Sin and Slaughter of Shekhem/1/en

Sin and Slaughter of Shekhem

Introduction

Does the Punishment Fit the Crime?

Bereshit 34 opens with Shekhem's rape of Dinah, and his ensuing negotiations with Yaakov's family to marry Dinah and to fuse their two communities into one nation.  When Dinah's brothers condition this on the circumcision of all males of Shekhem's city, Shekhem himself hastens to oblige and persuades his people to follow suit.  At this point, Shimon and Levi take advantage of Shekhem's post-circumcision infirmity to slay all of the males in the city, and Yaakov's sons then proceed to despoil the city.

While the Torah views Shekhem's act as an outrage ("נְבָלָה עָשָׂה בְיִשְׂרָאֵל"), the brutal response of Dinah's brothers raises significant moral questions.  First, rape of an unmarried woman is not considered to be a capital crime according to the Torah.  Devarim 22 merely obligates a rapist to marry his victim and financially compensate the woman's father, and Shekhem was more than happy to fulfill both of these obligations.  Given Shekhem's willingness to assume responsibility for his actions, were Shimon and Levi justified in killing him, or was this simply an extra-judicial avenging of family honor?  Moreover, even if one argues that Shekhem himself deserved to die, on what grounds were all of his male compatriots executed?

Negotiations in Bad Faith?

The negotiations with Chamor and Shekhem (the Chivvites) raise the additional issue of personal integrity.  The Torah describes the sons of Yaakov as acting "with duplicity" ("בְּמִרְמָה") when proposing that the Chivvites circumcise themselves.¹  Can this be condoned as a legitimate strategy to weaken the enemy, or was it a desecration of God's name to resort to such a dishonest ruse?  It is perhaps noteworthy that in Yehoshua 9, when the Children of Israel are tricked by the Chivvite inhabitants of Givon, they nevertheless adhere to the terms of the treaty which they had signed.²

It is not only the sons of Yaakov, however, who may have been negotiating in bad faith.  A close reading and comparison of Chamor's proposals to Yaakov and his sons with the terms he conveys to his own people reveals subtle differences  These may be attributable to the simple politics of internal consumption, but they also may be indicative of more sinister motives and a desire to dominate Yaakov's family.  Might this also be a factor influencing and justifying Shimon and Levi's course of action?

Who Gets the Last Word?

That Shimon and Levi's actions were not appreciated by their father Yaakov is clear from the immediate aftermath, when he castigates them using very sharp language:

EN/HEע/E

 (ל)  וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל שִׁמְעוֹן וְאֶל לֵוִי עֲכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי לְהַבְאִישֵׁנִי בְּיֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ בַּכְּנַעֲנִי וּבַפְּרִזִּי וַאֲנִי מְתֵי מִסְפָּר וְנֶאֶסְפוּ עָלַי וְהִכּוּנִי וְנִשְׁמַדְתִּי אֲנִי וּבֵיתִי.

(30)  And Yaakov said to Shimon and to Levi: "You have brought trouble on me, making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and I am few in number and they will gather against me and strike me and I and my house will be destroyed."

This reprimand, however, criticizes their actions as being only tactically flawed, rather than morally reprehensible, and the story concludes with Shimon and Levi's retort and attempt to seize the moral high ground:

EN/HEע/E

(לא)  וַיֹּאמְרוּ הַכְזוֹנָה יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת אֲחוֹתֵנוּ.

(31)  And they said: "Should our sister be treated like a harlot?"

It is only at the very end of his life (Bereshit 49) that Yaakov finally weighs in on the morality of the brothers' character and actions:

EN/HEע/E

(ה)  שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אַחִים כְּלֵי חָמָס מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶם.  (ו)  בְּסֹדָם אַל תָּבֹא נַפְשִׁי בִּקְהָלָם אַל תֵּחַד כְּבֹדִי כִּי בְאַפָּם הָרְגוּ אִישׁ וּבִרְצֹנָם עִקְּרוּ שׁוֹר.  (ז)  אָרוּר אַפָּם כִּי עָז וְעֶבְרָתָם כִּי קָשָׁתָה אֲחַלְּקֵם בְּיַעֲקֹב וַאֲפִיצֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.

(5)  

Yet, despite Yaakov's outright condemnation, it is specifically the tribe of Levi which is later sanctified to be Hashem's chosen servants and from whom the leadership of the Jewish people emerges at the very beginning of Sefer Shemot.  Does this provide any insight into how the Heavenly Court may have perceived the actions of Shimon and Levi?  What is the Torah's verdict on this episode?

To study the views of commentators throughout the ages, continue to Approaches.

¹ These sons are not named, and it is not clear if this verse refers to Shimon and Levi themselves or to other sons of Yaakov.

² These are the only two Biblical stories of interaction specifically with the Chivvite nation.