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, in fact, was more than happy to fulfill both of these obligations. Given Shekhem's willingness to assume responsibility for his action, were Shimon and Levi justified in killing him, or was this 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?
Bad Faith Negotiations?
Who Gets the Last Word?
Following the massacre of the city, Yaakov castigates Shimon and Levi:
(ל) וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל שִׁמְעוֹן וְאֶל לֵוִי עֲכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי לְהַבְאִישֵׁנִי בְּיֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ בַּכְּנַעֲנִי וּבַפְּרִזִּי וַאֲנִי מְתֵי מִסְפָּר וְנֶאֶסְפוּ עָלַי וְהִכּוּנִי וְנִשְׁמַדְתִּי אֲנִי וּבֵיתִי.
This reprimand, however, criticizes their actions as being pragmatically undesirable, rather than being morally reprehensible, and the Chapter concludes with Shimon and Levi's attempt to seize the moral high ground:
(לא) וַיֹּאמְרוּ הַכְזוֹנָה יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת אֲחוֹתֵנוּ.
(31)
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:
(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 sanctified to be Hashem's servants, and from whom the leadership of the Jewish people emerges at the very beginning of Sefer Shemot. Does this tell us anything about the Divine verdict regarding the actions of Shimon and Levi? To study the views of commentators throughout the ages, see Approaches.
