 12 tribes as well as between the families making up each tribe, a census is conducted. The Torah lists each head of household within each tribe and the number of persons comprising each family. The list is long. There are only eight women included on the list: Serah, daughter of Asher, who is mentioned without explanation for her inclusion on the list; Miriam, sister of Aaron and Moses and Jocheved, mother of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses; and finally the five daughters of Zelophohed: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Why are these five women so important? Their father has died in the wilderness; their father had no son. These five women came together before Moses, Eleazer the priest, the chieftains, and all the others outside of the Tent of Meeting. These women spoke, saying, "Our father died in the wilderness. ... He has left no sons. Let not our father's name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father's kinsmen!" (27:3). Moses took their case to God. God said to Moses: "The plea of Zelophehad's daughters is just: you should give them a hereditary holding among their father's kinsmen; transfer their father's share to them" (27:6). According to The Torah: A Women's Commentary, this means that they can pass the land on to their own heirs. But God did not stop there. God went further, instructing Moses that the law of inheritance should be adjusted so that in the absence of sons, the daughters' right to inherit comes before other family members' right to inherit. So many of our mothers' stories are told in the Torah without their names, yet these five women's names are listed each time they are mentioned: twice in this portion (in the census and in the telling of this part of their story), in Numbers 36 when their marriages are discussed, and in Joshua 17 as land assignments are made. I imagine them deciding to go as a group each time they appear before the assembly because they know that they will be stronger together. Even though they are appealing for their own inheritance, their advocacy results in a law that enables fatherless and brotherless women a degree of unprecedented economic independence and power. As Women of Reform Judaism, we work together in order that the highest ideals of our faith support the foundations of caring communities and inform our advocacy for social justice. A particular focus of our work in the near future is pay equity for women. We provide sample programs for sisterhoods and WRJ Districts, a timeline to guide planning for a series of programs and advocacy opportunities, a legislative guide with material relevant to both the United States and Canada, and other resources. Please come to our 50th Assembly in Orlando, FL, taking place November 4-8, 2015. There, the inspirational and determined Lilly Ledbetter will be a featured speaker. Ledbetter's pursuit of justice for herself, which resulted in the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and benefited us all, echoes the quest of Zelophehad's daughters. Liz McOsker is a WRJ Executive Committee member-at-large and WRJ Central District Recording Secretary. Liz is also Isaac M. Wise Temple Sisterhood past president in Cincinnati, OH.