Written by Pardes faculty member Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash – “Out went Dinah the daughter of Leah whom she bore to Jacob, to see the girls of the land. Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, Prince of the Land, saw her. He took her and lay with her and degraded her.” (Genesis 32: 1-3) The story about Dinah catches us unprepared. Jacob has arrived in Shechem intact (shalem) and pitched his tent with an air of permanence. He has finally broken from the clutches of Laban. He has emerged somewhat scathed but triumphant from the encounter with the angel and survived the terrifying reunion with Esau. God has blessed him with four wives, eleven sons, one daughter and great wealth. He has returned back to the land of his forefathers.
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