Vayishlach: independence
Vayishlach: independence
Twice, on November 29, the United Nations voted for the partition of Israel and Palestine. Once, in 1947 and again in 2012. It is ironic that this comes when we read the parsha that partitions Jacob from Esau ( ) and records the first decimation of Shechem. .
It is hard on the American in me. I read that Dina goes out to meet the local girls, to have a social life, to mix with the locals, to be normal. She is raped and abducted. The rapist (Shechem) now wants to do the honorable thing - he wants to marry Dina. Shechem's father proposes that his Hivite people and the children of Israel unify through intermarriage. A one state solution. The United State of Hiev- Israel. Dina's brothers, protectors of her honor (cf Lavan and Bithuel), the sons of Israel, hatch a plot that is clever ( so that the few overcome the many [getting ready for Chanukah]) and has religious overtones ( it involves circumcision). The first family of Shechem sells the idea to the nation (what is good for the wealthy is good for the common person). The plan succeeds and the patriarch Jacob/Israel is disturbed by the destruction and its consequences. The nation of Israel moves on. No International Court.
It is hard on the American in me. I read that Dina goes out to meet the local girls, to have a social life, to mix with the locals, to be normal. She is raped and abducted. The rapist (Shechem) now wants to do the honorable thing - he wants to marry Dina. Shechem's father proposes that his Hivite people and the children of Israel unify through intermarriage. A one state solution. The United State of Hiev- Israel. Dina's brothers, protectors of her honor (cf Lavan and Bithuel), the sons of Israel, hatch a plot that is clever ( so that the few overcome the many [getting ready for Chanukah]) and has religious overtones ( it involves circumcision). The first family of Shechem sells the idea to the nation (what is good for the wealthy is good for the common person). The plan succeeds and the patriarch Jacob/Israel is disturbed by the destruction and its consequences. The nation of Israel moves on. No International Court.
The major theme of the parsha is the identity of Israel and the separation from other peoples: from Esau, from intermarriage, from internal strife [Reuven] ( this is only beginning). What is this identity? The name is Yisrael, wrestle with the power, fight with Gd, battle against all odds, The نس is an ambiguous letter. If it is read shin, then the name means straight (Yashar) power, use of power for the good. An appealing idea.
posted by Sheldon Goldberg at 8:35 AM
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