In Memory of our beloved David Schwartz, who fell in battle sanctifying God’s name, on 27 Tevet, 5784 (8 January 2024).
“Le’David Barchi Nafshi” is a compilation of essays written on the weekly Torah reading by David Schwartz, of blessed memory. First published on the occasion of his marriage to Meital, David’s unique Torah thoughts that delve into the depths of the Torah are shared now to elevate his memory and sanctify his soul.
It is my Bar Mitzvah parsha this week.
The parsha of Pinchas describes events that take place shortly before the people enter into Israel. The Torah details how the land will be divided according to each tribe based on its size, through the means of a lottery. The inheritance of the land would then pass down through the sons so that the family’s ancestral plot would stay in the household's name.
The daughters of Tzelafchad had no brothers, and understood that they were an exceptional case for the matter of inheritance, since their father’s plot would be lost. They appealed to Moshe and requested that they receive their father’s inheritance, in order to maintain his estate of land in Israel. God hears their appeal and rules: “The daughters of Tzelafchad speak correctly (27:7). In accordance with this claim and following it, the Torah addresses additional inheritance laws transmitted to a family with no sons, as would be pertinent.
From a straightforward reading, it is evident that the daughters of Tzelafchad raised a significant problem. A father with no sons would not be able to continue his line of inheritance in Israel, since his daughters could not inherit his estate.
The prominent question that arises here concerns the binding nature of the Torah, as it was given to Moshe without human agency. This absolute holiness would seemingly guarantee its sanctity through time. For the Jewish people specifically through the generations, the Sages would need to make the words of the Torah accord with the reality of the time. According to this parsha, it seems that this unique situation of the daughters of Tzelafchad did not merit consideration in the first generation, among those who at first received the Torah. This division of the inheritance in the Torah was at first not adhered to in practice in the inheritance of the daughters of Tzelofhad. When the verse states, “The daughters of Tzelafchad spoke correctly,” did God in truth determine additional laws on account of their appeal?
The answer is already in our hands, since it is impossible to suggest that this episode caused the verses of the Torah to be changed. Therefore, it is reasonable to explain that God specifically presented the matter in this unique style.
Tractate Kiddushin cites the Mishna in Tractate Orlah: חדש אסור מן התורה which means, literally, “New grain is forbidden by the Torah in every circumstance” (Kiddushin, 38b). This expression was used by the Chatam Sofer (1762-1839) who modified it and used it to mean that he was opposed to all innovation in religious practice that might be implemented by the Jews in the Reform movement following the Enlightenment era. Over the generations the expression of the Chatam Sofer that “New grain (i.e., innovation) is forbidden” has come to symbolize the distrust for modern movements that arise from within Judaism.
The basis of this concept is surely the understanding that the Torah is eternal, and in any case, to the same extent that it was suitable in the days of Moses, it is also suitable today.Those who hold this view forbid or perhaps are very careful about making changes of any kind in the laws and the words of the Sages.
In contrast to that position, the Reform movement of his day saw the legacy of Judaism as something that required constant development, with the law and everything surrounding it requiring constant change. The central element in their view believed in continual revelation of God in the world that is not limited to the revelation that took place at Sinai. Furthermore, they said, the people of Israel as a whole share in the ability to reach new insights regarding God’s Will in the world. Therefore there is a desire and a need to renew the laws and all that surround them at every stage of time, without overly relying on the past for precedent.
An approach that bridges between the two viewpoints above of the Chatam Sofer and the Reformers is that of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), and his approach of “Torah with Derech Eretz.” His approach believes that living a life according to the Torah and Halakha as it was given at Sinai does not conflict with the modern world and secular knowledge. More than that, the approach aims to utilize the positive aspects of the world at large for the purpose of advancing the life of religion and Torah.
His approach took a stand against the Reform position that sought to change Judaism in an aggressive manner in accord with what it believed the spirit of the times, but it also stood against the Chatam Sofer’s view that opposed any developments in line with its view that “Innovation is forbidden by the Torah.” It seems to me that we can find the proper way to serve God through this parsha, which includes wording that can lead one to believe mistakenly that the Torah has been changed on account of this appeal of the daughters of Tzelafchad.
God says to Moshe that, “The daughters of Tzelafchad have spoken correctly.” God wants the people’s involvement in the development of Halakha. The daughters of Tzelafchad were not “poskim" - halakhic deciders; in other words, they were not extremely important or special. According to one opinion, the daughters were descended from a father who was hewing wood on the Sabbath. Yet, it was specifically these daughters who brought about a special passage in the Torah that points us to a process of change in the Torah’s laws.
It seems to me that God is teaching here that the correct way is for developments in halakha to occur in every generation. The text itself teaches us that there is a need to pay attention to the needs of society but to have that accord with the words of the Torah. Another consideration learned from this event is that a change may come from the people and may be desirable that this take place. However, in practice, the Sages of every generation must agree to the change taking place. For this reason, the petition required the approval of Moshe from God.
The unique wording of the Torah here comes to remove any misunderstanding that may lead to an aggressive change in the religion, as advanced by new movements that arise from within Judaism. On the other hand, the text also pushes aside the position of the extreme conservatives who deny any progress or development in the law even if a basis for that progress is found by halakhic decisors.
The parsha delineates the benefit of developing the law in a controlled manner and in consultation with the Sages of the generation. Thus we may say that the position of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch and his “Torah with Derekh Eretz,” which is an integration of the Torah life with the world of work and activity, would be the ideal integration and an appropriate way for fulfillment of Torah and the commandments. I believe that this message is relevant and important in our time.
Kohelet 7:18: “It is good that you should take hold of this, and also from this you shall not withdraw your hand..."
(Translated by Akiva Herzfeld).