וַיָּ֣קׇם ׀ בַּלַּ֣יְלָה ה֗וּא וַיִּקַּ֞ח אֶת־שְׁתֵּ֤י נָשָׁיו֙ וְאֶת־שְׁתֵּ֣י שִׁפְחֹתָ֔יו וְאֶת־אַחַ֥ד עָשָׂ֖ר יְלָדָ֑יו וַֽיַּעֲבֹ֔ר אֵ֖ת מַעֲבַ֥ר יַבֹּֽק׃
That same night he arose, and taking his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children, he crossed the Jabbok river.
וְדִינָה הֵיכָן הִיא?
נְתָנָהּ בְּתֵבָה וְנָעַל בְּפָנֶיהָ,
אָמַר הָרָשָׁע הַזֶּה עֵינוֹ רָמָה הִיא, שֶׁלֹא יִתְלֶה עֵינָיו וְיִרְאֶה אוֹתָהּ וְיִקַּח אוֹתָהּ מִמֶּנִּי.
רַב הוּנָא בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אַבָּא הַכֹּהֵן בַּרְדְּלָא אָמַר, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא (איוב ו, יד): לַמָּס מֵרֵעֵהוּ חָסֶד, מָנַעְתָּ מֵרֵעֲךָ חָסֶד, מָנַעְתָּ חַסְדְּךָ מִן אֲחוּךְ, דְּאִלּוּ אִתְנְסֵיבַת לְגַבְרָא לָא זִנְּתָה
[נסח אחר: דנסבת לאיוב לאו גירתיה בתמיה],
לֹא בִקַּשְׁתָּ לְהַשִֹּׂיאָהּ לְמָהוּל הֲרֵי הִיא נִשֵֹּׂאת לְעָרֵל,
לֹא בִקַּשְׁתָּ לְהַשִֹּׂיאָהּ דֶּרֶךְ הֶתֵּר הֲרֵי נִשֵֹּׂאת דֶּרֶךְ אִסּוּר, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (בראשית לד, א): וַתֵּצֵ֤א דִינָה֙ בַּת־לֵאָ֔ה [אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָלְדָ֖ה לְיַעֲקֹ֑ב]
And where was Dinah?
[Jacob] put [Dinah] her into a chest and closed it over her.
[Jacob] said, "This wicked one's eye is raised, lest he raise his eyes and see her and take her from me."
Rav Huna said in said the name of R' Abba HaKohen Bardela: The Holy One, blessed is He, said to [Jacob]: "by one who withholds kindness from his fellow". You have withheld kindness from your fellow; that is, you have withheld your kindness from your brother, for if [Dinah] would have been married to a man, Shechem would not have cohabited illicitly with her.
Another version: for when you married [Dinah] to Job did she not convert him?
You did not wish to have her marry a circumcised person, she is destined to an uncircumcised person.
You did not wish to her in legitimate marriage; she is destined to be wed in a forbidden union.
It is written, Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob went out.
תַּנְיָא, הָיָה רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: כׇּל הַמַּשִּׂיא בִּתּוֹ לְעַם הָאָרֶץ, כְּאִילּוּ כּוֹפְתָהּ וּמַנִּיחָהּ לִפְנֵי אֲרִי.
It was taught, Rabbi Meir would say: Anyone who marries off his daughter to an ignoramus is considered as though he binds her and places her before a lion.
"כִּי שְׂנוּאָה לֵאָה" שֶׁעָשְׂתָה כְּמַעֲשֵׂה הַשְֹּׂנוּאִים, שֶׁהָיְתָה אוֹמֶרֶת לְהִנָּשֵׂא לַשֹּׂוֹנֵא [נסח אחר: שהיתה אמורה לשונא], שֶׁכָּךְ הָיוּ הַתְּנָאִים שֶׁיְּהֵא גָדוֹל נוֹשֵׂא לַגְּדוֹלָה וְהַקָּטָן נוֹשֵׂא לַקְּטַנָּה, וְהָיְתָה בּוֹכָה וְאוֹמֶרֶת יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁלֹא אֶפֹּל בְּחֶלְקוֹ שֶׁל רָשָׁע.
