Dinah's Abduction

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?

The classical interpretation is that Leah and Dinah’s behavior is being condemned as unbecoming the Jewish woman’s virtue of “innerness.” But a careful analysis of the source texts shows the very opposite to be the case . . .

Where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob failed, a young girl could have succeeded

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...

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...

There is only one incident of sexual abuse that is recorded explicitly in the Torah. It is quite a tragic read, and the repercussions are curiously significant.

The Destruction of Shechem, The War against the Seven Kings

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

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...

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