I am frustrated and upset.
My recent posts have repeatedly been about YCT and Open Orthodoxy. I
had planned to write something else today, but feel compelled to
respond to a very unfair article
by Gil Student in his online journal Hirhurim. In “Tzelofchad's
Daughters”, Student deals with a section of a letter that was sent from
Rabbi Ysoscher Katz to Rav Herschel Schachter. In the letter, Rabbi
Katz suggests that Bnos Tzelofchad were proto-feminists in that they
they asked for land for themselves as women (the letter is quoted in
Student's article). Student not only objects to this reading, which
he is certainly free to do, but smears Rabbi Katz by showing that it
was Reform scholars who first made this claim, with the obvious
implication that Katz's reading is not Orthodox.
One problem that I have
with this article is that following on the heels of Yoram Hazony's
thought-provoking
article on Open Orthodoxy, where he challenges the Open Orthodox world to explain how
their views fit into traditional Orthodox thought, Student seems to show that he
has no interest in hearing their response and is only interested in
keeping YCT and OO out of the orthodox camp.
Equally disturbing is that
Katz's reading was possibly anticipated nearly 2000 years ago by
Chazal. In the Sifrei
on parshas Pinchas, which I loosely translate here, it says:
When
the daughters of Tzelofchad heard that the land was being divided
according to the tribes, and not being given to the women, they gathered together
to think of an idea (of how to approach this). They said, “The
mercy of God is not like the mercy of flesh and blood, for by flesh
and blood there is more mercy for males than for women, but for The
One Who spoke, and created the world, it is not this way, as He has
mercy on males and females as it says 'and His mercy is on ALL of
his creatures' ".
While
this passage is a bit enigmatic, it seems to, at least, allow for a
reading that suggests that Bnos Tzelafchad were motivated by a desire
for fairer treatment for themselves, rather than for their father, as
Student suggests.
Of
course, my purpose in writing this is not to talk about how to read
an episode in the Chumash. It is also not to take a side in who is
correct about theological red lines. It is just to point out that if
you issue a challenge, it is only fair to wait for a response. Rather
than attempting to help the Modern Orthodox community deal with a
challenging situation, Gil Student suggests that his way is the only
way. To that, I must strongly object.
Post by Pesach Sommer.
