ותהיינה מחלה תרצה וחגלה ומלכה ונעה בנות צלפחד לבני דודיהן לנשים…(מסעי לו:יא)

An esteemed kehilla member once came to Harav Reb Shlomo Zalman, the Rav of Vilna, zt”l, with a troubling complaint. He had married his son to the daughter of one of the community’s most respected families—a woman known for her intelligence and Yiras Shamayim. Only after the chasunah did they discover that the kallah was ten years older than the chosson.

As the man continued lamenting his son’s predicament, Reb Shlomo Zalman interrupted him.

“In Parshas Masei,” he said, “the Torah states: ‘ ותהיינה מחלה תרצה וחגלה ומלכה ונעה בנות צלפחד לבני דודיהן לנשים. Rashi points out that here the daughters of Tzelafchad are listed according to their ages, whereas elsewhere they are listed according to their wisdom.”

“Why,” the Rav asked, “does the Torah sometimes list them by wisdom and other times by age?”

The man had no answer.

Reb Shlomo Zalman smiled and explained:

“The Gemara (בבא בתרא קיט) teaches that even the youngest of Tzelofchad’s daughters did not marry until she was forty years old. Before they married, it would not have been appropriate to emphasize their ages, so the Torah listed them according to their wisdom instead. But here, after the Torah tells us that ‘the daughters of Tzelofchad became wives to the sons of their uncles,’ it can list them according to their ages—because once they’re already married, it no longer matters if they’re older.”