Tammuz 5783 (June 18, 2023)
Welcome to my newsletter, take two!
First thing's first, happy Father's Day! Love you Dad!
It's Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, which always feels like a paradox to me. On the one hand, Tammuz falls in the middle of the summer which is a time of year I associate with joy, sweat, and the beauty of nature. On the other hand, Shivah Asar B'Tammuz (the 17th of Tammuz) is the beginning of the mourning period that we will be in until Tisha B'Av (the 9th of Av), when we mourn essentially everything bad that has happened to our Jewish ancestors (which is a lot!).
This Tammuz, I will remain at Eden Village Camp as the Keter Tribe Leader (8th grade) where I've been for the past month-ish! Don't worry though, with the magic of Meta Business I've prescheduled content all summer long.
Here's a Tammuz prompt to think/write/draw/meditate about:
Tammuz Prompt
During this month, we read Parshat Pinchas which names Machlah, Noa, Choglah, Milcah, and Tirzah as the daughters of Zelophehad who spoke out about unjust inheritance, which ultimately leads to the establishment of more egalitarian inheritance laws. This story is remarkable not only because of the five named women listed, but also because these women have the chutzpah to stand up in front of Moshe and demand a more just solution. Here is a great article about their story. The Talmud says of Zelophehad's daughters:
The Sages taught: The daughters of Zelophehad are wise, they are interpreters of verses, and they are righteous.
Bava Batra 119A
These three attributes (wisdom, interpretation, and righteousness) are all prized today as well. The first and third, wisdom and righteousness, are often seen as feminine traits, but what interests me is "interpreters of verses" or "darshanot." During the time when Bava Batra was being written, women were not expected to study or interpret Torah. Bava Batra has other sections which discuss wives similarly to property and establish that women cannot serve as reliable witnesses
Why do the Rabbis praise the daughters of Zelophehad for questioning G!d's law when they would not let their wives and daughters do the same? When have you judged someone differently based on the time or situation?