Moshe did not answer

B"H

We find four occurrences at in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers) that seem to stand out (from all of scripture) in that Moshe was either unable or unwilling to answer questions put to him.

We find the first occurrence in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 25:6 which reads:
והמה בכים פתח אהל מועד

Loosely translated:
(When Zimri brought the Midianite women, before Moshe and the entire congregation) they were all crying by the opening of the Tent of Meeting.

Rashi brings a midrash about the reason they were crying:
Zimri brought the Midianite women to Moshe and asked him: "Am I permitted to marry this woman or not? And should you say 'no', who permitted Tziporah to you?!?" Moshe was silent.


We find the second occurrence in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 27:4-5, which read:
למה יגרע שם אבינו מתוך משפחתו כי אין לו בן תנה לנו אחזה בתוך אחי אבינו
ויקרב משה את משפטן לפני השם

Loosely translated:
(The daughters of Tzlofchad came to Moshe and made the following argument:) Why must the name of our father be removed from his family as he has no sons. Give us a portion of land amongst our Father's brothers.
And Moshe brought their claim to the Almighty.

Rashi again brings the midrash: The daughters of Tzlfchad made the following statement to Moshe: our father was killed for a private sin (=violation of Shabbat). He was not part of Korach's followers and he did not commit trison aginst you. Why must he be punished in the same manner as Korach and his gang by loosing his portion of the land of Israel?!?!

Here again, Moshe did not answer on his own. He went to Hashem to get guidance.


We find the third occurrence in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 36:2-3,6, which read:
ויאמרו את אדני צוה השם לתת את הארץ בנחלה בגורל לבני ישראל ואדני צֻוָּה בהשם לתת את נחלת צלפחד אחינו לבנתיו
...ומגרל נחלתנו יגרע
זה הדבר אשר צוה השם לבנות צלפחד לאמר, לטוב בעיניהם תהיינה לנשים

Loosely translated:
The tribe of Menashe came to Moshe arguing as follows: Our master (=Moshe) was commanded by the Almighty to portion the land amongst the Jews and our master was further commanded by the Almighty to give the portion of Tzlofchad our brother to his daughters.... and our portion be reduced (when they get married to someone from a different tribe)... Moshe (consulted Hashem and said this is what Hashem commanded to the daughers of Tzlofchad: they shall marry who they desire (so long as they are from the same tribe, thereby not reducing the total portion of the tribe.)

Here again, Moshe did not answer on his own. He went to Hashem to get guidance.

Lastly, with a bit of time-travel we find the fourth occurrence in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 9:7-8, which reads:
ויאמרו האנשים ההמה אליו אנחנו טמאים לנפש אדם למה נגרע לבלתי הקריב את קרבן יהוה במעדו בתוך בני ישראל
ויאמר אלהם משה עמדו ואשמעה מה יצוה השם לכם

Loosely translated:
(The people from the burial society came to Moshe) and they said: We are defiled with the impurity of death, why should we loose-out by not being able to bring the Pascal sacrifice at the right time with the rest of the Jews?
And Moshe said to them: stand here while I hear what Hashem shall command for you to do.


Evidently, here again Moshe did not answer on his own. He went to Hashem to get guidance.


Obviously the common thread here is that Moshe didn't answer directly when a question was posed to him. Why?!?!

To refine the question, let us look at the following:
In the first instance, Moshe could have answered very simply as follows: Tziporah was permitted to me because 1) we were married before the receiving the Torah and its prohibitions against marrying Midianites, 2) she accepted upon her the yolke of heaven, in other words, she converted.

In the second instance, Moshe could have also answered the daughters of Tzlofchad. The subject matter that we're dealing with here is not a very complicated issue in the laws of inheritance. And Moshe certainly knew the laws pertaining to this situation. He could have paskened (=make a rulling) himself.

In the third instance, Moshe could have replied the very same way without consulting with Hashem, for the answer was very straight-forward. He could have paskened again, on his own.

In the fourth instance (which happens to have occurred first, chronologically) Moshe could have come up with some answer himself. It may be somewhat unlikely that he would have commanded a Second Passover (which is what Hashem commanded) but nonetheless he didn't even try to answer.

Yes in all four instances, Moshe did not answer and did not pasken... Evidently, he was either unwilling or unable....

What's going on?

An explanation:
If we examine closely what transpired in the first two instances we will understand what caused Moshe's inhibition. We will then be able to extrapolate to the last two instances.

In the first instance Zimri ask Moshe a question. But before even giving Moshe the opportunity to answer he also offered criticism (or even an accusation.) Moshe surly had a very good answer (as stated above), but he abstained from presenting it. Had Moshe answered, an outside observer might have concluded that Moshe is attempting to defend his actions in order to maintain authority. In other words Moshe's answer might have been misinterpreted as trying to safeguard his personal interests, G-d forbid.

Moshe then, decided not to give a legal ruling and leave the matter to others, lest it be misinterpreted. Moshe did not want to be involved under these circumstances.

In the second instance the daughters of Tzlofchad came and asked for a legal ruling from Moshe, but along with the problem-statement they also added that their Father was not in the camp of Korach. Had they simply made a she'ela (presented their case and seeked advise) Moshe would have been very likely to give them ruling (as stated above). However, once they mentioned that their father was not on Korach's side (i.e., he was on Moshe's side) Moshe was no longer willing to give them a ruling. Had Moshe paskended a ruling, to an outside observer it may have been misinterpreted as if the daughters of Tzlofchad bribed Moshe to receive their father's portion. In other words, an outside oberserver may have misinterpreted Moshe's answer as a pay-back for their father's support, G-d forbid.

Again, Moshe decided not to give a legal ruling under these circumstances, lest it be misinterpreted. Instead he left it to Hashem to answer.

So, we see how great a leader Moshe was! In either cases, he could have answered and ruled, and yet when there's even a tiny chance that his actions may be misinterpreted he removed himself from the situation and deferred to others. Moshe's integrity is exemplary to the nth degree.

We can now also understand what happened in the last two instances:
In the instnace of the tribe of Menashe approaching Moshe regarding the ruling on the matter of the daughters of Tzlofchad: even though the ruling came from Above, and the matter at hand is only a derivative of the original matter, Moshe told the tribe of Menash: "I cannot hand this file. Because the genesis of this file was not for me to handle, I will not touch it even now." Again, Moshe demonstrating exemplary integrity.

In the last instance of the burial society approaching Moshe because they did not want to loose out on the very special Pascal sacrifice: there are varying opinions as to why their were ritually impure. According to one option they were impure at that point in time because they just handled the burial of Datan and Aviran. According to a different option they were impure because their were carrying the bones of Yosef to the Land of Israel.

If we go with the opinion that the burial society was impure due to handling Datan and Aviran's (i.e., Moshe's nephews') burial, had Moshe benefited the burial society in any way (such as ruling for them a second Passover), an out side observer may have misinterpreted this as payback for their services. In other words, in may have been misinterpreted as Moshe having vested interest in their actions.

If we go with the second option that the burial society was impure due to handling Yosef's bones, had Moshe benefited the burial society in any way, an outside observer may have misinterpreted this as payback for doing Moshe's work for him -- Moshe was handling Yosef's bones at first, and had given the task over to the burial society. Again, Moshe's ruling may have been misinterpreted as a form of payback.

All in all we get a glimpse into Moshe's personality and leadership, specifically by what he wasn't saying. His abstention from matters that may have had a tiny chance of being misconstrued is a true testament of his character and integrity as the proto-leader of the Jewish nation.

Please G-d may we merit many more leaders in Moshe's image, speedily!

Good Shabbos.