Difference between revisions of "Sin and Slaughter of Shekhem/2"

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<category name="">Fundamentally Justified
 
<category name="">Fundamentally Justified
 
<opinion name="">Complicit in the Original Sin
 
<opinion name="">Complicit in the Original Sin
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<mekorot><multilink><a href="Jubilees30" data-aht="source">Jubilees</a><a href="Jubilees30" data-aht="source">30</a><a href="Jubilees" data-aht="parshan">About Jubilees</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="TosafotHaShalemBereshit34-31MSHamburg40" data-aht="source">Baalei HaTosafot</a><a href="TosafotHaShalemBereshit34-31MSHamburg40" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:31 (MS Hamburg 40)</a><a href="Ba'alei HaTosafot" data-aht="parshan">About Ba'alei HaTosafot</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RambamHilkhotMelakhim9-14" data-aht="source">Rambam</a><a href="RambamHilkhotMelakhim9-14" data-aht="source">Hilkhot Melakhim 9:14</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Maimon (Rambam)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe Maimonides</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RYosefibnKaspiBereshit34-27" data-aht="source">R. Yosef ibn Kaspi</a><a href="RYosefibnKaspiBereshit34-27" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:27</a><a href="R. Yosef ibn Kaspi" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef ibn Kaspi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="AbarbanelBereshit34-25-29" data-aht="source">Abarbanel</a><a href="AbarbanelBereshit34-25-29" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:25-29</a><a href="R. Yitzchak Abarbanel" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Or HaChayyim #2</a><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:25</a><a href="R. Chayyim b. Atar (Or HaChayyim)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chayyim b. Atar</a></multilink></mekorot>
+
<mekorot><multilink><a href="Jubilees30" data-aht="source">Jubilees</a><a href="Jubilees30" data-aht="source">30</a><a href="Jubilees" data-aht="parshan">About Jubilees</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="Judith9-1-4" data-aht="source">Judith</a><a href="Judith9-1-4" data-aht="source">9:1-4</a><a href="Judith" data-aht="parshan">About Judith</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="TestamentofLevi5-3-46-3-7-3" data-aht="source">Testament of Levi</a><a href="TestamentofLevi5-3-46-3-7-3" data-aht="source">5:3-4,6:3-7:3</a><a href="Testament of Levi" data-aht="parshan">About Testament of Levi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="JosephandAseneth23-13" data-aht="source">Joseph and Aseneth</a><a href="JosephandAseneth23-13" data-aht="source">23:13</a><a href="Joseph and Aseneth" data-aht="parshan">About Joseph and Aseneth</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="TosafotHaShalemBereshit34-31MSHamburg40" data-aht="source">Baalei HaTosafot</a><a href="TosafotHaShalemBereshit34-31MSHamburg40" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:31 (MS Hamburg 40)</a><a href="Ba'alei HaTosafot" data-aht="parshan">About Ba'alei HaTosafot</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RambamHilkhotMelakhim9-14" data-aht="source">Rambam</a><a href="RambamHilkhotMelakhim9-14" data-aht="source">Hilkhot Melakhim 9:14</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Maimon (Rambam)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe Maimonides</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RYosefibnKaspiBereshit34-27" data-aht="source">R. Yosef ibn Kaspi</a><a href="RYosefibnKaspiBereshit34-27" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:27</a><a href="R. Yosef ibn Kaspi" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef ibn Kaspi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="AbarbanelBereshit34-25-29" data-aht="source">Abarbanel</a><a href="AbarbanelBereshit34-25-29" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:25-29</a><a href="R. Yitzchak Abarbanel" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Or HaChayyim #2</a><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:25</a><a href="R. Chayyim b. Atar (Or HaChayyim)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chayyim b. Atar</a></multilink></mekorot>
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<point><b>Did Shechem deserve death?</b> Rambam,&#160; Abarbanel and Or HaChayyim maintain that the act of taking DIna against her will falls under the category of "theft" which is a capital crime under the Noahide laws.<fn>Or HaChayyim points out that raping Dina alone would not have incurred the death penalty since she was not married and the Noahide laws only include adultery.</fn> Tosafot, on the other hand, apparently assumes that it is justified to punish rape with death, even though neither Noahide nor Torah law does so.<fn>Abarbanel also writes that the Noahides were warned regarding "עריות" implying that this alone justified punishing Shechem.&#160; He does not differentiate between cases of illicit relations with married versus non married woman.</fn></point>
+
<point><b>Did Shekhem deserve death?</b> Rambam,&#160; Abarbanel and Or HaChayyim maintain that the act of taking DIna against her will falls under the category of "theft" which is a capital crime under the Noachide laws.<fn>Or HaChayyim points out that raping Dina alone would not have incurred the death penalty since she was not married and the Noachide laws only include adultery.</fn> Tosafot, on the other hand, apparently assumes that it is justified to punish rape with death, even though neither Noachide nor Torah law does so.<fn>Abarbanel also writes that the Noachides were warned regarding "עריות" implying that this alone justified punishing Shekhem.&#160; He does not differentiate between cases of illicit relations with married versus non married woman.</fn></point>
 
