Vayishlach
Gen. 32:4 - 36:43
Précis: As he nears his return to his homeland, Jacob sent (vayishlach) messengers to Esau to ascertain Esau’s state of mind after their 20 year separation. While he awaits a reply, Jacob encounters an “adversary” (most assume an angel) with whom Jacob wrestles through the night. As dawn breaks, the adversary announces that Jacob’s name is to be changed to Israel: “He who wrestles with God.” On the following day, Esau approaches, and despite Jacob’s fears, there is a happy reunion.
We then read the story of how a local prince rapes Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, and then asks to marry her. Jacob agrees on condition that all of the men of the city are circumcised. While the men are recovering, Jacob’s sons Simon and Levi attack the city and kill all of the inhabitants in revenge for the insult to their sister.
Jacob soon travels to Beth-el (the site of his ladder dream), and on the way, Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies following her labor. Thereafter, Isaac’s death is noted, as is his burial by Esau and Jacob. The parasha ends with a genealogy of Esau and his descendants.
Gen. 34:33 “And it happened on the third day, while they were recovering, that Jacob’s two sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brother, took each his sword, and came upon the city unopposed, and they killed every male.”
Given the events of recent weeks, I thought I would revisit and update a d’var torah I wrote in 2008, at the time of the Mumbai massacres in India. The story of the rape of Dinah is not a Sunday school staple. Dinah is raped by a prince of Shechem, who subsequently seeks her hand in marriage. Jacob and his sons concur, provided that the inhabitants of Shechem agree to be circumcised (converted?). While the men are recovering, Simeon and Levi (Dinah’s full brothers) kill all of the male inhabitants of the town.
The issues of revenge and justice have been debated through the history of Torah commentary. Most commentators approve of the slaying of Dinah’s rapist (after all, she was raped!), but many question the propriety of slaying the other men of Shechem. Maimonides suggests that it was justified because the people of Shechem failed to abide by one of the 7 Noachide laws binding on all of humanity: establishing systems of justice. Nachmanides believes that the sons acted brutally and took the law into their own hands. Textual support for his position is found in the deathbed statement by Jacob, who curses the anger of Simeon and Levi.
In our current war against Islamic terror, this debate among our sages about retribution, justice, and the responsibility for evil strikes a contemporary chord. Do those who harbor terrorists deserve death? What is the responsibility of the community of nations when faced with the kind of terror recently experienced in Paris, in Mali, in Syria, and in Israel?
There are times when it may be appropriate to withhold one’s full strength in the defeat of evil. But when the opponent is a modern Amalek, intent on our destruction, and devoid of any human compassion, the time to defer is not now. While Simeon and Levi acted rashly, they acted in the cause of justice. So must we.
