BS”D

EXISTENTIAL EXITING: PARSHAT VAYISHLACH

Shira Smiles shiur 2018/5779

Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein

           After Yaakov separates peacefully from his brother Esau, he hopes to finally settle down to a tranquil life. Then, Dinah, the daughter of Leah Imenu, goes out to see the girls of the land. Shechem, the young prince, sees her, desires her, kidnaps her, rapes her, and keeps her hostage. Shechem’s father, Chamor, approaches Yaakov and asks Yaakov for permission for Shechem to marry Dinah. Shimon and Levi take it upon themselves to correct the situation. They will agree to the match if all the men in the town become circumcised. Shechem readily agrees. When all the men in the town are recovering from their surgeries, Shimon and Levi attack and kill all the males.

           This is certainly a tragic event in the life of Yaakov Avinu. While we certainly cannot understand the entire significance and complexity of this incident, one question springs out at us, as it did to Rashi: Why is Dinah here specifically called the daughter of Leah Imenu instead of the daughter of Yaakov? Rashi answers that just as Leah Imenu went out, so did Dinah now go out, showing that Dinah inherited her mother’s characteristic. Judging by the apparent negative result here, can we suggest that this “going out” is intrinsically a negative characteristic?

           When did Leah Imenu “go out”? When Rachel requested that Leah Imenu give her the mandrakes Reuven had picked, Leah Imenu bartered them for this night with Yaakov, a night Yaakov was scheduled to spend with Rachel. Rather than wait for Yaakov to arrive home and then tell him of the new arrangement, Leah Imenu went out to greet Yaakov and apprise him that he would be spending this night with her. We are told that it was on this night that Issachar was conceived. With this outcome, are we to judge Leah Imenu’s “going out” as a negative trait that influenced her daughter to copy negative behavior? Are there positive interpretations? Let us explore several possibilities.

           What was Dinah’s motivation? The Torah itself tells us that she went out to see the young women, not to mingle with the young men. The Chasam Sofer presents two motivations. First, by contrasting her modest lifestyle with the licentious behavior of the local girls, Dinah hoped to be rewarded for her righteousness. But she did not anticipate the risk to her character by exposing herself to viewing such behavior (let alone the physical risk she actually experienced). But, continues the Chasam Sofer, she wanted to see if there were any holy sparks hidden among the people, sparks she could ignite and help bring into the fold. Although she was not of great enough stature to effect a change in Shechem himself, eventually the women were captured and converted to Judaism.

           Rabbi Wolbe z”l points out the inherent danger when anyone leaves the norm of their spiritual comfort zone, even for holy purposes. Rabbi Wolbe z”l supports this point by citing the laws of an isha yefat toar/a beautiful woman [captured in war]. The Torah makes allowances for a soldier to marry an enemy woman he has become infatuated during a war. The Jewish soldiers of this age were great Torah scholars, extremely righteous, yet they could be drawn into improper thoughts and, if not given a Torah outlets, improper actions when put into compromising situations. Certainly the average person must be aware of the dangers to our souls we may be exposed to in the secular world around us. Rabbi Wolbe z”l suggests saying special prayers asking for Hashem’s protection as we kiss the mezuzah when leaving the house. As Rabbi Wachtfogel  z”l adds, Dinah is leaving the holy environs of her father’s house. She, and we, needs to be especially aware of her surroundings and on guard. [My mother a”h would bless us in Yiddish every time we left the house, “Gay gezundterheit, kum gezundterheit, und zei matzliach/Go in complete health, return in complete health, and may Hashem make you successful in your endeavors.” CKS]

           A slightly more subtle message is presented by Rav Druck, Rav Aharon Kotler, and Rabbi Wolbe z”l, among others. We often do not give our actions a second thought, thinking they are so trivial. Yet every action we take and every thought that enters our minds changes us, leaving an imprint on our souls. These small actions build up, and eventually transform who we are and have an impact for generations to come. Rabbi Jacobson, basing his words on those of the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l, urges us to keep our eyes focused on the goal as you take the small steps. Taking even one small misstep can by the end of the journey veer you completely off the designated path. As Rabbi Jacobson writes so effectively, “In the journey of life, your body is the vehicle, but your soul is the compass.”

           Our Sages come back again to the linkage between Dinah and her mother Leah Imenu. The motivation of each was positive, yet each somehow faltered. Leah Imenu went out to greet Yaakov, hoping that this night she would conceive another of the Godly tribes. Perhaps it was not the “going out” per se that was the problem, but what she said when she encountered Yaakov, “It is to me that you must come...” These words perhaps contain the slightest hint of immodest language, writes Chochmat Hamatzpun, quoting Rabbi Bloch z”l. When we teach our daughters about tzniut/modesty, the emphasis must not be solely on sleeve length, but on the total modest deportment, speech and behavior of a Jewish woman, a daughter of the King. As Hashem implanted in every element of creation its natural essence, so did he implant in womankind the sensitivity to the inner world of their souls. Just as the sun must shine by day and the moon at night, and the tree grow upward, so must the Jewish woman focus more inward than outward, writes Rabbi Grossbard z”l.  Her beauty is inward, and like all precious things, must generally be kept safe from danger, as the Torah in its mantle and in its Ark, writes Mrs. Friedman in Daughters of Dignity, and as precious jewelry rather than costume. Leah Imenu had veered so minimally in her speech, and Dinah seemed to have taken an additional imperceptible step in the wrong direction. What Shimon and Levi feared was that this was the first crack in the modesty of Bnei Yisroel that would widen to a chasm if it were not nipped in the bud. That fear precipitated their attack on Shechem.