<point><b>In what did the city sin?</b> These commentators differ in their assessment of the specific wrongdoing of the people of the city:<br/>
 
<point><b>In what did the city sin?</b> These commentators differ in their assessment of the specific wrongdoing of the people of the city:<br/>
 
<ul>
 
<ul>
−
<li><b>Condoning the Act</b>&#160;– Ibn Kaspi and Abarbanel assert that the people of&#160; Shechem did not protest the taking of Dina, and as such were guilty of complicity.<fn>Ibn Kaspi points to Hashem's warning to Yechezkel that if he does not chastise wrongdoers, he himself will be held accountable: "בְּאָמְרִי לָרָשָׁע מוֹת תָּמוּת וְלֹא הִזְהַרְתּוֹ... הוּא רָשָׁע בַּעֲוֹנוֹ יָמוּת וְדָמוֹ מִיָּדְךָ אֲבַקֵּשׁ".</fn> Rambam adds that in not prosecuting Shechem, they violated the Noahide law to institute legal procedures, which is itself punishable by death.<fn>Ramban questions Rambam, asserting that if this were true, then Yaakov should not have rebuked his children, but rather been the first to join them.</fn></li>
+
<li><b>Condoning the Act</b>&#160;– Ibn Kaspi and Abarbanel assert that the people of&#160; Shekhem did not protest the taking of Dina, and as such were guilty of complicity.<fn>Ibn Kaspi points to Hashem's warning to Yechezkel that if he does not chastise wrongdoers, he himself will be held accountable: "בְּאָמְרִי לָרָשָׁע מוֹת תָּמוּת וְלֹא הִזְהַרְתּוֹ... הוּא רָשָׁע בַּעֲוֹנוֹ יָמוּת וְדָמוֹ מִיָּדְךָ אֲבַקֵּשׁ".</fn> Rambam adds that in not prosecuting Shekhem, they violated the Noachide law to institute legal procedures, which is itself punishable by death.<fn>Ramban questions Rambam, asserting that if this were true, then Yaakov should not have rebuked his children, but rather been the first to join them.&#160; He suggasts that the Noachide law does not refer to the establishment of courts but rather to the making of laws.&#160; Though the latter includes setting up a court system, negligence in that area does not incur death.&#160; See also the Or HaChayyim who similarly questions Rambam's understanding.</fn></li>
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<li><b>Actively took Dina</b>&#160;– Or HaChayyim asserts that the people of the city participated in the taking of Dina, thereby transgressing the Noahide Law of Theft.<fn>See above that this is a capital crime under the Noahide laws while rape is not.&#160; He explains that the verse highlights that "they defiled her" rather than saying "and they took her" to show that the "stolen item" was not returnable.&#160; Had it been, they would have retrieved Dina without killing the whole city.</fn></li>
+
<li><b>Actively took Dina</b>&#160;– Or HaChayyim asserts that the people of the city participated in the taking of Dina, thereby transgressing the Noachide Law of Theft.<fn>See above that this is a capital crime under the Noachide laws while rape is not.&#160; He explains that the verse highlights that "they defiled her" rather than saying "and they took her" to show that the "stolen item" was not returnable.&#160; Had it been, they would have retrieved Dina without killing the whole city.</fn></li>
−
<li><b>Joined in the sexual assault</b> – Tosafot goes even a step further to suggest that Dina was raped by the other men of Shechem as well.<fn>He apparently maintains that killing one who rapes is justified.</fn></li>
+
<li><b>Joined in the sexual assault</b> – Tosafot goes even a step further to suggest that Dina was raped by the other men of Shekhem as well.<fn>He apparently maintains that killing one who rapes is justified.</fn></li>
 
