Kaisipang Hudyo sa Ester 7:8: Akeidat Yitzchak & Guide for the Perplexed

(1) There is no firm evidence that the city of Shechem mentioned in the books of the prophets is identical with the town near which Dinah was raped. There are pointers that suggest that this was not the same city. If the brothers were tending sheep at Shechem while their homes were at Chevron, Shechem must be presumed to have been less than a day's walk away. It is unreasonable to assume that Jacob sent Joseph all by himself on a journey of several days, as would have been the case if Shechem mentioned there were identical with the Nablus of today. In particular, seeing that so much bloodshed had taken place there, it would have been irresponsible to send a seventeen-year old into such hostile country all by himself. Even the brothers themselves were hardly likely to provoke the local population by grazing their flocks in their vicinity. We must assume therefore that Ir Shechem means the city of Shechem in the same sense as Ir David means "the capital of David's kingdom." The author explains how to dispose of apparently contradictory comments by the Talmud in Sanhedrin 102. (2) The reference to Dinah being a daughter of Leah is undoubtedly complimentary. The Torah, by referring to her ancestry, emphasizes that she had nothing but the best of intentions, that her excursion did not indicate a departure from traditional Jewish conduct. The repetition of the three expressions "He took her, he lay with her, he forced her" indicate that she remained uncooperative during all three phases of what is being described; she did not weaken in her resistance in any way. The reason three actions are mentioned is because Jacob's family suffered three indignities: A) The shame suffered by the whole family; B) The damage done to the girl's innocence and the loss of her virginity; C) The physical pain caused Dinah when she had to submit to violence. The punishment for the first of these indignities prescribed by the Torah is boshet, compensation in financial terms. The second indignity which reduced Dinah's value as a prospective bride in the compensation for the victim. It is noteworthy that Dinah did not lose her appeal for Shechem on account of any of the indignities he had heaped upon her. "He cleaved to the daughter of Jacob" (34,3). The family of Jacob had not become sullied in his eyes; he loved her just as before (not like Amnon who lost all his desire for Tamar once he had raped her). Shechem tried to talk softly to Dinah's heart to help her recover from her pain. (3) The order in which the Torah describes the arrival of the sons, after Chamor had already arrived at Jacob's house, is to exonerate Jacob from any implication in his sons' subsequent actions, since there had not been an opportunity for them to consult. That is why Jacob on his deathbed refers to "in their secret counsel let my soul not be involved" (Genesis 49,6). It is to underscore that he had not been a party to their plan. Obviously, the sons could not have heard about the event while being in the field. Therefore, we must understand the sequence of events thus: (34,7) "When the sons came home and heard what a shameful act had been perpetrated against Israel, namely that a daughter of Jacob had been slept with, something that could not be tolerated." (4) Chamor uses the future course of events in order to compensate for an injustice that could no longer be undone. He emphasizes that he does not only want to legitimize his relations with Dinah, but goes far beyond this, and this constitutes a great honor for Jacob. The king offers the freedom of the country to Jacob's family. The sons' reason for deceiving Chamor has already been discussed in the first part of this chapter. (5) When the brothers use the term tame, defiled, when referring to the rape and subsequently suggesting a compromise, they are already using deceit, since they conveyed the impression to Chamor and Shechem that they had calmed down already and that their suggestions therefore could be taken at face value, could be believed. An exact examination of the text reveals that in fact the brothers did not breach any contract, nor did they retract from their original position. This is the reason Onkelos translates the word mirmah, slyness, deceit, simply as chochmah, cleverness, wisdom. They said, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man with a foreskin because it is a shame for us to forgive such an act." Chamor understood them to mean that the words "we cannot" refer only to the foreskin, not to the shame they had suffered. Similarly, Chamor understood their statement "if you will become like us," as referring only to the rite of circumcision, whereas the brothers used it in a wider sense meaning that they would have to embrace all aspects of the brothers' lifestyle and religion. Thereby they served notice that they were not going to forgive anything. We note that nowhere did the brothers promise that Dinah would become Shechem's wife. They only spoke in general terms, "our daughters," "your daughters," etc., and threatened to leave the neighborhood with their sister if their demands were not complied with. When Chamor reported in his city on these