[Avodah] Pinchas "All Men and Women are Created Equal in the Eyes of the Almighty"

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Jul 05, 2009 at 05:14:15PM -0400, Cantor Wolberg wrote:
:            When the daughters of Tzelafchad heard that the land was  
: being divided by tribes and that daughters were not included, they  
: gathered together to take counsel, and they said: "Not as the mercies  
: of flesh and blood are those of the Holy One Blessed be He. The  
: mercies of flesh and blood are greater for males than for females, but  
: the mercies of the Holy One Blessed be He are (equivalent) for all, as  
: it is written (Psalms 145:9): And His mercies are over all His  
: works" (Sifrei)...

Can someone explain this Sifrei in light of the general ethic of "women
and children first" (eg the lifeboats on the Titanic)?

For that matter, Horiyos 3:7 (in the gemara: 13a) suggests the problem
is non-trivial.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             One doesn't learn mussar to be a tzaddik,
micha at aishdas.org        but to become a tzaddik.
http://www.aishdas.org                         - Rav Yisrael Salanter
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