Yaakov’s sons…were distressed, and were full of indignation. For [Shechem] had committed an outrage in Israel by violating a daughter of Yaakov, and such a thing may not be done![2]
As in so many more episodes in the lives of the Avos, their intentions reached beyond the needs of the moment. They acted for the good of their descendants. In this case, Yaakov’s sons insisted on protecting the dignity of Bnos Yisrael. They thought that this consideration outweighed their father’s fear of reprisals. Yaakov believed that the peoples of the region would countenance the use of force against Shechem and his father Chamor, since they were obviously guilty parties. They would never understand the need to make a strong statement about the insistence of the Bnei Yisrael on kedushah. Killing all the males of the city for being complicit with Dinah’s violation is something the onlookers would regard as excessive. Shimon and Levi, however, acted deliberately to defend the honor of Yaakov. When the Torah states that the fear of the Lord was upon the surrounding cities,[3] it emphasizes that the inhabitants of those cities did not pursue “the sons of Yaakov,” emphasizing that Hashem protected them because they had acted in Yaakov’s best interests.
The upshot of this drama is that Shimon and Levi paved the way for the rebellion of the Chashmonaim against the Yevanim. There, too, brothers protected the honor of their sister and struck a blow for kedushas Yisrael. As Josephus records, Mattisyahu’s daughter stood to be violated according to the droit du seigneur (right of the first night) edict that is mentioned by the gemara.[4] Her brothers rose up in rebellion against the Syrian-Greeks.
The theme of protecting kedushas Yisrael does not end with this. In Al Hanisim, we speak of Hashem delivering “the strong to the hands of the weak ; the many to the hands of the few ; the impure to the hands of the tehorim.” We readily understand the miracle of the weak and few defeating a powerful enemy. But what does tumah and taharah have to do with victory or defeat ? Why should the tumah of the Yevanim give them an advantage on the battlefield ?
It actually does. Evildoers draw their strength through the sitra acher, which is another way of saying that evil can only exist where there is hester panim. Only where there is an occlusion of Hashem’s light can evil prevail. The greater the tumah / hiddeness of Hashem, the more evil can prosper. It makes sense that the tumah of the Yevanim confered a military advantage to them . On the other hand, the power of kedushah must typically remain weak ; otherwise, there could be no hester panim. Any triumph of kedushah is perforce a display of Hashem’s light !
The miracle of the first Chanukah was that the forces of kedushah vanquished an enemy whose tumah facilitated strength and might.
Another factor: The Shechem populace relished the idea of breaking down any barriers between the Bnei Yisrael and themselves. They looked towards intermarriage, and complete intermingling of the two groups. The Yevanim as well tried to erase Jewish distinctiveness, and integrate Jews into their culture. So much so, that we believe that they deliberately targeted the stores of oil in the beis hamikdosh. Oil is immiscible with other liquids. It stands alone, separate. It is a symbol of what Jews try to be, in relation to foreign cultures. By defiling the oil, the Yevanim declared that there is no room for Jewish separatism.
In the gemara’s treatment of Chanuka, the miracle of the oil gets top billing. This contrasts with Al Hanisim, where the military victory is underscored, and the miracle of oil is not mentioned at all. According to what we have said, there is no tension between the two approaches. Both make the same point. The battles waged by the Chashmonaim were primarily for the message of oil. Jews need to stay separate. When they won their campaign succeeded, the miracle of the oil served as confirmation of their belief. The tahorim had won out over the temei’im.
- Adapted from Be’er Moshe, by the Ozharover Rebbe zt”l ↑
- Bereishis 34:7 ↑
- Bereishis 35:5 ↑
- Kesubos 3b ↑