It is said that every time you learn Torah, you learn something new. Despite the number of times I learned or have read Parshat Pinchas, I never recognized the connection between the story of Pinchas and the story of the daughters of Tzelafhad.

These stories teach Kibud Av Va’em (honoring your father and mother). There are two aspects to this special mitzvah. It is a mitzvah for us to do toward our three parents, Hashem and our biological parents. Pinchas and the daughters of Tzelafhad show that.

The parsha starts with Pinchas killing someone for the sake of Hashem. He did what he did, not for himself but for his father, Hashem, in shamayim. The daughters of Tzelafhad show the other aspects of this mitzvah. Moshe was asked by the daughters of Tzelafhad, “Why should our father’s name be eliminated from his family because he has no son?” They were asking for a piece of land, their father’s inheritance, but they asked for their father’s sake and not their own.

Pinchas’s actions caused the nation of Israel to be saved, and the daughters of Tzelafhad merited Hashem creating a mitzvah based on their request. Why did they both merit these great rewards? Because they followed Kibud Av Va’em. This mitzvah is difficult but can bring an abundance of merit and blessing into every person’s life. May we all merit in doing Kibud Av Va’em for our three parents, our biological parents and their partner, Hashem.

Shira Sedek is a passionate educator who works in Ramaz Middle School.