In this week’s Parsha, the Bnos Tzlafchad are concerned about the legacy of their father and approach Moshe Rabbeinu about the laws of inheritance. “Why should our father's name be eliminated from his family because he had no son? Give us a portion along with our father's brothers.” (Bamidbar 27:4) In the next verse, the Torah says that Moshe brought their “Mishpatan” their case, before Hashem. But the word “Mishpatan” is written with a very large “Nun” at the end of the word. What is the reason for the large Nun?
Rav Dovid Feinstein ZT”L provides a fascinating suggestion (Kol Dodi on Chumash). He writes that Moshe Rabbeinu suspected that the Bnos Tzlafchad were not being entirely truthful in arguing that their concern was for their father’s legacy. Moshe felt that a subtle part of their motivation was to inherit land for their own financial gain. The “Nun” in the word “Mishpatan” translates to “their”. Moshe wrote a larger Nun so that it would be clear to everyone that it referred to their case – “MishpataN” – since he suspected they had their own agenda.
Hashem corrected Moshe’s misconception – the Bnos Tzlafchad did not have this ulterior motive. He answered, “Tzlafchad's daughters speak justly. You shall certainly give them a portion of inheritance along with their father's brothers, and you shall transfer their father's inheritance to them.”
We see from here, Hashem’s Middas HaEmes (attribute of truth). If someone’s intentions are correct and that person has been misunderstood, it is important to tell everyone that the person’s intentions were true and proper. This is the reason, Rav Dovid Feinstein suggests, why this incident of the Bnos Tzlafchad was recorded in the Torah: To record that Moshe suspected the Bnos Tzlafchad of ulterior motives as indicated by the larger Nun that he wrote as referenced above, and then record how Hashem responded – He announced to everyone that their motives were correct. (Others believe that the reason why this section was recorded was to teach a Halacha about inheritance. Reb Dovid believes that this Halacha could have been taught in a different manner.)
