Bnot Tzelafchad

(1) The daughters of Zelophehad, of Manassite family—son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph—came forward. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. (2) They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chieftains, and the whole assembly, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and they said, (3) “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not one of the faction, Korah’s faction, which banded together against יהוה, but died for his own sin; and he has left no sons. (4) 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!” (5) Moses brought their case before יהוה.

10 (Numb. 27:1) “Then came forward the daughters of Zelophehad”: In that generation the women were fencing that which the men were breaching. Accordingly you find that Aaron said to them (i.e., the men in Exod. 32:2), “Take off the gold rings that are in the ears of your wives”; but the women were unwilling and protested against their husbands. Thus it is stated (in vs. 3), “So all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears.” Thus the women did not take part in making the [golden] calf. So also in the case of the spies who had spread slander (according to Numb. 14:36), “when they returned, they made [the whole congregation] murmur against him.” A decree was issued against them, because they had said (in Numb. 13:31), “We are unable to go up [against this people for they are stronger than us].” The women, however, were not with them in their counsel. What is written above the matter (in Numb. 26:65)? “Because the Lord had said to them, ‘They shall surely die in the wilderness,’ not a man of them remained […].” [Note that Scripture speaks of] “a man,” and not of "a woman.” Because they (i.e., the men) did not want to enter the land, but the women came forward to ask for an inheritance in the land. Therefore the parashah [about the death of that generation] was written next to this parashah, because what the men broke down the women fenced in.

(Bamidbar 27:4) "Why should the name of our father be withheld from his family because he has no son?" R. Yehudah says: It is written here "name," and elsewhere (Devarim 28:6). "Just as "name" here connotes inheritance, so, "name" there. And just as "name" here connotes seed, so, "name" there. "because he has no son": Why is this written? Is it not already written (3) "and he left no sons"? They were sage women and were expounding: But if there were a daughter of a son, we would make no claim. R. Chidka said: Shimon Hashikmoni was a colleague of mine from the disciples of R. Akiva. He said: Moses knew that daughters inherit. Where was the question? As to whether they inherit what is fit to be inherited (in Eretz Yisrael) as well as what is already in their possession. The section on inheritance was fit to be stated by Moses, but the daughters of Tzelofchad merited that it be stated through them. "Merit is effected through the meritorious and liability through the liable."