ספרי במדבר כ"ז:א', פיסקה קלג
כיון ששמעו בנות צלפחד שהארץ מתחלקת לשבטים, לזכרים ולא לנקבות, נתקבצו כולן זו לזו ליטול עצה. אמרו: לא כרחמי בשר ודם רחמי המקום (הקב"ה) – בשר ודם רחמיו על הזכרים יותר מן הנקבות, אבל מי שאמר והיה העולם אינו כן, אלא רחמיו על הזכרים ועל הנקבות...
Sifri on Bemidbar 27
When the daughters of Zelophehad heard that the land of Israel was to be divided according to tribes, according to the males and not the females, they gathered together to make a plan. They said, God’s mercy and compassion is not like the compassion of mankind. Mankind favors men over women. God is not like that. God's compassion extends to men and women alike...
For the moment justice is served, both for the daughters of Tzelofehad and for generations of brotherless women to come.
But it causes a different problem. . .
ונוסף על נחלת המטה Now, if they marry persons from another Israelite tribe, their share will be cut off from our ancestral portion and be added to the portion of the tribe into which they marry; — for her son will be her heir and the son reckons his pedigree after his father’s tribe.
Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Does the Torah agree with Spock?
What do you think of the Torah's response? Is it fair?
What did they expound, in support of their conclusion that this halakha was no longer in effect? The verse states: “This is the matter that the Lord has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying: Let them marry whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry” (Numbers 36:5). They derived from the verse that this matter shall be practiced only in this generation, when Eretz Yisrael was divided among the tribes, but afterward members of different tribes were permitted to marry. On the day this barrier separating the tribes was removed, the Sages established a permanent day of rejoicing.
Other examples where the needs of the individual and the needs of the community might clash:
- A death right before a holiday
- Wearing a mask