</ul></point>
 
</ul></point>
 
<point><b>"אֲשֶׁר טִמְּאוּ"</b> – Tosafot, Ibn Kaspi and Or HaChayyim point to these words as evidence that the entire city was implicated in the crime.</point>
 
<point><b>"אֲשֶׁר טִמְּאוּ"</b> – Tosafot, Ibn Kaspi and Or HaChayyim point to these words as evidence that the entire city was implicated in the crime.</point>
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<category name="">Practically Necessary
 
<category name="">Practically Necessary
 
<opinion name="">To Retrieve Dina
 
<opinion name="">To Retrieve Dina
−
<mekorot><multilink><a href="RalbagBeiurDivreiHaParashahBereshit34-30-31" data-aht="source">Ralbag</a><a href="RalbagBeiurDivreiHaParashahBereshit34-30-31" data-aht="source">Beiur Divrei HaParashah Bereshit 34:30-31</a><a href="R. Levi b. Gershon (Ralbag)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Levi b. Gershon</a></multilink>,<fn><sup id="reffn7" class="fnRef mceNonEditable"><a class="ahtNonEditable" href="#fn7">7</a></sup></fn> <multilink><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Or HaChayyim #1</a><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:25</a><a href="R. Chayyim b. Atar (Or HaChayyim)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chayyim b. Atar</a></multilink></mekorot>
+
<mekorot><multilink><a href="RalbagBeiurDivreiHaParashahBereshit34-30-31" data-aht="source">Ralbag</a><a href="RalbagBeiurDivreiHaParashahBereshit34-30-31" data-aht="source">Beiur Divrei HaParashah Bereshit 34:30-31</a><a href="R. Levi b. Gershon (Ralbag)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Levi b. Gershon</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Or HaChayyim #1</a><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:25</a><a href="R. Chayyim b. Atar (Or HaChayyim)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chayyim b. Atar</a></multilink></mekorot>
 
<point><b>Yaakov's reaction</b></point>
 
<point><b>Yaakov's reaction</b></point>
 
<point><b>Hashem's evaluation</b></point>
 
<point><b>Hashem's evaluation</b></point>
Line 51: Line 51:
 
<point><b>Polemical motivations</b></point>
 
<point><b>Polemical motivations</b></point>
 
</opinion>
 
</opinion>
−
<opinion name="">Deterrence for the future
+
<opinion name="">Deterrence for the Future
 
<mekorot><multilink><a href="TargumPseudo-JonathanBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Targum Pseudo-Jonathan</a><a href="TargumPseudo-JonathanBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:31</a><a href="Targum Pseudo-Jonathan" data-aht="parshan">About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="TargumYerushalmiBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Targum Yerushalmi</a><a href="TargumYerushalmiBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:31</a><a href="Targum Yerushalmi" data-aht="parshan">About Targum Yerushalmi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Or HaChayyim</a><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:25</a><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:31</a><a href="R. Chayyim b. Atar (Or HaChayyim)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chayyim b. Atar</a></multilink>, C. Porat</mekorot>
 
<mekorot><multilink><a href="TargumPseudo-JonathanBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Targum Pseudo-Jonathan</a><a href="TargumPseudo-JonathanBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:31</a><a href="Targum Pseudo-Jonathan" data-aht="parshan">About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="TargumYerushalmiBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Targum Yerushalmi</a><a href="TargumYerushalmiBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:31</a><a href="Targum Yerushalmi" data-aht="parshan">About Targum Yerushalmi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Or HaChayyim</a><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-25" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:25</a><a href="OrHaChayyimBereshit34-31" data-aht="source">Bereshit 34:31</a><a href="R. Chayyim b. Atar (Or HaChayyim)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chayyim b. Atar</a></multilink>, C. Porat</mekorot>
 
