by Cantor Emma Lutz
Every year at this time, we have the opportunity to re-read the stories of our ancestors in the book of B’reisheet. We learn from their struggles and mistakes and rejoice in their triumphs and successes. This sacred storytelling (and re-telling) helps us to feel less alone in our own daily struggles and life experiences.
This week, our hearts are warmed by the reconciliation between the twins Jacob and Esau. However, juxtaposed with this loving reunion is the dark tale of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, and her abduction by Shechem, son of Hamor. Although we read that Dinah was taken by force, the rabbis of our tradition often blamed Dinah for the abduction because she herself “went out” (וַתֵּצֵ֤א דִינָה֙), as if she were asking for trouble.
What troubles me the most about the story of Dinah is that we never hear Dinah’s own voice. Our few accounts of Jacob’s only daughter come through the words of her father, brothers, the local prince, and the subsequent commentaries from the rabbis of our tradition. In a time when many women in society are only starting to feel comfortable and empowered to share their own stories in their own words, it is worthwhile for us to imagine how Dinah might have told her own story to us in her words.
The absence of Dinah’s voice causes me to recall the Jewish value tzelem Elohim (צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים), a reminder that all human beings are created in God’s image and that each one of our life’s stories is equally important as the next person’s. Just because we don’t hear Dinah’s voice in the text does not mean she had no story to tell. May we all feel empowered to share our experiences with others in an honest and open way, and may our sacred text be a constant inspiration for us as a community to listen and share our own personal and communal sacred stories.