           Rabbi Svei z”l in Ruach Eliyahu gives us a completely different perspective on Leah Imenu’s going out to meet Yaakov. Rabbi Svei z”l contends that going out was difficult for Leah Imenu and counter to her character, but she did it so as not to embarrass Rachel later that night. When Yaakov blesses his sons before his death, he characterizes Issachar, conceived that night, as a chamor gorem/strong boned donkey, able to carry much weight (of Torah study). Why? Because the night he was conceived, Leah Imenu heard Yaakov’s donkey bray as Yaakov approached home, much as a wife might go out to greet her husband today when she hears the car door slam.

           Perhaps Yaakov could have compared Issachar to a horse, an animal that appears much more elegant than a donkey. Rabbi Svei z”l cites the Zohar in contrasting these two animals. Although both donkeys and horses are meant to bear loads, when a load is very heavy, the horse throws a tantrum, pawing the ground and neighing loudly. In contrast, the donkey merely accepts its load. The horse, because of its elegance, is quite arrogant, while the donkey is humble. Finally, a horse requires comfort to sleep, while a donkey will lie down anywhere. Issachar is like the donkey who carries the load of Torah without complaining, often without honor, and without comforts. This he gets from his mother Leah Imenu who acted with utter humility and did what was uncomfortable to spare her sister embarrassment.

           Like any other characteristic, going out is neither good nor bad intrinsically. Every Jew (indeed every human being) has both aspects. Dinah inherited this trait from Leah Imenu, but while Leah Imenu’s motivation was 100% for the sake of Heaven both to bear another child to form the fabric of the holy nation and to spare her sister embarrassment, Dinah’s motivation included a bit of curiosity, of wanting to see the sights.

           The building blocks of human character and personality parallel the four elements that constitute the building blocks of creation, explains Rabbi Pliskin, basing his comments on Rabbi Chaim Vital’s z”l classic Shaarey Kedusha. Fire parallels arrogance and conceit, and includes anger which often follows as a consequence of arrogance. Wind includes all kinds of negative speech, for speech emanates from the breath of air within ourselves. Water signifies pleasure seeking, leading to envy of others. Finally, earth signifies the depths of sadness and depression, often either the cause or the result of laziness or procrastination.

           Maintaining the balance Hashem invested in creation, each of these has a counter positive characteristic. Opposite arrogance is humility, and negative speech is balanced by silence or positive, encouraging speech. One can distance oneself from negative surroundings and desires, and finally, one can train oneself to be grateful and thank Hakodosh Boruch Hu for all he has. Each characteristic is neither completely constructive nor destructive, but can be implemented either way, just as fire, wind, water and earth are can be extremely destructive, but also form the components of most construction. Our litmus test should be how Hashem wants me to use each of these characteristics. [Even the fire of anger can be properly directed if controlled, as Pinchas demonstrated. Dinah was not on the unbelievably high spiritual level of our Matriarchs, and so the choice to go out was not filled with the same completely holy motivation, leading to the tragic result, writes Rabbi Sorotskin z”l.

           We model our behavior for our children, adds Rabbi Young, and so we must be extremely careful. But sometimes our actions get copied without the underlying, invisible bases for these actions.

           As we can see, going out is not necessarily negative. Could Rashi be implying that perhaps Leah Imenu’s going out and Dinah’s going out were both positive? As the Imrei Chen posits, Dinah also went out leshem shamayim/for the sake of Heaven. She hoped that perhaps by contacting the girls, she could bring them to a recognition of the Ribbono shel olam, as her great grandparents had done.

           In Be’er Moshe the Oshover Rebbe draws profound parallels between Leah Imenu’s actions and Dinah’s actions (and indeed the actions of other Jewish heroines in our Biblical history). Drawing on the works of the ARIz”l, he writes that both Leah Imenu and Dinah going out appear improper at first glance, but each produced descendants that would act to sanctify God’s name in public. From this night of going out to greet Yaakov Avinu, Leah Imenu conceived Issachar from whom descended Chananyah ben Tradyon, the martyr whom the Romans wrapped in a Sefer Torah and burned, but who saw the letters of the scroll ascending heavenward. Similarly, Dinah noticed special sparks in Shechem, sparks attributed to be part of the soul of Adam. All the languages of love the Torah uses to describe Shechem’s feelings for Dinah produced a daughter. According to tradition, this was Osnat, [adopted] daughter of Potiphera, and later wife of Yosef Hatzadik. From this union would descend Moshiach ben Yosef. Just as Moshiach ben Dovid will be the descendent of apparently questionable relationships (Lot and his daughters, Tamar and Yehudah, Ruth and Boaz), so would this relationship produce positive results in the final chapter.

           Taking these ideas to a completely new level, Rabbi Tauber gives us an Inside Story. [Rabbi Tauber is a major chronicler of much of the speeches and works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l.] He questions the theory that there is no place for the outgoing Jewish woman, that perhaps Leah Imenu had the potential to change Esau had she married him. This potential was passed on to her daughter, but it was stymied when Yaakov locked Dinah in a trunk so Esau would not see her and desire her. Now that potential is awakened as Dinah goes out to make the acquaintance of the daughters of the town. While not every Jewish woman is designed for this role, she “was born to the role of the outgoing Jewess who serves as a source of enlightenment to her surroundings without compromising her modesty and innerness… There is also a feminine way, a gentle, modest and compassionate way to extract goodness from the evil that rages without.” Feminine purity, while absolutely necessary to build a proper Jewish home, does have a place in the outer world as well, but requires extreme caution.