Breaking the Silence

{...}The Torah does not bring the phrase "and Dina came out" to criticize Dina as a "self-exposing daughter of a self-exposer; like mother, like daughter" as Rashi z"l has. Leah was a modest woman, to the point that Yaakov did not see anything until the moment he came to her. And the "Leah went out" really means that she went out just to the door of her tent and she went out joyfully and with holy intent to greet her husband Yaakov and from that came the birth of Yissachar, the tribe of modest Torah teachers. Also, one cannot say that she is called "daughter of Leah" as a criticism of her nature being of "self-exposing", since Leah was taught to stay in the tents, and Rachel was the one out with the sheep. And from Yaakov himself was known to be a modest person, hiding in the tents of scholars, and if he was modest like this, all the more his daughter. The intent wasnot for anything bad, as the text says "daughters of the town" and not sons of the town. Dina had no sisters, being the only maiden in the house and so she went out to see how the girls of the town dressed and used jewelry, and this explains our fourth question. And there is no doubt that she did not went out by herself, without the company of a man or a woman, and this is implied, just as the scripture has regarding Moses, that he went out to meet his father-in-law, and obviously he did not go alone. The text describes that Shechem was "the son of Chamor the Hivite, the prince of the land" to make sure that we understand that being the prince of the land he used force, and had no fear of those who were with Dinah or of the sons of Yaakov.

{...}(2) A The reference to Dinah being a daughter of Leah is undoubtedly complimentary. The Torah, by referring to her ancestry, emphasizes that she had nothing but the best of intentions, that her excursion did not indicate a departure from traditional Jewish conduct. The repetition of the three expressions "He took her, he lay with her, he forced her" indicate that she remained uncooperative during all three phases of what is being described; she did not weaken in her resistance in any way. B The reason three actions are mentioned is because Jacob's family suffered three indignities: A) The shame suffered by the whole family; B) The damage done to the girl's innocence and the loss of her virginity; C) The physical pain caused Dinah when she had to submit to violence. The punishment for the first of these indignities prescribed by the Torah is boshet, compensation in financial terms. The second indignity which reduced Dinah's value as a prospective bride in the compensation for the victim. It is noteworthy that Dinah did not lose her appeal for Shechem on account of any of the indignities he had heaped upon her. "He cleaved to the daughter of Jacob" (34,3). The family of Jacob had not become sullied in his eyes; he loved her just as before (not like Amnon who lost all his desire for Tamar once he had raped her). Shechem tried to talk softly to Dinah's heart to help her recover from her pain.

(2) בבתכם, not “your sister,” although she was the sister to 11 brothers, but “your daughter,” seeing her status as the daughter of Yaakov was the foremost consideration. Besides, each of Dinah’s brothers was concerned for her well being as if she had been his daughter, not just his sister.

... There is an additional reason why he agreed to marry this woman, as she was actually a descendant of Yaakov, as Rashi has explained on Genesis, portion Vayishlach, quoting Pirke de rabbi Eliezer, chapter 38, according to which she was the daughter of Dinah from her rape by Sh’chem. According to that chapter, the angel Michael had transported that infant to Egypt where she had been adopted by Potiphar. This is why the Torah calls her the daughter of Potiphar... When Joseph was paraded throughout Egypt (Genesis 49,23,) and according to the Torah, all the young ladies threw flowers or jewelry at him, when Ossnat, did not have anything to throw, she threw her amulet, which she had worn around her neck at all times, at him. When Joseph looked at the inscription on it, he realised that the girl wearing it was descended from Yaakov, and he went ahead and married her.

בן הכנענית THE SON OF THE CANAANITISH WOMAN — means the son of Dinah, who had been associated with a Canaanite (Shechem). When they (her brothers) had killed Shechem, Dinah refused to leave the city until Simeon swore to her that he would marry her and regard the child she was about to bear as his own (cf. Genesis Rabbah 80:11).

(1) JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN
"OR went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and the serpent bit him" (Amos v. 19). When Jacob went into his house in the land of Canaan the serpent bit him. || And who was the serpent? This was Shechem, the son of Chamor. Because the daughter of Jacob was abiding in the tents, and she did not go into the street; what did Shechem, the son of Chamor, do? He brought dancing girls who were (also) playing on pipes in the streets. Dinah went forth to see those girls who were making merry; and he seized her, and he slept with her, and she conceived and bare Asenath. The sons of Israel said that she should be killed, for they said that now people would say in all the land that there was an immoral daughter in the tents of Jacob.

(12) One man may not be secluded with two women, but one woman may be secluded with two men. Rabbi Shimon says, "Even one man may be secluded with two women when his wife is with him; and he may sleep with them in an inn, because his wife is watching him." A person may be secluded with his mother or with his daughter, and may [even] sleep with them in bodily contact. And if they grow up, this one should sleep in her garment, and this one should sleep in his garment.