Taking Our Voices Back: The Legacy of Dinah

On December 2, synagogues around the world will read Parshat Vayishlach (Genesis, 32:3–36:43), which includes the story commonly referred to as “The Rape of Dinah.” We read that Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah, “went out to see the daughters of the land. Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her; and he took her, and lay with her by force.” (34:1–2). Jacob hears of the event, but does nothing. Hamor comes to ask that Jacob give Shechem Dinah’s hand in marriage. Jacob insists that all of the men in the city be circumcised before he will allow Dinah to marry. Hamor agrees and Dinah is given to Shechem. While the men are recovering from the painful procedure, Dinah’s brothers, Simeon and Levi, lead an ambush upon the city, slaughter the men, pillage the city, and take the women and children as captives. When they return, Jacob reprimands his sons for embarrassing him. Simeon and Levi respond that they had to avenge their family for the crime of treating their sister like a “whore.”

This is a difficult and contradictory story. First, while we are led to believe that Dinah was raped by Shechem, the final words are of her brothers describing her as a “whore” (Genesis 34:31). Why is this significant? A prostitute is presumed to engage in consensual sexual relations. Thus, these two characterizations are mutually-exclusive. (Note: Prostitutes can…