"Who is rich? The one who is happy with "Chelko"- her or his portion." (Ben Zoma, Pirkei Avot 4:1)

During the month of Tammuz the theme of portions -- who inherits what land and which
responsibilities -- occurs in three different Torah parshas -- and draws our attention to
what we can learn in each episode.

Last year we delved into the ideas of Chelek ( Chet-Lamed-Kuf) meaning portion and Nachlah (Nun-Chet-Lamed-Heh) meaning inheritance. Both words contained the letter Chet, which is the letter for the month of Tammuz. We explored the concept of being able to appreciate the whole by understanding the component parts. We would like to revisit these ideas from a different perspective in this month's D'var Torah.

The questions we want to explore are: 1) are portions assigned or chosen? 2) does having
an assigned portion limit us? 3) how can we be happy with our portion?

Are Portions Assigned or Chosen?

Korach

The three Torah portions that discuss inheritance give us three different ways to understand the answer to this question. Korach (Kuf-Reish-Chet), who is a Levi objecs to being a Levi. Why is the priesthood, as a portion, open to him? Moshe chastises him, "Hear now, O offspring of Levi: Is it not enough for you that the G-d of Israel has segregated you from the assembly of Israel to draw you near to Himself to perform the service of the Tabernacle of Hashem, and to stand before the assembly to minister to them? And He drew you near, and all your brethren, the offspring of Levi, with you -- yet you seek priesthood as well." (Numbers 16: 8-10)

Korach, born a Levi, had no choice about his portion; his only choice is whether to perceive the blessing of his portion or whether for personal aggrandizement to seek Aaron's position of Kohen for himself. Perhaps the Chet in Korach's name indicates that the issue of his Chelek and his Nachlah, his portion and his inheritance, would be a struggle for him.

Pinchas

Parshat Pinchas (Peh-Nun-Chet-Samech) relates the story of Pinchas who was the son of Elazar, son of Aaron the Kohen. Pinchas is rewarded for his zealous killing of Zimri and Cozbi, when he acted on behalf of G-d and put an end to the plague that G-d was using to punish the Jewish people for their immorality. G-d says, "Behold! I give him My covenant of peace. And it shall be for him and his offspring after him a covennat of eternal priesthood (Kehunat Olam), because he took vengeance for his G-d, and he atoned for the Children of Israel." ( Numbers 25:12-13) Pinchas earns priesthood for his actions, even though he, like Korach, had been a Levi. Pinchas, who was even more closely related to Aaron -- he was his grandson -- had more of a reason to demand being originally designated as a priest, a Kohen; but he never made that case for himself.

Korach shows us that we can't demand our portion, especially when it is for our own self
interest. Pinchas shows us that our portions will sometimes change when we earn them byacting selflessly rather than selfishly.

The Daughters of Zelophchad

The third Torah portion that addresses portions is Masei, where the potential problem of
the daughters of Zelophchad (Tzadi-Lamed-Peh-Chet-Dalet) marrying outside of the tribe of Menasheh (their father's tribe) is remedied.

Previously, in parshat Pinchas (Numbers 27: 1-11), the five daughters of Zelophchad had
approached Moshe with their situation of their father dying without any sons to inherit his
land. "Why sould the name of our father be omitted from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father's brothers. "The daughter's motivation
appears to be their desire to preserve their father's inheritance rather than a selfish bid for
land for themselves. (27:4) Moshe brings their claim to Hashem who responds, "The daughters of Zelophchad speak properly. You shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among the brothers of their father, and you shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass over to them." (27:7)

Menasheh's Dilemna

The leaders of the tribe of Menasheh point out that this ruling about inheritance for daughters works as long as the daughters marry within the tribe. If they marry outside of the tribe "Then their inheritance will be subtracted from the inheritance of our fathers and be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they will marry, and it will be subtracted from the lot of our inheritance" (Ch. 36: 3)

G-d's Response

Moshe's ruling remedies the problem: "This is the word that Hashem has commanded regarding the daughters of Zelophchad, saying: Let them be wives to whomever is good in their eyes, but only to the family of their father (the tribe of Menasheh) shall they become wives." (36:6) Each of the five daughters of Zelophchad chooses to marry within the tribe and the inheritance is secured. Each chooses a marriage partner within the tribe of Menasheh in order to keep the Nachlah (inheritance) in the "family."

Limiting vs. Defining

When we contrast Korach and the daughters of Zelophchad we see two ways of understanding the impact of being given an inheritance. Korach feels limited and threatened -- enough so to instigate a catastrophic rebellion against G-d, Moshe, and Aaron. He, and his cohorts are swallowed up by the earth, the opposite of receiving a portion of "land". Perhaps it suits his perspective of being limited and thwarted by his inheritance.

The daughters of Zelophchad, on the the other hand, choose to accept their inheritance as
a definition rather than a limitation. They are always called "the daughters of Zelophchad" for that is indeed their inheritance. When Moshe tells them , "Let them be wives to whomever is good in their eyes, but only to the family of their father shall they become wives," we could think that this was a contradiction. What if the man who is good in their eyes is from a different tribe? Apparently, the daughters found happiness with their portion and chose men who were good in their eyes and who also were from the tribe of Menasheh.

Being happy with our portion

We notice that the teaching of Ben Zoma is not just to be satisfied with our portion, but
Sameach, (Samech-Mem-Chet) happy with our portion. Like the daughters of Zelophchad, each of us is the child of our parents. Our tradition is to call someone by their name and their father/mother's name (e.g. Tirzah bat Zelophchad). We don't come into the world with every single possibility open. We all have an inheritance -- our gender, our physical features, the parenting we received, the time in which we were born, etc. To find what is good in our eyes from within our inheritance is our life-long mission.

Korach's unhappiness with his portion leads to destruction and his death; Pinchas, whose
inheritance is changed, exemplifies what can lead to change -- namely, selfless,
whole-hearted commitment. [Imagine if Korach had acted in the same way that Pinchas acted. Perhaps his "portion" would have changed as well]. The daughters of Zelophchad show us how all inheritances have strings attached, but that we need not see these qualifications as limitations.

The one who is happy with Chelko, her or his portion, is the one who is rich. To be defined by our inheritance is to have a focus. Even if we were born with endless possibilities, we would still need to make choices; we would need to limit ourselves in some way in order to accomplish anything. Our inheritance gives us a place to start. When we define ourselves we actually become free to seek all of the expansive possibilities that lie within that definition; and to fulfill the potential that is in that definition is the source of our wealth.