Life's Passages
The Female Estate

Linda listened attentively to the two lecturers. Both were dynamic speakers; both enthralled their audience with their interesting material and vibrant presentation.

But Linda couldn't help but notice their contrasting styles.

The first lecturer, a man, would invariably pose a thought-provoking question. When participants ventured to answer, he'd disprove or discredit their offerings, in order to build up his central point and hypothesis. He'd demonstrate the fallacy of other responses, leading every participant towards his line of reasoning and conclusion.

The second lecturer, a woman, also posed a thought-provoking question. But every answer from participants received a complimentary comment. Somehow, this lecturer was able to discover or elicit from even the more far-fetched responses some point of similarity-- some point that would compliment the concepts that she was conveying.

Linda wondered if the different styles of the lecturers were related to their genders.

Was the masculine mode more direct and goal oriented, and the feminine one more intuitive, more geared toward finding the common grain of truth and connection? Was it inborn for women to empower and nurture just as it was natural for a man to be more confrontational and conquering?

The more she thought about it, the more Linda wondered if these different modes of communication were perhaps a reflection of some spiritual, cosmic arena of the masculine and feminine energies within creation...

This week's Torah reading contains the laws of inheritance. These laws were revealed to Moses through the daughters of Tzlafchad.

The daughters of Tzlafchad, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah, stood before Moses and the entire congregation saying, "Our father died the desert, but he was not in the assembly that banded together against G-d in Korach's assembly, and he had no sons. Why should our father's name be eliminated from his family because he had no son? Give us a portion along with our father's brothers."

So Moses brought their case before G-d.

G-d spoke to Moses, saying: "Tzlafchad's daughters speak justly. You shall certainly give them a portion of inheritance.

Speak to the children of Israel saying: "If a man dies and has no son, you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter." (Numbers 27: 1-8)

From every episode in the Torah we can discern an everlasting spiritual lesson. The Kabbalistic masters understood this law of inheritance as a metaphorical reflection of the spiritual roles of men and women.

The "conquest of the land" was not a command for the generation of the wilderness alone. Each of us is enjoined to "conquer the land"--to gain mastery of our physical world and transform it into a proper and holy home for G-d.

The nature of the physical is that it is resistant and hostile to G-dliness, holiness and spirituality. The way to "conquer the land" has traditionally been to battle, subjugate and uproot the darkness and negativity (whether by battling evil people or regimes, or by fighting value systems that are antithetical to the morality of the Torah). We "battle" by suppressing the materialistic nature of our world and impose on it a higher purpose and function.

But there is another method of transforming our world into a G-dly home. This approach does not aggressively battle the negativity, but rather cultivates and exposes the inherent positivity within creation. In this mode, we are not working in the traditional, linear method of imposing and overcoming, but rather in the more inner and pervasive manner of raising and elevating our reality to make it more G-dly.

These two methods, in a nutshell, reflect the masculine and feminine modes of spiritual endeavor. We employ the "masculine" mode when we conquer, subjugate or overcome. We employ the "feminine" approach when we cultivate, nurture and bring out the inner qualities. (This is not to say that every man will always use the masculine mode and every woman the feminine, but these are the masculine and feminine energies within creation.)

Both roles are vital for transforming our world into a G-dly one. But from the beginning of time, the male role was traditionally perceived as superior and more effective. And for a time, that role was the vital one. When evil abounds, you need to fight it aggressively and head on.

But there comes a point when humankind is ready to make a transition from male to female values--from authority to dialogue, from dominance to persuasion, from control to nurture.

The daughters of Tzelafchad understood this reality. They realized that there would come a time and a place when "conquering and settling the land" would not be an exclusively masculine endeavor. Not all conquests are achieved by overpowering one's adversary. There is a feminine way to transform the materiality of our lives into a "holy land."

G-d agreed with their perception.

G-d instructed: "If a man has no son, you shall pass his inheritance on to his daughter." The Kabbalistic masters understood this to mean that at times the qualities of the "son," the masculine, aggressive and combative nature, is better replaced by the "daughter," the passive, compassionate, non-confrontational side.

