Еврейская мысль к Шмот 27:5

(daughters of Tzelofchod) (1+2) It is understandable that when after the census the Torah says "to these the land shall be distributed," the daughters of Tzelofchod thought that only men were meant. After all, only men had been counted. Since they were clever, they employed whatever argument they could muster against what they were afraid would happen. One of the strongest arguments they marshalled was "our father died in the desert," i.e. after the division for the yotzey mitz- rayim, the menfolk who had been part of the Exodus had already been determined. (4) Therefore, they reasoned, he had possessed a share in the land. When the decree of the spies occurred, condemning that generation to die in the desert, it had also been stated "and your children concerning whom you have said they will become booty...to them I will give the land." The daughters of Tzelofchod reasoned that anyone included in the term "your children" was also included in the second half of the sentence which promised these children the inheritance of the promised land. Since Tzelofchod had not belonged to the fellow travellers of Korach, but died in a normal fashion, he did not need to lose his inheritance. Alternately, if they as daughters could not fulfil the function of the male heirs, then at least their mother should be permitted to be remarried and have children from a levirate union. Possibly, the final nun written in extra large script, indicates that Moses not being too familiar with the rules of inheritance, wanted to know from G'd if this case rated special legislation. (27,5, tells us of Moses submitting their law suit to G'd) (3) An important detail in the legislation that had not escaped the daughters of Tzelofchod, was the line "to these the land will be shared out for inheritance in accordance with the number of names." (26,53) Later on, (26,54) we read "to the names of the tribes of their fathers." In view of this, we find that the Torah was certainly not amended for the sake of these girls, but that they had been astute enough to recognise a nuance which Moses had not yet noticed. When Onkelos renders verse 46 "and the daughter of Asher was Zerach," as "the daughter of Asher's wife was Zerach," he may have done so in order to explain why Zerach did not inherit land in Eretz Yisrael. She was not a direct descendant of someone who had established a claim by being one of the adults leaving Egypt. The daughters of Tzelofchod had their case mentioned simply in the wider context of the laws of inheritance. Zerach, on the other hand, is mentioned by name merely because she had still been alive after all this time.