Illustration credit: Rivka Tsinman
Here’s how the בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד (benot Tzelofhad, daughters of Tzelofhad) present their question.
וַתַּעֲמֹדְנָה לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה וְלִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְלִפְנֵי הַנְּשִׂיאִם וְכׇל הָעֵדָה
פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר׃
אָבִינוּ מֵת בַּמִּדְבָּר וְהוּא לֹא הָיָה בְּתוֹךְ הָעֵדָה הַנּוֹעָדִים עַל ה' בַּעֲדַת קֹרַח
כִּי בְחֶטְאוֹ מֵת
וּבָנִים לֹא הָיוּ לוֹ׃
לָמָּה יִגָּרַע שֵׁם אָבִינוּ מִתּוֹךְ מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ כִּי אֵין לוֹ בֵּן
תְּנָה לָּנוּ אֲחֻזָּה בְּתוֹךְ אֲחֵי אָבִינוּ׃
They stood before Moshe, Elazar the priest, the nesi’im (chiefs), and the whole community, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and they said:
“Our father died in the wilderness. He was not one of Korah’s group, which banded together against God. He died for his own sin; and he had no sons.
Why should our father’s name be lost to his family just because he had no son? Let us inherit the land together with our father’s family!”
- What do you notice? What do you wonder about?
- What exactly are the benot Tzelofhad asking for? What’s the reason for their request?
- How do you think the benot Tzelofhad felt when presenting their question in front of Moshe, Elazar, the nesi’im, and the whole people? How do you feel when you have to ask a question and you don’t know what the answer will be? What can you learn about the benot Tzelofhad from the fact that they were able to ask their question with so many people watching?
- What would have happened if they hadn’t asked their question? What are the reasons it’s important to ask questions? What can make it hard?
- The Talmud (Bavli Sanhedrin 8a) suggests that the benot Tzelofhad get credit for new mitzvot being written in the Torah. How did their question add to the Torah? How can yours?
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