אָמַר רַב הוּנָא קָשָׁה הִיא הַתְּפִלָּה שֶׁבִּטְלָה אֶת הַגְּזֵרָה, וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא שֶׁקָדְמָה לַאֲחוֹתָהּ,
"that Leah was hated" - that she behaved in the manner of the "hated", since she was supposed to marry "the hater" [, Esav] (other mss. read "Assessed by the hater") since that was the custom, the firstborn [Esav] marry the firstborn [Esav] and the younger one [Ya'akov] marry the younger one [Rachel]. Therefore Leah cried and said: "May it be your will, God, that I do not become the possession of an evildoer." R' Huna said: Davening is a strong force, that it annulled the decree, and not only that, but that it made her come before her sister
מונעת חסדא מן אחיך. שאילו נישאת לו אולי היה שב בתשובה על ידה שהכל מן האשה כדלעיל פ' י"ז ולפי שמנעת חסד מן אחיך נענשת שזינתה, שאילו נישאת לא זינתה:
Because if Eisav had married her, then maybe Eisav would have repented from Dinah, because all depends on the woman, like is mentioned previously, but because Yaakov withheld kindness to his brother, Dina was punished and violated, and if she was married, she would not have been violated.
...There is a difficulty with [the explanation of the midrash]; one could say the opposite - perhaps Jacob could have been rewarded for what he did, in that he saved Dina from the hands of a wicked person? The answer must be that Yaakov had negative intentions. He didn't want his brother to improve, so that Esau would not end up fulfilling the words of the blessing, "you shall be a master to your brothers." Therefore, he was punished.
הה״ד ותצא דינה בת לאה. וס״ד "אשר ילדה ליעקב" דריש דיעקב היה הגורם מה שיצאה ושכם ראה אותה:
We can interpret that Yaakov caused what happened to happen because Shechem saw her.
שאלת היציאה לשוק והחשיפה בפני אחרים היא אפוא סוגיה שימיה כימי דינה, ואף אנחנו עצמנו עוסקים בו בכל עת, כאשר מדובר בסוגיות פתיחות ומעורבות מול הגנה ושמירה. כדרכן של סוגיות אלה, לא ניתן לקבוע דרך אחת נכונה לכולם, ולא ניתן להציע הרבה מעבר למפתח יסודי של החובה לבנות חוט שידרה עוצמתי דיו כתנאי הכרחי ליציאה מתוך המסגרות הבועתיות אל מרחב החיים הגדול שסביבנו. ובכל זאת, משעה שיודע אדם כי אף לא אחת מהדרכים מבטיחה דבר – שהיציאה החוצה עלולה להיות סיבה לנפילה, אך גם אין וודאות כלשהי בתוצאות ההטמנה בתיבה – אפשר שהאמירות הבטוחות יפנו את מקומן לתנועה מתמדת של בדיקה ובחינה, ניסיון ולמידה, ומתוך הענווה הגדולה הזו אפשר שימצא אדם את דרכו המדויקת.
Rav Yuval Cherlow, Yeshivat Hesder Rana'na
The question of entering the public sphere and exposure to others is an issue as old as Dina herself. We too deal with it in our own time, when we deal with questions of openness and fraternization balanced against protection and guarding. As is our way in these matters, one cannot set a single correct path for everyone, and one cannot offer more than the central point - to build, as a necessary precondition, a strong enough backbone for going out from one's own bubble to the great expanse of life all around us. And yet with this, one must realize that no amount of guarding can nessecarily prevent against all occurences: "going out" may very well lead to problems, but "being hidden in the box" cannot guarentee its consequences either.... One must strive for a constant movement of pondering and examination, experience and learning, and from this great humility a person may find his or her exact path.
וַיַּצֶּב־שָׁ֖ם מִזְבֵּ֑חַ וַיִּ֨קְרָא־ל֔וֹ אֵ֖ל אֱלֹקֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ {ס}
(יא) קַח־נָ֤א אֶת־בִּרְכָתִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הֻבָ֣את לָ֔ךְ כִּֽי־חַנַּ֥נִי אֱלֹקִ֖ים וְכִ֣י יֶשׁ־לִי־כֹ֑ל וַיִּפְצַר־בּ֖וֹ וַיִּקָּֽח׃
(11) Please accept my present which has been brought to you, for God has favored me and I have all.” And when he urged him, he accepted.