Shimon and Levi

נמצאו 13 תוצאות חיפוש

  1. Shimon and Levi in Shekhem

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    The rape and abduction of Deena and murder of the entire city of Shechem raises a number of moral issues; however; the Torah is vague about its evaluation of the retribution. This article attempts to evaluate Shechem’s actions in light of the biblical text; in comparison with other similar biblical stories.

  2. "This is the Blessing with Which Moshe Blessed..."

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    The parasha opens with Moshe's farewell address to Bnei Yisrael and his blessings to the tribes. The blessings of the tribes of Levi and Yosef are disproportionately longer than the others. Why are these two specific tribes given a longer blessing?

  3. Ramban on Vayishlach: The Massacre in Shechem

    Rabbi Ezra Bick | 40 דקות

    How Could the Sons of Yaakov Do What They Did at Shechem?

    Working with the assumption that the sons of Yaakov were generally righteous, Ramban asks how they could possibly kill a horde of ostensibly innocent people in Shechem, or even act deceptively with Shechem's deal in the first place. To answer this question, Ramban examines what was happening in the story and raises a number of possibilities. He points out that what Shechem did was against Torah law, but also against the law of the Land (and the Seven Noahide Laws)-- but nobody in his town was bringing him to justice. Did that make the rest liable to the death penalty, too? Where the sons of Yaakov seeking to exact justice, or revenge? Were there acts justified, or did they make a horrible mistake, even if they had good intentions? Or was Yaakov's reaction the one that was flawed?

  4. "Power of Judgment" – Shimon and Levi in Shekhem

    Rabbi Dr. Tamir Granot

    It seems that our central problem in assessing the Torah's position with regard to the deed of Shimon and Levi, is the tension that arises between the story here and Yaakov's words to them at the end of his life.

    From the point of view of Yaakov: if his criticism is indeed so fearsome and it is based on morality, why did he not voice his views at the time of the incident, or immediately thereafter?

    From the point of view of the Torah: how does the Torah judge the actions of Shimon and Levi, and how are we to view them?

    Through a close examination of the story of Dina, we are forced to re-examine this  principal dilemma - the contradiction that arises between the narrative itself, with all its aspects, and Yaakov's blessing – or, more accurately, his curse – to Shimon and Levi.  We propose that the solution be sought by paying attention to the respective locations of the two different evaluations of the act and its significance.

  5. Shimon, Levi, and Jacob: Idealism vs. Pragmatism

    Rabbi Aytan Kadden

  6. Yaakov's Concern About Violence

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  7. The Brothers and Shechem: Shimon and Levi vs. The Others

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  8. The Merit of Yaakov

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  9. Shimon and Levi: Blaming Yaakov?

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  10. The Guilt of Shimon and Levi

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  11. Why did One Brother Need to Open his Sack Early?

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  12. The Assemblies of Shimon and Levi

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  13. Vayishlach: Who was In the Right? Inconclusive Messages

    Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 19 שעות

    In this shiur, we analyze the story of Dina, Shimon, Levi, and Yaakov. Were Shimon and Levi in the wrong, or was Yaakov? What should have been the response of Yaakov to his sons actions at Shechem? These are two major approaches, but we seek to demonstrate that the parasha itself is inconclusive. Both sides have points, and each argument has elements that can be supported in the text. We grapple with the competing issues of zealotry vs. Hillul Hashem.  

    What we can concluded is that when we are in difficult moral situations. We must carefully evaluate our actions and verify that we are not motivated by the wrong things and that the actions we are taking are moral, and hope that we have God’s help in making the right decision.