If you’ve had the privilege and opportunity to visit the Kotel (Western Wall) on Rosh Chodesh, especially in recent times, you’re likely to either have participated in or witnessed morning services and Torah reading in the women’s section of the Kotel, coordinated and organised by Women of The Wall as they fight for equal participation and recognition rites at the Kotel. Those opposing this mission do everything in their power to disrupt these services, and there’s little they won’t do to voice or show their disapproval.
One of their means of protest is signage decrying the actions of Women of The Wall, with slogans such as “Religion is consistent. Reform is based on change, therefore … Reform is not religious”. Setting aside their exclusion of the many other groups involved in the amazing work that Women of The Wall are engaged in, they seem to have conveniently ignored one of the key messages that our texts and rabbis teach us – if anything is to be considered consistent in Judaism, it is change itself.
There is a vast array of classic examples of change in Judaism, even our style of engaging or bringing oneself closer to God and community has gone through major changes. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the rabbis ultimately developed a system of prayers and rituals for us to continue practising Judaism. Not only was the destruction of the Temple a major catalyst for change, but the formulation of prayers, what has been included and excluded, didn’t happen overnight. This process has taken thousands of years in some instances and is still happening today.
Changes in our tradition and practice are also found in the Torah itself. This week’s Torah portion details one such example. God instructs Moses and Elazar to; “Take a census of the whole Israelite company from the age of twenty years up, by their ancestral houses, all Israelite males able to bear arms” (B’midbar 26:2). The purpose of the census was to assist in the allocation of the land once this generation entered the promised land. As the count only included men, no provision was made for families that had no male heirs.
This was the case for the daughters of Zelophehad, a man who was one of the generation that left Egypt and died in the wilderness. The five daughters challenge the prescribed inheritance scheme, arguing that their father’s name and lineage should not be cut off from his tribe just because he had no son and that they should be permitted to inherit his land portion in order to avoid this injustice to their father’s name and his property.
Moses brings their case before God, and God decrees; “The plea of Zelophehad’s daughters is just: you should give them a hereditary holding among their father’s kinsmen; transfer their father’s share to them. Further, speak to the Israelite people as follows: ‘If a householder dies without leaving a son, you shall transfer his property to his daughter’ ” (B’midbar 27:7-8). A number of other provisions are listed to cover further inheritance possibilities and an amendment is made to help ensure that the inherited land remains in the same tribe.
Driven by the necessity for change, the matter raised by the daughters of Zelophehad exemplifies courage, justice, and the power of advocacy. When change is needed, we must fight for it through all available channels, whether it be to challenge inheritance laws or advocating for the rights of all people to be allowed to pray and celebrate at the Kotel without being intimidated or threatened.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Sam Zwarenstein
Reading this content was a true pleasure for me. It was incredibly structured and simple to understand.
Reading your essay was a true pleasure for me. Even the more difficult subjects are easily understandable because of how you present them. Thank you for taking the time to provide such comprehensive details. For anyone interested in this topic, this is an excellent resource.