(א) וַתֵּצֵ֤א דִינָה֙ בַּת־לֵאָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָלְדָ֖ה לְיַעֲקֹ֑ב לִרְא֖וֹת בִּבְנ֥וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ב) וַיַּ֨רְא אֹתָ֜הּ שְׁכֶ֧ם בֶּן־חֲמ֛וֹר הַֽחִוִּ֖י נְשִׂ֣יא הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּקַּ֥ח אֹתָ֛הּ וַיִּשְׁכַּ֥ב אֹתָ֖הּ וַיְעַנֶּֽהָ׃
(1) Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. (2) Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her, and took her and lay with her and disgraced her.
(ה) וְיַעֲקֹ֣ב שָׁמַ֗ע כִּ֤י טִמֵּא֙ אֶת־דִּינָ֣ה בִתּ֔וֹ וּבָנָ֛יו הָי֥וּ אֶת־מִקְנֵ֖הוּ בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה וְהֶחֱרִ֥שׁ יַעֲקֹ֖ב עַד־בֹּאָֽם׃
(5) Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah; but since his sons were in the field with his cattle, Jacob kept silent until they came home.
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[Ya'akov actually keeps silent until the end of the story (ch. 34:30)]
(יט) וַתִּקַּ֨ח תָּמָ֥ר אֵ֙פֶר֙ עַל־רֹאשָׁ֔הּ וּכְתֹ֧נֶת הַפַּסִּ֛ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָלֶ֖יהָ קָרָ֑עָה וַתָּ֤שֶׂם יָדָהּ֙ עַל־רֹאשָׁ֔הּ וַתֵּ֥לֶךְ הָל֖וֹךְ וְזָעָֽקָה׃ (כ) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֵלֶ֜יהָ אַבְשָׁל֣וֹם אָחִ֗יהָ הַאֲמִינ֣וֹן אָחִ֘יךְ֮ הָיָ֣ה עִמָּךְ֒ וְעַתָּ֞ה אֲחוֹתִ֤י הַחֲרִ֙ישִׁי֙ אָחִ֣יךְ ה֔וּא אַל־תָּשִׁ֥יתִי אֶת־לִבֵּ֖ךְ לַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה וַתֵּ֤שֶׁב תָּמָר֙ וְשֹׁ֣מֵמָ֔ה בֵּ֖ית אַבְשָׁל֥וֹם אָחִֽיהָ׃
(19) Tamar put dust on her head and rent the ornamented tunic she was wearing; she put her hands on her head, and walked away, screaming loudly as she went. (20) Her brother Absalom said to her, “Was it your brother Amnon who did this to you? For the present, sister, keep quiet about it; he is your brother. Don’t brood over the matter.” And Tamar remained in her brother Absalom’s house, forlorn.
(ב) וַתֵּ֥צֵא אֵ֛שׁ מִלִּפְנֵ֥י ה׳ וַתֹּ֣אכַל אוֹתָ֑ם וַיָּמֻ֖תוּ לִפְנֵ֥י ה׳׃ (ג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן הוּא֩ אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֨ר ה׳ ׀ לֵאמֹר֙ בִּקְרֹבַ֣י אֶקָּדֵ֔שׁ וְעַל־פְּנֵ֥י כׇל־הָעָ֖ם אֶכָּבֵ֑ד וַיִּדֹּ֖ם אַהֲרֹֽן׃
ישנם שני אופנים של בדידות. האופן האחד: אדם המבודד בחדרי רוחו ומאזין למעמקי לבו הלוחש לו דברי אמת על עצמו ומעמידו על חובתו. חיזוק יש בבדידות זו, עידוד והתאוששות.
