~ One Hundred Words on the Parsha - Pinchas

אבינו מת במדבר... והוא לא היה... בעדת קרח

"Our father died in the desert... and he was not... in Korach's group."

The daughters of Tzelofchad were asking for a piece of land in Eretz Yisrael that their father was supposed to receive.

Why did they point out that he wasn't part of Korach's group? Why is that relevant?

One answer can be that they were trying to differentiate themselves from Korach, who similarly stood in front of Moshe Rabbeinu challenging his authority.They were trying to convey that, unlike Korach, who stood before Moshe Rabbeinu to challenge him, they were coming before Moshe with a sincere question motivated only by their respect for their father and their love for Eretz Yisrael.

The take away is that parents need to differentiate between different requests. Not every challenge is chutzpah. Sometimes it is sincere and should be treated accordingly.