Humanity will reach a time when the feminine qualities of receptiveness, nurturance and empathy will be valued and vindicated for their equal, if not more effective, role of changing the very nature and hostility of "the land" and transforming it into a home for G-d.

The Chassidic masters explain that each of the forty-two legs of the journey from Egypt to the Holy Land reflects another generation and stage in our world history. The incident of the daughters of Tzelafchad occurred on the last stop of this journey. It reflects the end of our cosmic journey, right before our ultimate conquest of the Land, in the messianic age.

From the time of our patriarchs onwards, and throughout Jewish history, there have been select individual women who displayed spiritual qualities that their husbands (who were themselves great men and leaders of Israel) could not attain. These were individuals who tasted the messianic era in their own time. They experienced a touch of the future, when the feminine values in our world will rise above the masculine.

The generation of the desert was also exposed to this messianic reality. In that generation, the women repaired what the men broke down. The women refused to participate in the making of the Golden Calf. Similarly, the women refused to listen to the negative counsel of the spies against the land of Israel. And, in our parshah, when the men had been unwilling to enter the Land, the daughters of Tzelafchad petitioned to receive an inheritance.

The great kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (the "Arizal," 1534-1572) explains that the generation of the final redemption is a reincarnation of the very same souls as those freed from Egypt. Their strong feminine values will be mirrored in the last leg of our history, causing and heralding the ultimate redemption, when the feminine role will be valued and appreciated.1

Perhaps this is hinted to in the special sacrifice of the New Moon recorded later in the parshah. The New Moon offering was different from all the other sacrifices of each of the holidays.

"And on the beginning of your months, you shall offer... one young male goat for a sin offering to G-d. (Numbers 11-15)

Rashi: The young male goat brought on the first day of the month differs (from all the other offerings) as it says, "to G-d." In the Aggadah, it is expounded: The Holy One, blessed is He, said, "Bring atonement for Me because I diminished the moon." (Talmud, Sevuot 9a).

When did G-d "diminish the moon" and why does He ask us to bring an atonement on His behalf for doing so? The Talmud relates the story: On the fourth day of creation, when G-d made "the two great luminaries," the moon approached G-d complaining that it was the same size as the sun.

The moon said to G-d: "Sovereign of the Universe, can two kings share a single crown?"

G-d replied: "Go and make yourself smaller"'

"Sovereign of the Universe"' she said to him, "because I made a proper claim before You, am I to make myself smaller?"

He said to her, "Go, and you will rule over both the day and the night." She said "What good is a lamp in broad daylight?"

He said, "Go! Israel shall use you to count the days and the years."

On seeing that the moon would not be consoled, the Holy One said, "Bring an atonement for me for making the moon smaller." (Talmud, Chulin 60b)

The moon pointed out a fundamental flaw in creation--how can two "kings" equally dominate the same territory? G-d commands the moon to make herself smaller, implying that one luminary does have to be bigger. But the moon complains that this decision is unjust, and no matter what other gifts and enticements she is offered, she refuses to give up her claim. G-d admits that the situation is unfair and makes a sin-offering every month to atone for this injustice.

In the time of Moshiach, however, the moon will regain her original stature and will be returned to her full glory.

When the moon was first created, she was a glistening jewel. She did not merely reflect light, but rather transformed it and brought out its inner beauty. In her own way, the moon was greater than the sun -- for the sun only shines from its surface, whereas the moon shone from its inner essence. And so will be, once again, and much more so, in the time to come. (Rabbi Isaac of Homil, Maamar Shnei Me'orot)

Women have a strong connection to the moon and to the holiday of the New Moon, Rosh Chodesh. The moon metaphorically symbolizes the feminine energy, with her waxing and waning and monthly renewals.

In the beginning of creation, for reasons beyond our understanding, the moon was diminished, just as in our perception, the more nurturing and intimate feminine energies has been devalued as if they are of lesser import than the masculine, aggressive and assertive public role.

But, G-d assures us, that there will come a time when humanity will evolve and these values will change. There will be an era when we will reach our final destination, on the last leg of our six-millennia journey, poised to enter the holy land.

And at that time, in that era, the "daughter" too will inherit the land and the moon will shine with equal, if not greater, brilliance than the sun.