Shimon & Levi Destroy Shechem

Why did Simeon and Levi kill the people of Shechem? Were their actions morally justified? Morally imperative? And why do they serve as the prototype for the law of bar mitzvah, the Jewish boy’s attainment of maturity and responsibility?

Arriving in Shechem, Dina ventured out to observe the local girls. She was abducted by the Crown Prince, who violently raped and abused her. Without seeking counsel, two of her brothers brutally massacred the townspeople along with the perpetrator. Does t...

Why would an irrational, irresponsible and legally questionable act serve as the precedent by which to measure reasonability and legal responsibility?

The women in Abraham’s family were abducted (or nearly abducted) no less than four times . . .

It is written in the Torah: “Jacob heard that his daughter Dina had been defiled. But his sons were in the fields with the cattle and Jacob kept his silence until they returned home. Hamor, father of Shechem came to Jacob to talk. And when Jacob’s sons re...

From beginning to end, Genesis 34 tells a terrifying story. Dina, Jacob’s daughter – the only Jewish daughter mentioned in the entire patriarchal narratives – leaves the safety of home to go out to “look at the daughters of the land.” She is raped and abd...

Let’s take a moment to explore 10 wonderful trees (or groves) whose stories are woven into the familiar (and not so familiar) narratives of the Torah.

Calculating the bar mitzvah date, the privileges and responsibilities of the bar mitzvah boy, and laws and customs associated with the bar mitzvah celebration.