This week’s Parsha, Torah portion, is called Parshat Pinchos.
It is one of the longest portions of the Torah, clocking in at a whopping 168 verses.
Pinchos’s, the grandson of Aaron, stops a plague that is devastating the people. The plague is a punishment for promiscuous behavior by some of the menfolk.
Subsequent to the plague a census is enacted.
The purpose of the census is to lay the groundwork for dividing up the Land of Israel and giving each Tribe its portion.
The portions of the land will be awarded to each family.
There is however one family that has no father or brothers, no menfolk at all.
It is a family comprised of five sisters.
They are the daughters of a man named Zelopchad who has perished in the desert.
The 5 daughters question Moshe about the inheritance.
Their father did leave Egypt with the Jewish people, but he has passed on, leaving no male heirs to inherit when they enter the land.
They argue that his name should not be forgotten, and that they in fact should be allowed to claim his portion.
Moshe did not know the answer to their question, and he brings their claim to the final adjudicator, Gd.
Moshe is told by Gd that the daughters of Tzelopchad have a legitimate claim and indeed, they should receive their Father’s portion.
Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi expounds on these five exceptional women.
She notes that we are now entering the period of the Three Weeks.
This is the time of year when the Jewish people mourns the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem.
The Three Weeks are bracketed by two fast days, one on the 17th day of Tammuz, which was this past Tuesday, and one on the 9th day of the month of Av which will be on August 13.
In her inimitable fashion, the Rabbanit notices the connection of the numbers.
Particularly the number 5.
Because on both of those fast days we commemorate 5 terrible events that transpired on those days.
Each of the fast days remind us of 5 things that transpired.
Chief amongst the 5, are the sin of the Golden Calf on the 17th of Tammuz, and the Sin of the Spies being one of the 5 awful events that transpired on the 9th of Av.
She makes the point that these 5 women did not take part in either of those crimes.
They should therefore not be included in the punishment.
What do these women want?
They want a future, an inheritance in the beloved Land.
And they are willing to fight for it.
And Gd says yes.
The future they dreamed of was indeed given to them.
There are not many details listed about these 5 sisters but our Sages teach us that they were intelligent and righteous women, after all the case they presented was accepted by Gd.

And although at the time of this case they were unmarried and childless they all did marry and had children despite being of an advanced age.
But the main idea they showcase is the love that the Jewish women have for the Land of Israel.
The Sages contrast their behavior to that of the men who during the Sin of the Spies were afraid to enter the Land of Israel and wanted to go back to Egypt, of all places.
While these women, like all the women of the Jewish nation did not participate in that sin at all. Rather they were eager to enter the Land and demanded a share of it.
The spirit of the Jewish woman is indomitable.
She is the force that brings us to our destiny.
After the fall of the second Temple in the year 70 of the Common Era, the Roman emperor Vespasian issued a coin to celebrate his son Titus’s victory and capture of Judea.
It was inscribed with the words Judea Capra, meaning Judea is captured, in Latin.
Many variations of the coin depict a woman in a state of defeat, with a Roman soldier standing triumphantly above her.
Even Romans understood the power of the woman, and only when they had defeated the woman, could they truly claim victory.
On Day 292 of the war we continue to hear of the bravery and heroism of so many.
Many women exhibited extraordinary levels of courage.
Brigadier General Shifra Buchris is a border police officer. She and theee soldiers on her team went on an unauthorized rescue mission on October 7. Using their own private vehicles, her team risked their lives as they went back and forth from the Nova festival to a safety point , saving many people’s lives while under heavy fire.
Brigadier General Shoshana Mali is a police officer in the city of Sderot. On October 7 she was caught in a firefight with terrorists. A grenade was thrown at her which she caught and threw back towards the terrorists. She was injured in battle but continued to fight until she ran out of ammunition and was evacuated.
Being a heroine does not always require ammunition.
Varda Morell, originally from Silver Spring, MD lost her son Maoz in the fighting in Gaza this past February.
Maoz was 22 years old.
Despite the tragedy she has experienced, Varda speaks publicly about her son and his legacy.
He was a quiet but focused person who set goals for himself.
When he chose a goal, he worked every day to achieve the goal.
Maoz was not always successful, but he remained committed to the goal until he did accomplish it.
Maoz was someone who could be relied upon and was always there to support his comrades in arms.
Varda speaks despite her sorrow to share her son’s essence, her message to us
“You don’t have to be a big person to influence people in the world”.
We need to record the names of all these women, because their actions inspire and influence us today in these difficult times.
These women show us Judea is NOT Capta.
The daughters of Tzlepchod, were heroines in their time.
They stood up for their love of the Land in a way that was confirmed Divinely.
Their names were Machlah, Noa, Haglah, Milka and Tirza.
5 women whose names are recorded in the Torah for posterity to inspire us to do whatever it will take for our precious Land.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!