We read in Parashat Pinchas of the petition submitted by the five daughters of Tzelofchad to receive a portion in his name in Eretz Yisrael. The Torah tells that when presenting their claim to Moshe, the five women emphasized that their father had not been "among the group that assembled against the Lord, in the group of Korach, for he died due to his own sin…" (27:3). Why is this fact – that Tzelofchad had not participated in Korach's revolt against Moshe – pertinent to their petition to receive a share in his name?
The most obvious explanation, as mentioned by the Ramban and others, emerges from the Gemara's comment in Masekhet Bava Batra (118b) that Korach's followers were denied a share in Eretz Yisrael, even as a posthumous estate. Tzelofchad's daughters thus had to clarify that their father was not among those denied a share in the Land of Israel, and instead died as punishment for a different transgression. He should therefore earn a posthumous share of Eretz Yisraelthrough his daughters.
Rashi, however, seems to explain differently, emphasizing the point that Tzelofchad was punished for committing a personal transgression, without causing any others to sin. Korach's followers not only protested Moshe's authority, but campaigned among the people for support for their cause, thereby leading many others to sin, as well. Rashi appears to assume that those who sinned and caused others to sin forfeited their share in the Land of Israel. It seems likely that Rashi actually refers to the Gemara's approach, that Korach's followers lost their share in Eretz Yisrael, and here he provides an explanation for why this is so – because they not only sinned, but brought others to sin, as well.
The Ramban suggests a different explanation, claiming that Tzelofchad's daughters suspected that Moshe would be less inclined to grant their request had their father been a follower of Korach due to the personal insult and aggravation he suffered during that incident. The Ramban writes, "They thought that Moshe Rabbenu despised Korach's following more so than all sinners who perished in the wilderness, because they rose against him and denied all his actions." They therefore figured that Moshe would show them no sensitivity if he would suspect that Tzelofchad had followed Korach.
The Meshekh Chokhma suggests a halakhic explanation for Tzelofchad's daughters' emphasis on the fact that their father had not joined Korach. According to Halakha, when a person is executed for betraying the Jewish king, all his property goes to the royal treasury, and is not passed to his inheritors. Presumably, the Meshekh Chokhma surmises, Korach and his followers, who challenged Moshe's authority, fall under this category, and all their possessions went to the nation's treasury. Tzelofchad's daughters thus inform Moshe that their father had not participated in Korach's revolt, and they should therefore be granted the right to inherit his property, including his share in Eretz Yisrael.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il