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Kenneth Cohen

The Women Loved the Land More Than the Men

The story of the daughters of Tzlofchad is an indication of the great love for Eretz Yisrael, that the women possessed. They surpassed the men in this area, as their love was genuine.

We see this through the text regarding these five wise women. When they asked for an inheritance in the Land of Israel, it was a precedent setting case. Moshe and Aharon needed to consult Hashem for the answer.

The question posed by Moshe, was twofold. First he wanted some kind of assurance that the motivation for requesting an inheritance, was sincere and for the sake of Heaven. And he also wanted to know the laws of inheritance, and the order of distribution in the event that there were no sons to inherit their father.

This is what was intended in Hashem’s answer, when He simply said, “Yes, the daughters of Tzlofchad are correct in their request. They were sincere in their request, and it needed to be clarified that if someone had no sons, he would be inherited by his daughters.

We see how important it is for a person to conduct his affairs with love and sincerity. If others do not recognize this, and are suspicious of one’s intentions. There is no need to worry. Hashem sees everything and will always give proper reward for every individual’s positive actions and intent.

About the Author
Rabbi Cohen has been a Torah instructor at Machon Meir, Jerusalem, for over twenty years while also teaching a Talmud class in the Shtieblach of Old Katamon. Before coming to Israel, he was the founding rabbi of Young Israel of Century City, Los Angeles. He recently published a series of Hebrew language-learning apps, which are available at www.cafehebrew.com