Even Moses didn’t understand the give and take of law and amendment until he saw it in action.
Last week, we read about the Daughters of Tz’lof’chad, who asked that inheritance laws allow daughters to inherit when a father had no sons. When they brought their question to Moses, Moses went to God in order to alter the law so that it would be fairer to Tz’lof’chad’s heirs and maintain his memory.
This week, the Daughters’ tribal leaders asked for another change, pointing out that tribes would lose their lands when inheriting daughters married out of the tribe.
Moses made the change on their behalf, according to the word of God, without having to consult with divine authority first – or at least, the text doesn’t mention such a consultation. (See Numbers 36:5).
Understanding that Jewish law could be amended for fairness’ sake took Moses watching God do it before our most important prophet fully understood, and then Moses could do it in God’s name afterwards.
Today, we are accustomed to the idea that change in law is a modern idea, and yet, here we see the Jewish assertion of law as a progressive and adapting rule-system even in the ancient world.
Wishing everyone a good week,
Jonathan