What the Daughters of Zelophehad teach us about leadership, listening, and why certainty may be the greatest danger of all- Parashat Pinchas

In our political culture, changing your mind has become almost unforgivable. Public figures cling to old positions long after reality has shifted, terrified that admitting a change will be framed as weakness, inconsistency, or betrayal. Social media has only amplified the problem. Every tweet is archived, every past statement weaponized, every evolution treated as hypocrisy rather than growth. Yet perhaps the greater failure is not changing our minds-but refusing to. Moshe Dayan famously quipped, “Only a donkey never changes its mind.” Beneath the humor lies a profound truth. The ability to revise one’s thinking is not evidence of poor judgment. It is evidence that one is still paying attention.

This week’s Torah portion, Pinchas, offers one of the Bible’s most extraordinary, and surprisingly radical, moments. And remarkably, it is a lesson taught not by kings, prophets, or priests, but by five women who dared to ask one simple question. As the Israelites stand on the threshold of the Promised Land, Moses announces God’s blueprint for dividing the land among the tribes. It is a perfectly reasonable system for its time: inheritance passes through male family lines. Then five women quietly step forward. The daughters of Zelophehad: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, stand before Moses, the High Priest, the tribal leaders, and the entire community. They ask a question that cuts........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)