Vayishlach: violation

The parsha contains several violations, each handled in its own way.

Yaakov recognizes that his entry into the land could be perceived as something between an illegal immigration and an attack. Eisav had raged against Yaakov, expressing murderous intent, when Yaakov stole his identity to receive the blessing that Isaac had intended for Eisav. That blessing had implications for the Divine deed to the Promised Land. That meal of lentils and bread did not give Yaakov the right to assume Eisav’s identity at that critical moment. He ( and we) know that he had underpaid. Yaakov could not rely on time alone, twenty years, to mollify his brother.

Yaakov sends a gift of a large fortune. To some extent, he is rebuying the blessing and the consequent, eventual right to the land. At least, he is buying the ability to co-exist with Esau. Wealth can mitigate conflict.  It turned the violation into a visit.

Yaakov buys land near Shechem. Daughter Dina appears in public. She is raped and taken hostage by the local prince. What Abraham feared for Sara when he went to Egypt and Philistia; what Isaac feared for Rebecca in Grar happened to Dina (albeit without the husband’s murder). This time, Gd did not protect the captive.

 The prince of Shechem proposes a plan.  This plan will turn his crime of rape and kidnap onto a glorious act of peaceful unification between the Hebrews and the Hittites. The tribes will merge. The Hittites will circumcise. The Jews will become traders in their midst (prophetic)[Note: when Chamor (the king) and Shechem (the prince) talk to their tribe, they do not offer the Israelites land].

The plot of Simon and Levi, Jacob’s sons, unfolds. They kill all the men when they are compromised by their recent circumcisions. They refuse to justify this violation and, instead, annihilate the tribe. It is an act of collective punishment. But every circumcision was a devout vote for a plan that justified a crime. How would this color the values of the proposed union? This violation is handled with violence.

Reuven violates his father’s (ex?) consort Bilha, the mother of his half-brothers, Dan and Naftali. This incestuous act  merits less than one verse. It is followed by a brief comment:

וַיִּֽהְי֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יַעֲקֹ֖ב שְׁנֵ֥ים עָשָֽׂר

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve in number.

This outrageous act is hardly penalized, beyond the embarrassment of its mentioned. The greater good, the union of the tribes takes precedence. This violation is overlooked.

The theme of merit is interwoven in the story. Jacob fears that he has already drawn the limit of credit before he confronts Esau.

קָטֹ֜נְתִּי מִכֹּ֤ל הַחֲסָדִים֙ וּמִכׇּל־הָ֣אֱמֶ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתָ אֶת־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ

I am unworthy of all the kindness that You have so steadfastly shown Your servant:

Gd’s instructions to Jacob are a mixture of encouragement to advance the mission (the story) and protection against the threats that emerge from carrying out those commands. Gd helps Jacob figure it out on many levels.

The subsequent battle that leaves Jacob lame and banishes fillet mignon from the kosher diet serves to give Jacob the courage to do what needs to be done and thus, changes his name to Israel: the master of some portion of his fate. Jacob and his descendants deal with these semi-divine interventions/violations. Sometimes we get to choose the reaction. We always know that we must choose wisely. No choice is perfect.