It is a serious and dangerous problem that eats away at the core of our people.
However, the issues we have today certainly were not theirs. They, as we, had flaws and made mistakes. We do not believe that our ancestors (or any human being) to be perfect. To ascribe these attributes and failings to our ancestors shows not only a lack of knowledge in Jewish history, but also an ignorance of sociology.
Dina is willing to throw away her belief in monotheism and her role as a part of the founding family of Judaism.Shimon and Levi are presumed to be bloodthirsty sons of a devious, barbarous father, Jacob, willing to destroy the true love of his daughter for his old-fashioned beliefs.While this depiction may be heartwarming and romantic, it reduces Dina to a character in a Harlequin romance novel, portraying her as little more than a mindless, love-starved girl.ĭiamant gives our matriarchs the flawed portrayal of someone living in the 21st century, and makes a number of significant errors: Dina was not raped, says the author of "The Red Tent." Rather, she eloped and intermarried, throwing caution to the wind, allowing herself to be swept off her feet, guided by her heart and her love.ĭina seems to check her brain at the door, looking for love in all the wrong places. In the surprising best-selling book, "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant, it appears that "no" may very well mean, "yes." Diamant retells the story as the blending of two cultures and the desire of a woman to find love at any cost. Her brothers, unbeknown to their father, free her in a surgically planned guerilla strike. The Torah (Genesis 34) tells us that Dina, Jacob's only daughter, is forcibly taken and raped by a powerful prince. Unless you're writing historical fiction.
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