After Dinah was abducted
by Shechem, his father, Chamor, came to Yaakov and his sons and requested that
they allow his son to marry Dinah. Yaakov's sons responded that it would be a
disgrace for them to give their sister to an uncircumcised man. Therefore, only
if every male in the city would circumcise himself would Bnei Yisrael give
their daughters to the people of Shechem and likewise marry their daughters.
Chamor and Shechem agreed at once and they also succeeded in convincing the
rest of the citizens of their town to follow suit.
On the third day after their circumcision, Shimon and Levi entered the city of
Shechem and killed every male, and took their sister Dinah and left. The Torah
relates Yaakov's response to Shimon and Levi's actions: "You have sullied
me, making me disgusting among the inhabitants of the land, and I am few in
number, and should they band together and attack me they will destroy me and my
household" (Bereishis 34, 30). To which they retorted, "Should our
sister be treated like a harlot?"
The question begs to be asked: What type of answer was this? Yaakov was
understandably worried for the safety of his family and they seemingly totally
disregarded this concern. Rav Wolbe (Shiurei Chumash) explains their response
as follows. The very essence of Bnei Yisrael is associated with the fact that
they are, "A nation that dwells in solitude" (Bamidbar 23, 9). They
cannot assimilate with the other nations of the world and the abduction of
Dinah was the first instance where the other nations attempted to mingle with
Bnei Yisrael and their daughters. Shimon and Levi's answer to Yaakov was that
it is completely unacceptable to abandon a Jewish girl and let her live with a
gentile. They could not remain silent in face of what had occurred, and
annihilating the city was worthwhile even if their actions would cost them
their lives!
The above was the first time that there was an attempt to cause Jews to merge
with non-Jews, but certainly not the last time. The story of Chanukah was
another such attempt made by the Greeks and Hellenists alike. Once again, the
leaders of Bnei Yisrael decided that they would not remain silent to the
situation at hand - even if it would cost them their lives! A handful of
tzaddikim risked their lives to fight the mighty Greek army, and Hashem
responded to the efforts of these righteous men and granted them a miraculous
victory. Yiddishkeit does not allow for any assimilation with the non Jewish
nations to the extent that it is worthwhile for us to give up our lives rather
than forfeiting our ability to "dwell in solitude!"
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