והאופן השני: האדם שפגעה בו מידת הדין, ר"ל, אם במחלה, אם בסבל אחר, והוא נאבק עם סבלו מבלי יכולת להחלץ ממנו בכוחות עצמו, כי "אין חבוש מתיר עצמו מבית האסורים". גם הוא יושב בדד, ועוד יותר ממה שכואבים לו ייסורי, כואבת לו בדידותו. כל עוד שהיה חי את חייו יחד עם חבריו ושוה עמהם, מילאה את לבו שמחת חיים, כי כל נברא מתענג על חיים בצוותא חדא, והנה – פגעה בו מידת הדין וריתקה אותו מצוותא זו, והושיבה אותו בדד וגלמוד ביסוריו..." (ר' שלמה וולבה, עלי שור חלק ראשון, עמ' רנב)
גְּדוֹלָה תוֹרָה יוֹתֵר מִן הַכְּהֻנָּה וּמִן הַמַּלְכוּת, שֶׁהַמַּלְכוּת נִקְנֵית בִּשְׁלֹשִׁים מַעֲלוֹת, וְהַכְּהֻנָּה בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבַּע, וְהַתּוֹרָה נִקְנֵית בְּאַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמֹנָה דְבָרִים. וְאֵלוּ הֵן... נוֹשֵׂא בְעֹל עִם חֲבֵרוֹ, מַכְרִיעוֹ לְכַף זְכוּת, מַעֲמִידוֹ עַל הָאֱמֶת, וּמַעֲמִידוֹ עַל הַשָּׁלוֹם...
Greater is learning Torah than the priesthood and than royalty, for royalty is acquired by thirty stages, and the priesthood by twenty-four, but the Torah by forty-eight things. By study... Who shares in the bearing of a burden with his colleague, Who judges with the scales weighted in his favor, Who leads him on to truth, Who leads him on to peace...
(יז)שִׁמְעוֹן בְּנוֹ אוֹמֵר, כָּל יָמַי גָּדַלְתִּי בֵין הַחֲכָמִים, וְלֹא מָצָאתִי לַגּוּף טוֹב אֶלָּא שְׁתִיקָה. וְלֹא הַמִּדְרָשׁ הוּא הָעִקָּר, אֶלָּא הַמַּעֲשֶׂה. וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה דְבָרִים, מֵבִיא חֵטְא:
(17)Shimon, his son, used to say: all my days I grew up among the sages, and I have found nothing better for a person than silence. Study is not the most important thing, but actions; whoever indulges in too many words brings about sin.
(יג)רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר.... סְיָג לַחָכְמָה, שְׁתִיקָה:
(13)Rabbi Akiva said......A fence to wisdom is silence.
(לא) וַיֹּאמְר֑וּ הַכְזוֹנָ֕ה יַעֲשֶׂ֖ה אֶת־אֲחוֹתֵֽנוּ׃ {פ}
(31) But they answered, “Should our sister be treated like a whore?”
“…. A word about intimate harm and social harm. Some injuries are perpetrated in a hidden space – one on one: a person rapes his son, a woman experiences harassment by another person, and so on; But there are also vulnerabilities at the social level - such as the traditional halakhic stipulation that women should sit behind a partition inside a synagogue because their body is a spiritual disturbance to the community. This act of building a mechitza, a partition, is not just an act of exclusion, but it is an act of institutionalized sexual violence, defining the bodies of women and girls as a distraction from holiness. Rape or sexual violence perpetrated on the bodies of Jewish women or girls are another layer of this kind of violence which is based on an ancient, extensive, social, and religious infrastructure, one that defines our bodies as a tempting, and perhaps flawed, thing.
The intergenerational trauma discourse can be very helpful as we try to understand what is inhabiting our bodies, the bodies of Jewish women: not only as Jewish women, but also as women. Entire bookshelves full of Jewish-feminist texts have already been written on various dimensions of this question. But we took this knowledge and tried to thread the needle of this theoretical knowledge into our body, which beyond being a woman’s body and a Jewish body, is also a rabbi’s body. It can be extremely painful at times.
It seems to me that each of us needs to answer these questions for herself: What can a woman rabbi contribute to a conversation about healing from sexual assault? Does the rabbinate and Jewish spiritual practice have anything constructive to contribute to this conversation? Is it possible to repair Jewish society with Jewish tools, despite being saturated with so much violence against our bodies and souls?....”
{From - B’not Dinah, The Daughters of Dinah: A Look at Our First Years ,by Rabbah Gila Caine and Rabbi Ayala Miron Translation by Rabbi Efrat Rotem [CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly, Summer 2022, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, pp. 78-89]}
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I suggest reading the story of Bat Yiftach, or the story of the rape of Tamar, as the Haftrah for this week's Torah portion "Vayishlach". You can find the text here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/528920
