After their father died in the desert, the existing societal structure denied them as women an inheritance in the Land of Israel. Their desire for the Land of Israel and to have a portion of their own was so strong that they defied social norms of that time, surmounted the bureaucracy and made their way to Moses with their request.
Moses presented the case to G-d. G-d said to Moses, “The daughters of Tzelafchad have a just claim. Give them a hereditary portion of land alongside their father’s brothers.”
What's the moral of the story? That it pays to be a Nudnick? That even though G-d Himself set up the structure of the Tribes and the inheritance laws He actually WANTED a woman to challenge them so He could amend them to show His justice and His mercy?
Maybe all this and more - maybe it's a reminder to us that we must never, never, never, never EVER give up when we know what we want is right, even if the institutions and structures in our society which SEEM to be "set up" by G-d tell us otherwise.
We must like the daughters of Tzelafchad be willing to suffer the bureaucratic process. The established judicial system of their time consisted of a hierarchy of judges (over groups of 50, 100, 1,000, etc. much like our "Local/Regional/Federal" judicial systems).
The daughters of Tzelafchad had to approach judges at every level, each one referring the matter to higher authorities, until their case finally reached all the way to Moses. Tzelafchad’s daughters were willing to try to overcome such a seemingly impossible obstacle to receive their portion of the Land of Israel, for which they longed exceedingly - enough to risk ridicule and rejection.
Don't give up. EVER.
- Today's Torah Schedule:
- 1pm: Rabbi Chaim Richman's Parsha Shauva "Pinchas"
- 2pm: Rabbi Yossi Shusteman on the Halacha of the 3 Weeks
- 4pm: Rabbi Shmuel Irons "The History of the Hatred that Destroyed the Holy Temple"
- 5pm: Rav Ozer Bergman's Rebbe Nachman Shiur from last Thursday (June 24th)
- 8pm: LIVE TONIGHT - RAV OZER BERGMAN'S REBBE NACHMAN SHIUR - if you can't be there in person at Pesach & Sara Rothberg's home in Nachlaot, listen on Radio Free Nachlaot! We're broadcasting the Shiur LIVE and tonight's Shiur is dedicated in the memory of Rav Ozer's Father-In-Law, Avraham Mordechai (Mordy) ben Naftali Marcus; by his children, Bev, Helene and Robbie; on the occasion of his19th yartzeit. In the merit of his memory, may it be for a blessing, enjoy listening to this very special Shiur!
9am - 12:30pm - "Morning Dew for the Morning Jew" Show featuring music from Bjork, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Queen, Beck, the Pretenders and Tom Waitts. We thank Ariel Elisha Leon Rosen for his music files (everything BUT the Pretenders!) :)
12:30 - 1pm: Ben Bresky's interview with Israeli Band "Terra Rosa"
1pm - 6pm: "Israeli Soul" Afternoon Music from Reb Shlomo Carlebach (his first album, thanks again Ariel Elisha!), Seth Breitman and Nomi Teplow.
6pm: Our friend Matthew Mausner's Custom Playlist! Former (and future ) RFN Guest DJ Matthew Mausner's personal, special musical playlist including music from Tinaiwen, The Be Good Tanyas, Charles Mingus, Erin McKeown, Chris Whitley, Nusrat Fatah Ali Khan, The Meters, Gabor Szabo, Iron & Wine, JJ Cale, Neal Creque and more!
Don't forget TONIGHT AT 8PM JERUSALEM TIME - LIVE WITH RAV OZER BERGMAN - THE THURSDAY NIGHT REBBE NACHMAN SHIUR!!! Tonight's class is dedicated to the memory of Rav Ozer's father-in-law, Avraham Mordechai (Mordy) ben Naftali Marcus, may his memory be for a blessing! This dedication is sponsored by his children, Bev, Helene and Robbie on the occasion of his19th yartzeit.
If you'd like to Sponsor or Dedicate one of Rav Ozer's Shiurims, please contact us at radiofreenachlaot@gmail.com for details.
