Vayishlach: Destroying Cities

This dvar Torah discusses sexual assault 

The experience of Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Yaakov, has been turned over by feminists for generations. It brings up so much pain. Was Dinah “kidnapped” by force by Shechem, as my elementary school teachers would have it? Was she a woman pursuing her own desire, as popularized in Anita Diamant’s feminist midrashic novel “The Red Tent?” What does this story say about sex, about power, and about justice? 

The main event of the story — at least as it would have been for Dinah — takes place in a mere two pesukim: 

וַתֵּצֵא דִינָה בַּת־לֵאָה אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לְיַעֲקֹב לִרְאוֹת בִּבְנוֹת הָאָרֶץ׃ וַיַּרְא אֹתָהּ שְׁכֶם בֶּן־חֲמוֹר הַחִוִּי נְשִׂיא הָאָרֶץ וַיִּקַּח אֹתָהּ וַיִּשְׁכַּב אֹתָהּ וַיְעַנֶּהָ׃

Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her, and took her and lay with her by force.

(Vayishlach 34:1-2)

Dinah, who as far as we know had no sisters, goes out, toward the company of other women. But she is apprehended by Shechem, one of the most powerful men she could encounter. Scholars debate the meaning of the root “inah,” and if it refers to forced sex or to sex that brings shame (eg non-marital or extra-tribal) sex but that could be consensual. But I find it impossible to see the pshat as anything other than a story of rape. 

After assaulting Dinah, Shechem develops a desire for her, and he and his father go to Yaakov and his sons to ask for her hand in marriage. Dinah’s brothers are angry, and plot against Shechem and his father Chamor: they claim that their family cannot intermarry with Chamor’s clan unless they circumcise themselves. Shechem and Chamor agree. But they don’t know that this is a trick.

וַיְהִי בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בִּהְיוֹתָם כֹּאֲבִים וַיִּקְחוּ שְׁנֵי־בְנֵי־יַעֲקֹב שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אֲחֵי דִינָה אִישׁ חַרְבּוֹ וַיָּבֹאוּ עַל־הָעִיר בֶּטַח וַיַּהַרְגוּ כׇּל־זָכָר׃ וְאֶת־חֲמוֹר וְאֶת־שְׁכֶם בְּנוֹ הָרְגוּ לְפִי־חָרֶב וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת־דִּינָה מִבֵּית שְׁכֶם וַיֵּצֵאוּ׃ בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב בָּאוּ עַל־הַחֲלָלִים וַיָּבֹזּוּ הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר טִמְּאוּ אֲחוֹתָם׃ אֶת־צֹאנָם וְאֶת־בְּקָרָם וְאֶת־חֲמֹרֵיהֶם וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר־בָּעִיר וְאֶת־אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׂדֶה לָקָחוּ׃ וְאֶת־כׇּל־חֵילָם וְאֶת־כׇּל־טַפָּם וְאֶת־נְשֵׁיהֶם שָׁבוּ וַיָּבֹזּוּ וְאֵת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר בַּבָּיִת׃

On the third day, when they were in pain, Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob’s sons, brothers of Dinah, took each his sword, came upon the city unmolested, and slew all the males. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword, took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away. The other sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the town, because their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and asses, all that was inside the town and outside; all their wealth, all their children, and their wives, all that was in the houses, they took as captives and booty.

(Vayishlach 34:26-30)

Taking advantage of the physical weakness of the newly circumcised men, Shimon and Levi descend upon the city in defense of their sister. They rescue her — we as the readers did not know that Dinah was still captive in Shechem’s house until this point — and destroy the city. The text emphasizes that they did this in defense of Dinah, as “brothers of Dinah” and “because their sister had been defiled.”

Shimon and Levi’s father is angry with their act of revenge. Yaakov expresses fear that the other local nations will attack their family in retaliation, saying “You have brought trouble on me, making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my men are few in number, so that if they unite against me and attack me, I and my house will be destroyed,” (Vayishlach 34:31). But Shimon and Levi are unapologetic. Their response to Yaakov is left hanging in the air at the end of the perek: “Should our sister be treated as if she is worthless?”

Yaakov’s disapproval of Shimon and Levi’s actions comes up again, as he speaks to his children at the end of his life at the end of Sefer Bereishit. As he addresses each of his sons, Yaakov chastises Shimon and Levi:

שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אַחִים כְּלֵי חָמָס מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶם׃ בְּסֹדָם אַל־תָּבֹא נַפְשִׁי בִּקְהָלָם אַל־תֵּחַד כְּבֹדִי כִּי בְאַפָּם הָרְגוּ אִישׁ וּבִרְצֹנָם עִקְּרוּ־שׁוֹר׃ אָרוּר אַפָּם כִּי עָז וְעֶבְרָתָם כִּי קָשָׁתָה אֲחַלְּקֵם בְּיַעֲקֹב וַאֲפִיצֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.

Simeon and Levi are a pair;

Their weapons are tools of lawlessness. 

Let not my person be included in their council,

Let not my being be counted in their assembly.

For when angry they slay men,

And when pleased they maim oxen.

Cursed be their anger so fierce,

And their wrath so relentless.

I will divide them in Jacob,

Scatter them in Israel.

(Breishit 49:5-7)

Both traditional and many modern commentators see Yaakov’s final words to this pair as amplifying his previous criticism of their actions. They are rash and lawless, unthinking and dangerous. Though Dinah may have deserved defense and protection, Shimon and Levi were immoderate and careless. They went too far, though their cause might have been worthy. 

