What do you do when the world doesn’t feel fair?
If you have spent time with children, you likely have experienced their acute sense of what is fair. If they feel slighted because they received a small portion of dessert than their sibling, or because their turn was skipped, they might respond with righteous indignation. While an obsession with fairness can be challenging for their caretakers, children reveal that we have an innate sense of what is right and wrong, and we should speak out when we or others are wronged.
The Daughters of Zelophachad demonstrate this well in Pinchas. When their father dies, under the current legal structure, they do not inherit rights to their family’s land. Acutely aware of the injustice, they present their grievance to the leadership. Moses, in turn, presents the case to God. God rules that the Daughters of Zelophachad in the right, while establishing a general rule for passing on property in the absence of a son.
By speaking up in the face of injustice, the Daughters of Zelophachad improved conditions for many Israelites. Where do you experience or see injustice? How can your voice make a difference?
Rabbi Avi Fine