Bnot Tzlofchad: Strength in Numbers

Sifri on Bemidbar 27:1, Paragraph 133

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Then came the daughters of Zelofchad:

When the daughters of Tzelofchad heard that the land of Israel was to be divided according to tribes, according to the males and not the females, they gathered together to make a plan. They said, G-d’s mercy and compassion is not like the compassion of mankind. Mankind favors men over women. G-d is not like that. His compassion extends to men and women alike...

Ohr Hachaim, Bamidbar 27:1

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Even at this moment we can already see a stress on an important aspect of the wisdom of the daughters of Tzelofchad, that they did not come before Moshe until they consulted together and formed a suitable plan and saw that they had a fitting argument.

Talmud Bavli – Tractate Bava Batra 119b

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The daughters of Zelofchad were wise, learned, saintly. They were wise because they spoke at the appropriate time. Moshe Rabeinu was teaching the subject of Levirate marriage and they took the opportunity to say, “If we are like sons then give us an inheritance, and if not you must marry our mother in the process of Levirate marriage”. Moshe immediately saw fit to bring up their case with Hashem. They were learned, because they knew to say, “If he had had a son we would not speak”... They were also perfectly virtuous, since they married only men who were worthy of them."

The Netziv from Volozin

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It would have been appropriate to write “they came before Moshe, El’azar the Cohen and the princes” so why is it written “And they stood before Moshe and before El’azar the priest and before the princes”? But they were five, and they did not send one to argue for all, rather all of them were wise and were able to state their case; as such, one spoke before Moshe, one before El’azar, one before the princes, so that it appeared that each had come forward on her own.

Yalkut Shimoni, Bamidbar 27:2

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"And they stood before Moses," (Num 27:2) Each of the five daughters presented one of the five pleas.

The first said, "Our father dies in the wilderness,"

The second said, "He was not one of the faction of Korach.," The third said, "but he died in his own sin." The fourth: "He had no sons." The fifth: "Why should our father's name be lost to his family."

Rashi, Bemidbar 27

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(3) “and he was not, etc.” Since they came to say, “but he died in his own sin”, they had to say that he did not die because of participating in the sin of those who complained (VaYikra 27:3), nor because he was amongst the company of Korach who incited the people against the Holy One, blessed be he; but he died in his own sin, and did not cause others to sin with him. Rabbi Akiva said he was the woodcutter [on Shabbat] and Rabbi Shimon said he was one of the ma’apilim [who tried to go to EY].

(4) “Why should the name of our father be done away” We stand in place of a son, and if females are not considered seed (descendants) than marry our mother in the process of Yibum. “because he has no son” because if he had a son, they wouldn’t have demanded anything, this teaches us that they were wise.

Yalkut Shimoni, Bamidbar 27:2

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[Daughters: Give us a portion of the land along with our father’s brothers.]

Moshe: It is impossible for a daughter to inherit.

Daughters: Why?

Moshe: You are women.

Daughters: Then let our mother enter into yibbum (levirate marriage—as is the law with the wife of a person who died “without seed”) and conceive an inheritor that way.

Moshe: Impossible. Once there are children, yibbum is not possible.

Daughters: You are contradicting yourself, Moshe. Either we are not “seed” and the obligation of yibbum applies to our mother, or we are “seed” and can inherit the land ourselves.

In that moment they convinced Moshe. When he heard the justice of their complaint, he immediately presented their case before G‑d.

Yalkut Shim’oni Pinchas

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“Give to us a share in the land” Rabbi Natan said: the strength of women is better than that of men, the men say "let us appoint (nitnah) a leader and let us return to Egypt" while the women said "Give to us (tnah) a share in the land"… At what point did the daughters of Zelofchad stand before Moshe? At the time when Israel said “”Let us appoint a leader, and let us return to Egypt.” Moshe said to them: Israel is asking to return to Egypt and you are asking for an inheritance in Israel? The daughters answered: We know that in the end Israel will take possession of the land.

Rashi Bemidbar 26:64

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“But among these there was not a man” However, the decree of death issued for the sin of the Spies was not applied to the women, for they loved the land.