Maharal of the week - 1

Parshiyot Matot and Masei

At the end of Masei, the second portion we read this week, we see the conclusion of the story of the daughters of Tzelafchad. Last week, we read about their request for a share in the land of Israel because their father had no sons, thus the property that would be inherited was lost. G-d granted their request. It is important to note that at the time of the request they were unmarried (Numbers, Chapter 27).

This week, we find out that they marry the sons of their uncle, keeping the land within the tribe of Menashe (Numbers 36:11-12). There is an interesting anomaly in the verse that informs of this decision. Rashi points out that the names of the daughters are not in the same order as they were in chapter 27. He explains that in 36:11 they are listed according to their age, while in 27:11 they are listed according to their wisdom. The common practice in scripture, according to Rashi, is to list people according to wisdom. He concludes by saying that this shows all five daughters are equal.

Maharal, commenting on the last part of Rashi, that they were equal, wonders about their equality as seen through the changing of the order of the names. If they really are not equals, why not simply use the same listing system in both cases? However, they are equal, then even though they are listed according to wisdom, we know that for different characteristics they are all on different levels, each one excelling at something else. This answer does not suffice, because barring this one place (36:11) where they are listed according to birth, they are always listed according to wisdom. Hence, in order to show they are equal, you would need to change the order of the listing. The best way to indicate the fact they are equal would not be to randomly change the order. It is to change the order based on birth, showing that while one might be older than the other, their characteristics are all equal. Without these two differing lists, we would not know they were equals.