Parshat Vayishlach; Genesis 32:4 – 36:43, By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This week’s portion contains the powerful and I think, sad story of Dinah, only daughter of Jacob. We read in the Torah much about Jacob’s twelve sons who will become the progenitors of the twelve tribes of the people Israel. But only in this week’s portion, Vayishlach, do we hear of the story of Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob.

Dinah’s story is one of so many emotions. Dinah leaves her family’s encampment to explore the area and to visit the “daughters of the land.” Perhaps Dinah wanted to just make a few friends. In a family full of brothers it might have been nice to have a few girl friends. But the tradition doesn’t view her sojourn as such. Since girls of marriageable age would not have been permitted to roam the city freely, the tradition interprets her actions as willful and promiscuous. Is this the rabbis’ way to blame the victim?

Hamor, prince of Shechem, son of the chief of Shechem see Dinah and rapes her. The text tells us that “He saw her, took her and lay with her by force” (Gen 34:2). The repetitive style and use of these words convey the harshness of Hamor’s actions. But Dinah is silent. Her voice is not heard in the text. Her reaction is not recorded. The silence of the Torah in regard to Dinah is overwhelming! But Hamor’s voice demands that his father get Dinah as a wife.

This theme of silence in the face of such violence and cruelty and pain is extended to Dinah’s father, Jacob. “Jacob kept silent until they (the sons) came home (Gen 34:5).” Did Jacob really have nothing to say? Did he not want to give voice to his pain and the pain that his daughter must have experienced?

But Jacob’s sons, Dinah’s brothers. do come from the fields once the news traveled to them. But their own voices are silenced because they are busy listening to the voices of Shechem and Hamor asking for Dinah in marriage. But more than just wanting Dinah for marriage, they propose some kind of tribal confederation. Jacob and his family will be able to own land, and the women of Shechem would be eligible to marry Jacob’s sons as well.

But it seems the brothers have a response to this request which include quasi-conversion for the Shechemites. Circumcision, sign of the covenant of Jacob’s family is required for intermarriage. “Only on this condition will we agree with you; that you will become like us in that every male among you is circumcised” (Gen 34:15). This Shechem and Hamor agree to and they convince the town’s men to agree as well.

Simeon and Levi, the full brothers of Dinah, use this as an opportunity to take revenge upon Shechem and Hamor for the heinous actions toward their sister. On the third day after all the town’s men have been circumcised, when they were weak, the brothers killed all of the men of the town and rescued their sister Dinah, who had been held there—essentially kidnapped by Shechem. But again her voice is not heard. Her story of her captivity not addressed. Her feelings, her voice is silent.

Then the other brothers pillage the town perhaps in payment or restitution for the evil done to their sister and their family name.

All in all, this is a difficult moment in our torah. An initial evil of rape, leads to more pain and violence. And most of all the silences in the story are deafening. And all Jacob can do is to admonish his sons for their actions. While their voices conclude this story with a question to their father-“Should our sister be treated like a whore?” Again the answer is left hanging—silenced.

And so we learn perhaps from this that there must be a different way to treat our family members. We learn that the pain is shared. We learn that what happens to one of us in a family affects all of us in our family. We learn that silence does not bring us a way to resolve, nor forgive. Perhaps if we had heard Dinah’s voice, her pain, or her perspective the story might have unfolded differently. Perhaps if Jacob had been more concerned about his daughter or the brothers’ give more voice to their fears and worries and concerns the story might be different.

Although Jacob’s name has been changed to Israel and he has perhaps changed his trickster ways, we see that his sons have only learned too well that method of being in the world. Simeon and Levi used the ruse of circumcision as a way to wreak revenge upon Shechem and Hamor. But these deceptions are part of an ongoing pattern in the Jacob cycle of stories. First, Jacob took advantage of his brother Esau who sold him the birthright. Then he tricked his father into giving him Esau’s blessing. Then Jacob was tricked by Laban as Leah was switched out for Rachel. But Jacob manipulated Laban’s goat herd so that he too became wealthy. Then Rachel lies to Laban when she stole the household idols. Now Simeon and Levi use this same kind of deception to trick the rapist, Shechem and his father Hamor, so that they will be weakened when they seek revenge for the evil done to their sister.

Children learn from our actions and the environment we create for them. Perhaps this is the strongest message of all from this week’s parasha.

Posted by Lee at December 4, 2006 09:31 AM