The episode of the five daughters of Tz’lafchad is mentioned two times in the Torah: in Parshas Pinchas and in Parshas Mas’ei. (Tz’lafchad himself is also referenced in Parshas Sh’lach as the m’kosheish eitzim.) A basic principle in the Torah is: “Biglal nashim tzidkaniyos nig’alu avoseinu miMitzrayim – Because of righteous women were our forefathers redeemed from Egypt.”
Chazal throughout the ages have referenced the concept of the superior quality of spirituality in women over men, starting from Sarah Imeinu. If a woman ever felt that her right to equal status is negated by the Torah and Yiddishkeit, these episodes are a few of the many examples that disprove this view. Here, and at the end of Sefer BaMidbar, when Hashem completes the entirety of the Torah, which is the bris (covenant) between the Jewish people and Himself, He gave us an example of how female righteousness must be viewed by both men and women.
At the turn of the 21st century, the religious city of Elad was founded. It is a chareidi city with a strong local chasidic population, but about 1,000 families are counted in the religious-Zionist community, which has nine synagogues, three elementary schools, and its own rabbi (as does the Yemenite and other communities in Elad). Reb Shmuel Ziebold is one of the veteran residents of Elad, and is also a well-known mohel in the city. He recounts the following story:
“I was once called to serve as the mohel at a local bris milah. When I arrived, I learned that the parents of the child were recent olim (immigrants) from Russia. The bris milah was to be held at a small synagogue, and as I walked into the main sanctuary, I could not help but see an ‘alte Yiddishe bubbe’ – a throwback to the Yiddishe mamas from the shtetl in Europe – sitting in the shul, crying her eyes out and heaving with heavy sighs. Her tears were flowing, and her loud wailing could not be missed. I felt bad and I walked over to her to see if there’s anything I could do to help.
“‘G’veret,’ I said in Hebrew, ‘are you okay?’ She looked up with her red eyes and calmed down for a moment.
“In perfect Yiddish, she said to me, ‘Are you the mohel?’ I said that I was. She caught her breath and then said in a low voice, ‘We came here from Russia not long ago. I did all that I could to keep the mitzvos and be religious, but my daughter was not able to. She met this man – a Russian goy – and she wanted to marry him, but I would not let. I managed to keep her away from him, but then, when we moved to Israel, he moved to Israel as well. They reunited here and got married a year ago. Nothing I said could change her mind. The baby – this is their child. At least he is having a bris milah.’”
“I was shocked when I heard the story. The father of the child is not even Jewish! ‘Look,’ I said to her soothingly, ‘his father may not be Jewish, but this baby boy is a full-fledged Jew, and he will soon enter into the covenant of the bris of Avraham Avinu and take his place among our people. But you,’ I pointed to her carefully, ‘you must continue to cry. You must continue to daven for your grandson and your daughter, as well. Eliyahu HaNavi is here today, right here in this shul, and he has the ability to take away your pain and suffering. Keep crying – it will surely help!’
“She thanked me and went on davening and crying, and I performed the bris milah on this child.
“A little more than five years later, I received another phone call. I was asked to do hatafas dam bris on an adult who just converted to Judaism. It was the father of the baby boy, the Russian immigrant, who decided to become a Jew and had studied the halachos necessary for the conversion. I was thrilled, and this man took his conversion quite seriously. He became a real ben Torah, and his wife became a baalas t’shuvah. When I went to their house to check on the father, I met the alte Yiddishe bubbe. She was smiling so wide that it literally took over her entire face.
“A family friend was there, and he told anyone listening that today was a most special day. ‘Normally, the way of the world is that the father is the one who brings his child into the bris of Avraham Avinu. In this situation, the baby is the one who has brought his father into the Jewish Nation!’ But I looked at the alte bubbe, and I said to her, ‘We both know that it was the tears of the Bubbe who brought the baby into the bris, who then shlepped his father along after him!’”
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
