Dena in Shekhem: A Reevaluation

Dena in Shekhem: A Reevaluation, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

The tragic events of Bereishit 34, conventionally understood as a case of Shekhem's rape and abduction of Dena, is a narrative replete with internal and broader difficulties. Along with introducing and demonstrating a methodology which encourages the reader to be a "fly on the wall" in the story, we propose, based on both contextual and textual clues, that Shekhem's behavior was far less vile than presumed and that Yaakov may have felt quite differently about the events - until his sons took things into their own hands and forever altered the course of our history. Ahh...what could have been...This shiur was given at the Herzog College Yemei Iyyun in Tanakh 5782.

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