At the opening of this Parasha, we find Jacob traveling with his wives, children, servants and livestock back to his birthplace in Canaan to meet up with his brother Esau after a 20-year absence. We read also of Jacobs preparations, his fear of seeing his brother for the first time after stealing his birthright, Jacobs’s nocturnal battle with an angel, and finally the infamous meeting. All of this is going on in parallel to the storyline of Leah’s daughter Dinah who received only a one-line mention in last week’s parasha.

In the middle of Vayishlach, we come across the story, as Etz Chaim writes, “the Ravishing of Dinah.” Here Dinah, now an adult finds her love in the city of Shechem, a community of Canaanites. Her lover Shechem goes to his father, Hamor, who, in turn, approaches Jacob to ask his “bride price.” The resulting agreement includes no money, land, or livestock but the insistence by Jacob and a couple of his sons as follows: Shechem, his father, and all males in the city of Shechem are to be circumcised by Jacob and his family as Dinah’s “bride price” to which Hamor, Shechem’s father agrees. And the rights are thus performed. Three days later, several of Jacob’s sons returned to Shechem and, so the story goes, slaughtered every male in the city including Shechem and his father. The sons then turned, looted the city, and hauled their sister back to Jacobs’ camp stating Dinah went to Shechem as a captive and was raped by Hamor’s son, an offense punishable by death.

I am fully aware that Moses Miamonides and other Sages agree with the tactics used by some of Jacob’s sons, however I am personally put off by their savagery and the wanton killing of innocent men in the town. The king, Hamor, made the deal with Jacob on behalf of his son. Why punish, by death no less, the rest of the townsmen? And then, after the killing, other of Jacob’s sons came in and looted the town of its wealth and livestock. I agree that the forcible rape of a daughter is heinous but first off; does the punishment fit the crime? Secondly, I’m am far from being a Torah scholar but in my reading of the material, I am given to wonder if Dinah was in fact, raped upon her visit to Shechem, or was she so smitten with love that she agreed to what we today label as pre-marital sex with Shechem. Maybe there is no biblical word for pre-marital relations and thus the word rape was used. I’m afraid we will never know but to return to my question, did the punishment meted out by several of Jacob’s sons fit the crime?

From all of this we can easily see that forcible conversion to Judaism just doesn’t work out. Even if the prospective converts agree to the process, you will still end up with converts who know little or nothing of Judaism. Over time, will these converts come to know and practice Judaism? Probably, in much the same way as people who were forced to accept the Church during the Spanish Inquisition ultimately came to practice a form of Christianity. So, what meaning does all this have for us today?

During the High Holidays this past season, I said from this pulpit that Conservative Judaism, in an effort to help stem the tide of our steadily reducing numbers, should look to lower the bar for prospective converts, and instead, undertake a more active process to more readily ease non-Jews into our fold. We need to become more pro-active in seeking out and easing non-Jews into our world rather than standing around and wringing our hands at the numbers of inter-married and Jews seeking to move outside of Judaism.

Commentary on this very subject written by Rabbi Lee Buckman, head of the Jewish Academy of Metropolitan Detroit asks the following: “Most Jews are uncomfortable with the idea of missionizing to non-Jews. The question is why? If we truly believe the world would be a better place if more people were to adopt the values and ethics of Judaism, why shouldn’t we actively seek converts?”

Rabbi Buckman does not go forward with “how to” manual but his questions are valid and bear looking into for answers. No one is advocating marching up and down residential neighborhoods, as do the Mormons or Seventh Day Adventists. Rather our religious schools and seminaries need to review the problem in depth and adjust their philosophies and teachings to the new rabbinic leadership in this area. Our Rabbi’s need not be so “stand-off-ish” when approached by non-Jews. Greater efforts can be made to be more inclusive to our non-Jewish neighbors. Think of the numbers: if we could “graduate” 10 people per year, and if these 10 would become members of our Temple, we would be going a long way in increasing our numbers in our congregation. AND, we will surely find some interested, dedicated people willing to actively get involved here with us.

As we remember the story of Shechem and Hamor and the men slaughtered by Jacob’s sons, our Rabbi’s may see a possible good lesson coming out of that carnage. Conversion by force just doesn’t work however a kind heart and a smiling approach could help turn the tide of the decreasing numbers of our Conservative Movement.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Rubovits