But Yaakov’s language, his use of the word “arur,” “cursed,” calls to mind other Biblical curses associated with Shechem. The city of Shechem (which shares a name with the rapist) lies between two mountains: Har Gerizim and Har Eval. This is where, in Devarim, the Jewish people are commanded to assemble to hear the reading of the blessings and the curses (which is actualized in the eighth chapter of Yehoshua). The choice is made stark: 

...וּנְתָנְךָ יְהֹוָה לְרֹאשׁ וְלֹא לְזָנָב וְהָיִיתָ רַק לְמַעְלָה וְלֹא תִהְיֶה לְמָטָּה כִּי־תִשְׁמַע אֶל־מִצְוֺת  יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם לִשְׁמֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת׃ וְלֹא תָסוּר מִכׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם הַיּוֹם יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול לָלֶכֶת אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים לְעׇבְדָם׃ וְלֹא תָסוּר מִכׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם הַיּוֹם יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול לָלֶכֶת אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים לְעׇבְדָם׃

… The LORD will make you the head, not the tail; you will always be at the top and never at the bottom—if only you obey and faithfully observe the commandments of the LORD your God that I enjoin upon you this day, and do not deviate to the right or to the left from any of the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day and turn to the worship of other gods. But if you do not obey the LORD your God to observe faithfully all His commandments and laws which I enjoin upon you this day, all these curses shall come upon you and take effect.

(Devarim 28:13-15)

Either serve God, Devarim teaches, or be punished with famine, military defeat, and exile. There is a litany of blessings and a litany of curses, where “arur” is a refrain. For example:

אָרוּר אַתָּה בָּעִיר וְאָרוּר אַתָּה בַּשָּׂדֶה׃ אָרוּר טַנְאֲךָ וּמִשְׁאַרְתֶּךָ׃ אָרוּר פְּרִי־בִטְנְךָ וּפְרִי אַדְמָתֶךָ שְׁגַר אֲלָפֶיךָ וְעַשְׁתְּרֹת צֹאנֶךָ׃ אָרוּר אַתָּה בְּבֹאֶךָ וְאָרוּר אַתָּה בְּצֵאתֶךָ׃

Cursed shall you be in the city and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the issue of your womb and the produce of your soil, the calving of your herd and the lambing of your flock. Cursed shall you be in your comings and cursed shall you be in your goings.

(Devarim 28:16-19)

Shechem, then, becomes a site of stark binaries: God or idolatry, blessings or curses. This is reinforced when at the end of Sefer Yehoshua, before his death, Yehoshua gathers the Jewish people there and once again presents them with the choice: serve God, or not?

וְאִם רַע בְּעֵינֵיכֶם לַעֲבֹד אֶת־יְהֹוָה בַּחֲרוּ לָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת־מִי תַעֲבֹדוּן אִם אֶת־אֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר־עָבְדוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר (בעבר) [מֵעֵבֶר] הַנָּהָר וְאִם אֶת־אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם יֹשְׁבִים בְּאַרְצָם וְאָנֹכִי וּבֵיתִי נַעֲבֹד אֶת־יְהֹוָה׃ וַיַּעַן הָעָם וַיֹּאמֶר חָלִילָה לָּנוּ מֵעֲזֹב אֶת־יְהֹוָה לַעֲבֹד אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים׃ כִּי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ הוּא הַמַּעֲלֶה אֹתָנוּ וְאֶת־אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים וַאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְעֵינֵינוּ אֶת־הָאֹתוֹת הַגְּדֹלוֹת הָאֵלֶּה וַיִּשְׁמְרֵנוּ בְּכׇל־הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר הָלַכְנוּ בָהּ וּבְכֹל הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר עָבַרְנוּ בְּקִרְבָּם׃

“...if you are loath to serve the LORD, choose this day which ones you are going to serve—the gods that your forefathers served beyond the Euphrates, or those of the Amorites in whose land you are settled; but I and my household will serve the LORD.” In reply, the people declared, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD and serve other gods! For it was the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage, and who wrought those wondrous signs before our very eyes, and guarded us all along the way that we traveled and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.”

(Yehoshua 24:15-17)

In response to their affirmation that yes, they choose God, Yehoshua presses the people: are they sure? They are: “We will serve none but the LORD our God, and we will obey none but Him,” (Yehoshua 24:24). 

This takes place at Shechem. Shechem, where Dinah was raped and held captive, becomes the site of unambiguous choice. Yaakov curses Shimon and Levi for their fierceness and relentlessness. But Shechem becomes the place where the Jewish people commit to fierce, relentless service of God. 

It can be tempting to think like Yaakov, to fear retaliation against the stark clarity of consequences for sexual violence. Perhaps there will be backlash. Perhaps it will bring vulnerability to those who had previously thought they were strong. Maybe moderation is the way. 

My beloved mentor and teacher Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg writes:*

The midrashic imagination demands that we create a world in which men and all people do not rape.  Do not harass.  Do not objectify.  

In which men, and all people, do not see and take and assault, turn their gaze on other human beings of various genders busy moving through their days, as subjects, as agents and see objects to be taken.  A world in which other men, and other people of all genders, do not aid and abet, cover up, strategize, spin and minimize the actions of the people who do this.  In which we believe survivors of all genders when they speak of what has happened to them. 

This world is not a world that is moderate about the preciousness of each of God’s children. It is not one we will build tentatively.

Because in the end, Shechem is the place of choices. It asks us: whose side are we on? Are we allied with God, against conquering powers? Are we ready to fight for Dinah, or are we tiptoeing cautiously into the city while she is imprisoned? 

I think Dinah deserves for cities to be destroyed for her. What world will emerge once we’ve torn those cities down? 

*If you’re not already subscribed to her Substack, what are you doing!?