discussions, he represented the rape episode as having been resolved, and emphasized the future advantages to be gained by intermarrying with Jacob's family. The unexpected acceptance by the townspeople of the terms offered may have convinced the sons of Jacob that heaven had indicated its approval for their plan of revenge. (6) Possibly the "third day" referred to was the third day of the week, i.e. Tuesday, but in reality the first day after the circumcision. This day is under the constellation of Mars, and signals bloodshed. (7) The brothers had to prevent the wives and children from raising an alarm in the neighboring towns after they had killed the males. Therefore, the females and children had to be taken captive. Since abandoning the herds made no sense, and since their undertaking had evidently enjoyed the help of heaven, they felt entitled to acquire the livestock etc. The repeated outcry "May our sister be treated like a harlot?" underscores that to revenge such a misdeed, considerations of personal safety that are normally valid criteria, and which were part of the objections raised by Jacob, were not valid now. (8) Until now Jacob had not been certain that his dream about the ladder had been of a prophetic nature; he only became sure now that G-d spoke to him and identified Himself as having been the One to whom Jacob had made the vow at that time. (9) He was intent to remove any trace of idols that had been part of the loot his sons had taken from the city of Shechem and Chamor, and to remove any impurity acquired through contact with such idols. To this end, he instructed all his people to change their garments. Of course, the exhortation included the order to desist from any idolatrous practices that might have been picked up by his sons due to their contact with the idol worshippers. (12) The death of Deborah, a fine woman, may have been the final chapter in the sons' repentance of the whole Dinah episode, since we have a tradition that the death of righteous people provides atonement for the survivors. Inasmuch as all of Jacob's sons could qualify for the heritage promised to their forefathers, G-d repeats "to your descendants I will give the land," meaning to all of them, not like Esau or Ishmael who did not qualify though they too had been descendants of Isaac and Abraham respectively. (10) Contrary to the normal custom of a pupil departing from his master, in this case G-d departed from Jacob, the latter still remaining in his place. This suggests that Jacob's task had not yet been completed, prompting him to erect the monument and fulfil payment of his vow. It was here that the betrothal of Israel and G-d took place, later to be consummated by chuppah, a wedding ceremony at Mount Sinai. Details of this whole process will be discussed in Chapter forty-eight. (11) At the beginning of Rachel's labor, the midwife encouraged her saying, "Do not worry, this too will be a son for you." This gave rise to Rachel naming the child before she had even seen it. (13) It seems that Jacob had not been home at the time Reuben had rearranged the furnishings in Bilhah's bedroom. Reuben would not have dared to do this otherwise. The statement that the sons of Jacob were twelve may indicate that at that juncture Reuben lost his status as the firstborn, no longer counting as two (since the firstborn normally receives a double portion of the father's estate). More likely however, the Torah may stress that Reuben remained a full member of the Jewish people.

(2) Concerning the twelve mitzvot singled out for emphasis at the Mount Gerizim assembly, the following is worth noting. Whenever something is accorded special attention or protection, this may be due to either of two causes. A) the subject matter is so vital that its loss is irretrievable; therefore every effort must be made to protect it against loss or damage. Examples are vital human organs such as the heart, lung, liver all of which are surrounded by a protective ribcage as additional protection. B) The subject matter is so fragile and exposed, devoid of defenses that is must be defended from the outside. Examples are the fingers or toes which need nails and gloves to protect them against the cold; the heel has a tough skin to protect it where it treads. Similarly, the Torah has emphasized the protection of the weak, i.e. the stranger, the widow, the orphan. The Torah warns no less than thirty six times against abusing these weaker members of society. The selection of the twelve commandments in question seems to be motivated by similar considerations. 1) The severity of the sin itself. 