PARSHAT VAYISLACH

The story of Dina teaches us how careful a Jewish woman must be to protect herself against harassment. Rabbi Ezriel Tauber compares the woman to a diamond and the man to a ring. Whereas, a ring without a diamond has very little value, a diamond without a ring has great value, yet it can easily get lost. Therefore, it must be kept in a secure place.

LIKE MOTHER LIKE DAUGTHER

"And Dina the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Ya'acov went out to see the daughters of the land" (Bereshit 34:1). Abarbanel asks; why do we need this detailed description of Dina? Was there another Dina that it was necessary to state "daughter of Leah whom she bare unto Ya'acov?" Rashi answers that the saying "Like mother like daughter" originally applied to Dina. She is called the daughter of Leah since she, too, was outgoing, as it says, "and Leah went out towards him" (Bereshit 30:16).
This comparison does not necessarily come to denigrate Dina, as Abarbanel explains. Leah was so modest that Ya'acov did not recognize her until the next morning. When she went out towards Ya'acov and said, "you must come to me" (Bereishit 30:16), her intention was for the sake of heaven: to bear his children and raise the tribes of Israel. The proof is that she merited, that same night, to conceive Yesaschar, who represents Torah. (See Rashi Ber. 49:14-15) Dina, likewise, had no improper intentions; she only wanted to watch the daughters of the land and not the men of the city. She longed to see the clothes and the jewelry of other girls and learn the way of young women, since there were no other girls in Ya'acov's house. Ohr HaChayim explains, that "Dina went out to see the daughters of the land," because Shechem had brought girls around Ya'acov's tent who would play harps and make fanfare etc. in order to entice Dina.

YA'ACOV'S ONLY DAUGHTER

Rabeinu Bachayah explains that the reason why Scripture states "whom she bare unto Ya'acov" is to allude to the fact that Ya'acov was partly to blame for what happened to his daughter. He withheld Dina from Esau, although she possibly could have made him repent. The midrash teaches that Ya'acov placed Dina in a box and locked it up, so that Esav would not put his eyes on her. Said Hashem, "You did not want her to marry someone circumcised, she will marry someone uncircumcised. You did not want her to be married in a permissive way, she will be taken in a forbidden way" (Bereishit Raba 76:9).

For the complete dvar Torah, please send email to berot@netvision.net.il.

*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******
Presented by Midreshet B'erot Bat Ayin Wellsprings of Jewish Learning.