Vayishlach

Eisav’s Dual Threat

And it was on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Yaakov's sons, Shimon and Levi, Dina’s brothers, each took his sword and they came upon the city confidently, and killed every male. And Chamor and Shechem, his son, were killed at the point of the sword. They took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.
This episode seems extraordinary. Shimon and Levi were two of the holy shevatim. How could they justify killing the innocent members of an entire city?

Rashi  comments: “Two of Yaakov's sons - they were his sons but  behaved  like other people who were not his sons, for they did not take advice from him.”
Yaakov criticized this behavior when he was on his deathbed: “Shimon and Levi are comrades - their weaponry is a stolen craft. Into their conspiracy may my soul not enter! With their congregation my honor will not join. For in their rage they murdered people and at their whim they hamstrung an ox. Accursed is their rage for it is intense and their wrath for it is harsh. I will separate them within Yaakov and I will disperse them in Israel”. He felt that even if their behavior was justified, they should have asked him first and not act on their own.

The reason they acted this way was anger. Anger caused them to act impulsively and without consideration, and to fail to consult with others. This was stressed by Yaakov in his criticism of them: “Accursed is their rage for it is intense and their wrath for it is harsh.”
Yaakov himself set a good example of acting in a considered and not impulsive way. When he heard what Shimon and Levi had done he waited until his sons returned from the field; he did not want to act in a fit of anger and without due consideration.

Lion, Bear, and Snake
The Yalkut Shimoni (134) appears to compare the anguish suffered by Yaakov due to the episode of Shechem and Dina, with his suffering from Lavan and Eisav:
"As a man flees from a lion” - this refers to Lavan who chased after him to take his soul. “He encountered a bear” - this refers to Eisav who stood on the way like a bear. “He came to the house, rested his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him” - this refers to Shechem, son of Chamor who was with the daughter of Yaakov .
This is difficult to understand. Lavan sought to uproot everything, to entirely eradicate Yaakov's  faith. Eisav too wanted to have a battle against Yaakov and vanquish him. But Shechem ben Chamor simply could not control his desire for Dina - is this really equivalent to the nefarious plans of Lavan and Eisav?
To answer this question we will cite a comment of the Beit Halevi on this week’s parsha. The Torah relates that when Yaakov heard of Eisav’s impending attack he prayed, “Save me from the hands of my brother, from the hands of Eisav”. This seems repetitive; why mention both Eisav’s name and the fact that he was Yaakov’s brother?

The Beit Halevi cites a Zohar which states that a person must detail all of his needs in his tefila; he should not make one statement to cover two needs. In this case, Yaakov was actually praying for two things; to be saved from Eisav’s attack and from his supposed brotherly friendship, as we will explain.
Eisav’s first plan was to attack Yaakov and his family, to physically harm them. With regard to this threat Yaakov prayed, “Save me from Eisav”.
His second plan was to act like a brother, to be friendly and ask to live together, and provide him with food and shelter. But this was also a threat. Eisav’s brotherliness would come at a cost; he would attempt, through his friendship, to cause Yaakov to abandon his faith. He would convince him to desert his spiritual pursuits, to no longer be the “man who dwelt in the tents of Torah”, the “chosen of the Avot”, or the one whose form was carved into the Kisei haKavod . This would be an all-out war on Yaakov's spirituality and an existential threat, for if Yaakov would begin to imitate Eisav’s ways, he would soon lose his status as part of the chain of messora from Avraham Avinu and would gradually disappear and become like one of the other nations. In this regard Yaakov prayed, “Save me from my brother”.
And this is exactly what occurred. Eisav realized quickly that he could not physically overcome Yaakov. His angel had fought with Yaakov and lost. He had tried to bite Yaakov’s neck but it had become as hard as marble. Clearly, Yaakov could not be physically vanquished. So Eisav turned to his second tactic; he offered to accompany Yaakov, to provide for him, and serve him as king. But Yaakov knew the disastrous consequences and so he turned down the offer.
In fact, as the Beit halevi notes, Yaakov was more afraid of Eisav’s second tactic, than his first. This is why he first prayed to be saved “from my brother”, and only then, “from Eisav”.

Intermarriage and Assimilation
Perhaps we may suggest that the fear of “brotherliness” with the other nations lay at the heart of Shimon and Levi’s behavior. Perhaps they realized that Shechem did not just have a passing attraction for Dina which he could not overcome. Rather, “He loved the girl and spoke to the girl’s heart”. He wanted to marry her and, to that end, he made convincing arguments to her to attach herself to him and to his ways .
This was also evident in the proposal of Chamor, Shechem’s father: “And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves”. He wanted broad intermarriage which would erase Yaakov's values and his family. In fact, he even agreed to circumcise the entire population of his town, which would further erase the distinction between them and Yaakov’s family.
Shimon and Levi feared this greatly. They realized that Shechem and Chamor’s plans posed an enormous threat - a threat which would undermine the future of their family. They had little choice but to attack the city and wipe out its inhabitants. As the Torah attests, “for he had committed a disgusting thing in Israel by lying with the daughter of Yaakov - such a thing is not done”. Shechem had not only sought to perform a disgusting thing, he wanted to establish a custom and a practice of intermarriage with the family of Yaakov. This could not be tolerated.
This is why the Yalkut Shimoni equates Lavan, Eisav, and Shechem. All of them sought to undermine the foundations of Yaakov’s family and to erase it.

With this we may suggest an answer to a question posed by the Or Hachaim. Yaakov told Shimon and Levi that by attacking the people of Shechem they had endangered him: “You have muddied me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanim and among the Perizim. I am few in number and should they band together and attack me, I will be annihilated - I and my household.” Shimon and Levi replied: “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?” How was this a response to Yaakov's reprimand?
In light of the above we may say that Shimon and Levi were claiming that these were exceptional circumstances. By treating Dina like a harlot, Shechem had indicated that his intentions were to assimilate Yaakov’s family into the surrounding nations. This was an enormous threat and demanded an overwhelming response.

The dual threat of Eisav is still present today. On the one hand we are surrounded by nations who want to exterminate us. In fact, in the past several weeks we have sadly experienced the tragic realization of these threats, as bombs and stabbings have returned to the streets in Eretz Israel , and the growth of antisemitism in the entire world .  

But we also should not forget about the second threat; that of brotherliness. The “friendly” nations of the world seek to eradicate our spirituality and our uniqueness, our ability to learn Torah and perform mitsvots, our holiness and sanctity. They urge us to abandon our holy practices and join them in the “real world”. But we must stand firm. Within our laws and traditions the Jewish people are loyal to Torah and mitzvot; when it is breached ,  outside forces wish to make us “a nation like all the other nations”, G-d forbid. Little by little people fall into the trap, seeking to live together with the nations, and to work, eat, and socialize with them. This is the most terrible threat to our future.
 We must strengthen ourselves and stand apart. We do not need to act like them, dress like them, or use their devices. Instead let us remain true to the holy and sanctified values of Yaakov’s family.

Shabbat Shalom 

Rabbi Gad Bouskila