2) The ease with which one falls victim to the lure to commit this sin. In the latter instance, there may be three immediate causes for a person to commit such a sin. A) The victim is defenseless; B) the sin is so commonly practiced that one does not feel embarassed when committing it. C) lack of self restraint on the part of the sinner. Each of these "groupings" is represented by three "curses." Category one comprises the making of idols, physical violence against one's parents, violating other people's property rights, in other words violating the principle of "love your fellow man as you love yourself." Murder is not mentioned, since it is not a crime that the average person is ever guilty of. The second category, -the naturally weak,- are represented by A) misleading the blind; B) depriving widows and orphans of their just deserts; C) taking advantage of the widow of one's father, who may not protest the rape, since for financial reasons she may be dependent on the very step-son who forces his attentions on her. Category three are three examples of sexual licentiousness due to proximity, i.e. easy availability or easily obtained consent by the partner. One example is sleeping with one's sister, the second one is sleeping with one's mother-in-law. The third one is sleeping with one's livestock. (3) The reason the latter example is positioned between the other examples of incest, is to indicate that the Torah assumes a different motive for sleeping with one's mother-in-law than for sleeping with one's widowed step mother. The last category that of 1) hitting a fellow human being when there are no witnesses, 2) accepting bribes to murder the innocent, and 3) failing to see to it that Torah legislation is observed, can be viewed in the following manner. The first two sins appeared inconsequential to the sinner since he feels protected by the secrecy surrounding his deed. Our sages even regard the instance of "hitting someone in a secret place" as referring to lashon hara, evil tongue. (Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer 53) In such a case, the perpetrator certainly does not realise the impact of what he has done. (4) At any rate, the perpetrator hides behind a facade of piety, wishes to be known as a pillar of society. Concerning all such people, the Torah comes out and says "cursed all those who do not maintain and support the words of this Torah." Whosoever occupies a position that enables him to strengthen Torah must do so personally, first and foremost. When we turn to the list of blessings promised for observing the commandments, we find three apparently superfluous comments by Moses, interspersed in the blessings cited. A) 28,2, "all these blessings will reach you as a result of listening to Me." B) 28,9, "G'd will establish you as a holy nation when you observe the mitzvot and walk in all His ways." C) 28,13, "G'd will make you top not bottom, when you listen." In view of the fact that verse one had already included all that is repeated in the three quotations just listed, the repetition may reflect that at that point a certain collective moral progress had been successfully completed. It is possible to absorb Torah teachings, live accordingly, without acting out of any deep seated conviction of the truth and validity of these teachings. This stage is concluded by what is said in verse two "having listened to the voice etc." Once one has adopted the Torah way of life, and the performance of good deeds has become habitual, such a lifestyle begins to influence the person living it, beneficially. This stage is concluded and rewarded by verse nine "as a result of your observing etc." The final stage in the progression towards becoming the personality the Torah wishes to shape, is when the student's personality is the result of having assimilated all the teachings and following same to elevate him to a level of perception of his purpose in life that he had not previously even dreamed of. At that point, as per verse thirteen, "G'd will make you head etc." When this development has been completed, Moses is able to say with confidence (verse 14) "you will not depart from all the things that I command you." The message of the blessing stands out clearly. A Torah personality does not mature overnight. It develops gradually. The help extended by Heaven along the way is roughly proportionate to the distance towards the objective one has already travelled. The way is paved initially by an easing of one's financial problems. (Verse two, the blessings that will be conferred are material) The second stage will be attended by spiritual blessings, (i.e. verse nine "a holy nation") The third and last stage will be reached when G'd fulfils the promise in verse twelve, "He will open all His store of goodness to you." When the nations of the world will witness the ongoing "boom" conditions in Israel, this will testify that the Jewish nation is "a great and wise nation," (Deut. 4,6) something that Torah quotes the gentiles as saying. The gentiles are impressed by an ongoing economic miracle, ascribe it to Israel's sagacity.

Yaẓa (“he came out”) is the opposite of ba (“he came in”). The term yaẓa is applied to the motion of a body from a place in which it had previously rested, to another place (whether the body be a living being or not), e.g., “And when they were gone out (yaẓeü) if the city” (Gen. 44:4); “If fire break out (teẓe)” (Exod. xxii. .5). It was then figuratively employed to denote the appearance of something incorporeal, as, “The word went out (yaẓa) of the king’s mouth” (Esth. 7:8); “When this deed of the queen shall come abroad (yeẓe) unto all women” (Esth. 1:17), that is to say, “the report will spread.” Again, “For out of Zion shall go forth (teẓe) the Law” (Isa. 2:3); further, “The sun had risen (yaẓa) upon the earth” (Gen. 19:23), i.e., its light became visible.