The Weekly Dvar Torah
Volume 2 Issue #8
Serving at the Altar of Hashem: The Unity of Man and Wife
Vayishlach
Adapted from the wisdom of Rav Meir Simcha HaCohen of Dvinsk from the Meshech Chochmoh and Rav Tzadok HaCohen from Pri Tzadik and other works.
By Rav Yitzchak Schwartz Rosh Yeshiva Orchos Chaim Jerusalem
yschwartz@orchos.org.
This publication, Zichron Yehoshua, is in memory of Yehoshua Yakov ben Moshe-Jeffrey Nussbaum through a generous grant from Dr. Eric Nussbaum and family.
This issue is dedicated Avigail bas Yocheved, may Hashem bless her with His kindness.
“And Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her; and he took her, and lay with her, and afflicted her. And his soul did cleave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman, and spoke comfortingly unto the young woman. And Shechem spoke unto his father Hamor, saying: 'Get me this young woman to wife.’ And they, [the brothers of Dina] said: 'Should one deal with our sister as with a harlot?†(Breishit 34:1-4,31)
One of the greatest calamities in the Torah is the violation of sanctity of Dina the daughter of Jacob. Our sages obâ€m offer several interpretations as to the cause of this horrible offense. The medrash relates that the great Torah sage Reish Lakish saw the root cause of this tragedy in the following verse. “And he [Avraham] removed from there unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his [wife’s] tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar unto Hashem, and called upon the name of Hashem.†(Breishit 12:8) This medrash seems to defy explanation. What does a verse that relates the deeds of Avraham have to do with the assault on Yakov’s daughter, Dina?
In the Meshech Chochmah, Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk draws from an amazing piece in the Zohar to cast light on this question. The Zohar states that only when man and wife are united together can an offering be considered whole in the eyes of Hashem. In the writings of our sages, our patriarchs and matriarchs are the quintessential role models of matrimonial harmony, unity and sanctity. Based upon the unique etymology of the Hebrew language, the sages revealed the exemplary honor that our patriarchs had for their wives in two different verses. The first time appears in a verse in Breishit (12:8). During the course of Avraham’s journeys and encampments throughout the Promised Land he took special care to pitch Sarah’s tent prior to any involvement in his personal affairs. He tended to his personal service of Hashem only after Sarah’s needs were taken care of. The second place where the Torah alludes to this is in Breishit 35:21, where Yakov does the same for his wife Leah.
It is interesting to note that the Torah does not reveal this fact about Yakov before relating the tragic episode of Dina. The reason for this is that prior to Dina’s misfortune, it seems that Yakov occasionally did not show the same degree of honor to Leah as Avraham did for Sarah. The Meshech Chochma deduces this from the following. Subsequent to the story of Dina’s tragedy, Hashem instructs Yakov “And Hashem said unto Jacob: 'Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there; and make there an altar unto Hashem, who appeared unto you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.â€(Breishit 35,1) Hashem emphasizes to Yakov to pay close attention to the order of his commandment. First “dwell there†and only after that can he, “make an altar unto Hashem.†The word “dwell†alludes not only to a physical reality, but also to an elevated state of matrimonial respect and unity, one in which Leah would feel Yakov’s deep love and respect for her. Only within an atmosphere of refined respect and honor, can a marriage rise to the state of oneness that is necessary to serve at Hashem’s altar.
Prior to the violation of Dina, whenever Yakov needed to set up an encampment he would build an altar to Hashem and only then pitch the tent of Leah. This was not only a violation of Leah’s honor, but also a deficiency in Yakov’s service of Hashem. If Leah did not feel sufficient love and respect of her husband, they could not reach the level of oneness upon which, according to the Zohar, the service at the altar of Hashem is predicated.
By Rav Yitzchak Schwartz Rosh Yeshiva Orchos Chaim Jerusalem
yschwartz@orchos.org.
This publication, Zichron Yehoshua, is in memory of Yehoshua Yakov ben Moshe-Jeffrey Nussbaum through a generous grant from Dr. Eric Nussbaum and family.
This issue is dedicated Avigail bas Yocheved, may Hashem bless her with His kindness.
“And Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her; and he took her, and lay with her, and afflicted her. And his soul did cleave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman, and spoke comfortingly unto the young woman. And Shechem spoke unto his father Hamor, saying: 'Get me this young woman to wife.’ And they, [the brothers of Dina] said: 'Should one deal with our sister as with a harlot?†(Breishit 34:1-4,31)
One of the greatest calamities in the Torah is the violation of sanctity of Dina the daughter of Jacob. Our sages obâ€m offer several interpretations as to the cause of this horrible offense. The medrash relates that the great Torah sage Reish Lakish saw the root cause of this tragedy in the following verse. “And he [Avraham] removed from there unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his [wife’s] tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar unto Hashem, and called upon the name of Hashem.†(Breishit 12:8) This medrash seems to defy explanation. What does a verse that relates the deeds of Avraham have to do with the assault on Yakov’s daughter, Dina?
In the Meshech Chochmah, Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk draws from an amazing piece in the Zohar to cast light on this question. The Zohar states that only when man and wife are united together can an offering be considered whole in the eyes of Hashem. In the writings of our sages, our patriarchs and matriarchs are the quintessential role models of matrimonial harmony, unity and sanctity. Based upon the unique etymology of the Hebrew language, the sages revealed the exemplary honor that our patriarchs had for their wives in two different verses. The first time appears in a verse in Breishit (12:8). During the course of Avraham’s journeys and encampments throughout the Promised Land he took special care to pitch Sarah’s tent prior to any involvement in his personal affairs. He tended to his personal service of Hashem only after Sarah’s needs were taken care of. The second place where the Torah alludes to this is in Breishit 35:21, where Yakov does the same for his wife Leah.
It is interesting to note that the Torah does not reveal this fact about Yakov before relating the tragic episode of Dina. The reason for this is that prior to Dina’s misfortune, it seems that Yakov occasionally did not show the same degree of honor to Leah as Avraham did for Sarah. The Meshech Chochma deduces this from the following. Subsequent to the story of Dina’s tragedy, Hashem instructs Yakov “And Hashem said unto Jacob: 'Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there; and make there an altar unto Hashem, who appeared unto you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.â€(Breishit 35,1) Hashem emphasizes to Yakov to pay close attention to the order of his commandment. First “dwell there†and only after that can he, “make an altar unto Hashem.†The word “dwell†alludes not only to a physical reality, but also to an elevated state of matrimonial respect and unity, one in which Leah would feel Yakov’s deep love and respect for her. Only within an atmosphere of refined respect and honor, can a marriage rise to the state of oneness that is necessary to serve at Hashem’s altar.
Prior to the violation of Dina, whenever Yakov needed to set up an encampment he would build an altar to Hashem and only then pitch the tent of Leah. This was not only a violation of Leah’s honor, but also a deficiency in Yakov’s service of Hashem. If Leah did not feel sufficient love and respect of her husband, they could not reach the level of oneness upon which, according to the Zohar, the service at the altar of Hashem is predicated.