<point><b>Yaakov's reaction</b></point>
 
<point><b>Yaakov's reaction</b></point>

Version as of 02:22, 4 December 2014

Shimon and Levi in Shekhem

Exegetical Approaches

Fundamentally Justified

Complicit in the Original Sin

Sources:Jubilees30About Jubilees, Judith9:1-4About Judith, Testament of Levi5:3-4,6:3-7:3About Testament of Levi, Joseph and Aseneth23:13About Joseph and Aseneth, Baalei HaTosafotBereshit 34:31 (MS Hamburg 40)About Ba'alei HaTosafot, RambamHilkhot Melakhim 9:14About R. Moshe Maimonides, R. Yosef ibn KaspiBereshit 34:27About R. Yosef ibn Kaspi, AbarbanelBereshit 34:25-29About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, Or HaChayyim #2Bereshit 34:25About R. Chayyim b. Atar
Did Shekhem deserve death? Rambam,  Abarbanel and Or HaChayyim maintain that the act of taking DIna against her will falls under the category of "theft" which is a capital crime under the Noachide laws.1 Tosafot, on the other hand, apparently assumes that it is justified to punish rape with death, even though neither Noachide nor Torah law does so.2
In what did the city sin? These commentators differ in their assessment of the specific wrongdoing of the people of the city:
  • Condoning the Act – Ibn Kaspi and Abarbanel assert that the people of  Shekhem did not protest the taking of Dina, and as such were guilty of complicity.3 Rambam adds that in not prosecuting Shekhem, they violated the Noachide law to institute legal procedures, which is itself punishable by death.4
  • Actively took Dina – Or HaChayyim asserts that the people of the city participated in the taking of Dina, thereby transgressing the Noachide Law of Theft.5
  • Joined in the sexual assault – Tosafot goes even a step further to suggest that Dina was raped by the other men of Shekhem as well.6
"אֲשֶׁר טִמְּאוּ" – Tosafot, Ibn Kaspi and Or HaChayyim point to these words as evidence that the entire city was implicated in the crime.
"וַיַּעֲנוּ בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב... בְּמִרְמָה"
Yaakov's reaction: "עכרתם אותי"
Hashem's evaluation: protection, choosing of Levi
Why did they kill them on the third day?
Taking of the Spoils – Or HaChayyim justifies the looting as payment for embarrassing Dina and the family ("דמי בושת").
Shimon and Levi versus the other brothers
Yaakov's blessing in Bereshit 49
Polemical motivations

Reneged on the Deal

Sources:Sefer HaYashar34:4-23About Sefer HaYashar, Sefer Yosef HaMekannei18About Sefer Yosef HaMekannei, Peirush HaRoshBereshit 34:25About Peirush HaRosh, Hadar ZekeinimBereshit 34:25About Hadar Zekeinim, Ma'asei HashemMa'asei Avot 34About R. Eliezer Ashkenazi, HaKetav VeHaKabbalahBereshit 34:15Bereshit 34:25About R. Yaakov Mecklenburg
Yaakov's reaction
Hashem's evaluation
"וַיַּעֲנוּ בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב... בְּמִרְמָה"
"אֲשֶׁר טִמְּאוּ"
Why did they kill them on the third day?
Taking of the Spoils
Shimon and Levi versus the other brothers
Yaakov's blessing in Bereshit 49
Polemical motivations

Practically Necessary

To Retrieve Dina

Sources:RalbagBeiur Divrei HaParashah Bereshit 34:30-31About R. Levi b. Gershon, Or HaChayyim #1Bereshit 34:25About R. Chayyim b. Atar
Yaakov's reaction
Hashem's evaluation
"וַיַּעֲנוּ בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב... בְּמִרְמָה"
"אֲשֶׁר טִמְּאוּ"
Why did they kill them on the third day?
Taking of the Spoils
Shimon and Levi versus the other brothers
Yaakov's blessing in Bereshit 49
Polemical motivations

Deterrence for the Future

Sources:Targum Pseudo-JonathanBereshit 34:31About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Targum YerushalmiBereshit 34:31About Targum Yerushalmi, Or HaChayyimBereshit 34:25Bereshit 34:31About R. Chayyim b. Atar, C. Porat
Yaakov's reaction
Hashem's evaluation
"וַיַּעֲנוּ בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב... בְּמִרְמָה"
"אֲשֶׁר טִמְּאוּ"
Why did they kill them on the third day?
Taking of the Spoils
Shimon and Levi versus the other brothers
Yaakov's blessing in Bereshit 49
Polemical motivations

Sinned

Sources:RambanBereshit 34:13Bereshit 49:5-6About R. Moshe Nachmanides, R. Hirsch, R. D"Z Hoffmann
Yaakov's reaction
Hashem's evaluation
"וַיַּעֲנוּ בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב... בְּמִרְמָה"
"אֲשֶׁר טִמְּאוּ"
Why did they kill them on the third day?
Taking of the Spoils
Shimon and Levi versus the other brothers
Yaakov's blessing in Bereshit 49
Polemical motivations
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