Parashat Pinchas –Women’s Rights

This week’s Torah portion is deals with many different issues. It starts with the conclusion of the story of Pinchas (which started at the end of last week’s portion), where he is made a Cohen, by Divine decree. We then read that G-d commands Moses to wage war on Midian in retribution for the licentious plot the Midianites perpetrated upon the Israelites. A census is then taken for two reasons; first, to count the number of men available for army duty, second, to divide up the land of Israel among the tribes. Moses then asks G-d to appoint a successor to him (G-d selects Joshua). We conclude with a description of the various offerings that are to br brought throughout the year.

What I wanted to talk about, is a small paragraph tucked away in the middle of the portion. G-d is instructing Moses how to divide up the land, by giving a portion to every male for their families. The daughters of Tzelafchad come forward and tell Moses that their father is dead and had no sons. They ask for their father’s portion to be given to them. Moses consults with G-d, and agrees to the request, thus establishing the Jewish laws for inheritance.

Many people accuse Judaism of being sexist; they claim that women are treated as second class citizens. This is, of course, a ludicrous claim. If one takes the time to understand Judaism, you will see that women’s roles, while different from men’s roles, are central. Some choose to view different as meaning inferior, but the reality is that different roles simply reflect the real differences between the sexes; not better or worse, just different.

We see from the section of this weeks parashah, that women’s rights in Judaism were actually 1000’s of years ahead of their time. This episode takes place in a time when women had no inheritance rights anywhere in the world. A father would pass his estate to his son(s), and if there were no sons, to the closest male relative. If there were none it would go to a male friend… but never to a daughter or other women. 3500 years ago, Judaism gave women standing in property issues. While inheritance would still go to a son first, if there were none it goes to a daughter before going to other relatives. While some would arguer that it’s still not totally equitable, it’s still an amazing ruling considering that it took most other religions and cultures 3500 years to catch up (and many still have not).

In many ways Judaism is one of the least sexist religions out there. And in those cases where there seems to be some sexist issues, the perception usually results from a poor understanding of the laws. When you take the time to learn about the issue, you see that the law is not sexist, it simply is designed to take advantage of the unique make ups of men and women.

This is a major issue for me, so I’m sure I’ll write about it further.

Shabbat Shalom.