Omer 2016 Day 48: Dinah and Tamar

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Day 48: Yesod in Malchut, Connection in Leadership
There has been a lot in the news recently about the Stanford sexual assault case, which ended with a unanimous guilty verdict for the rapist and a disappointingly short six-month prison sentence, which will be only three months with good behavior. Since last weekend, the the moving letter written by the survivor has been widely shared on social media. You can and should read it in full here if you haven't already. It ends with this:

"And finally, to girls everywhere, I am with you. On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought everyday for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you." -Stanford survivor

Today, Vice President Joe Biden published an open letter supporting her and praising her strength and Texas Representative Ted Poe reiterated to the country that "no means no," because, for an unfathomable reason, that concept still eludes some people.

Of course, this got me thinking about Dinah and Tamar (King David's daughter, not the Tamar who was Judah's daughter-in-law), who both survived rape in the Tanakh. They are important female figures with painful stories, who I had been struggling to incorporate into the Omer this year until I read the Stanford survivor's letter.

Dinah was raped by Shechem, the son of the chief of the land (Genesis 34: 1-4). Tamar was raped by her half-brother, Amnon (2 Samuel 13:10-15). After both incidents, neither woman is heard from again. I can't help but wonder what they would have said if given the chance to speak out against their attackers and against the injustices they faced in their societies. I can't help but reflect in horror and anger on the persistence of this evil in the world. But we cannot despair, because as leaders we must be called to action. We must reach out to each other, build connections where there is isolation, and "never stop fighting" for a world free of rape and violence.

Omer 2016 Day 31: Deborah, Rebecca's nurse

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Day 31: Tiferet in Hod, Balance in Glory
Deborah, Rebecca's nurse, is first mentioned as departing with Rebecca on her journey to meet and marry Isaac (Genesis 24:59). According to the WRJ's Women's Commentary Torah, the fact that her nurse had remained with the family after Rebecca had grown up suggests that she may have been like a surrogate mother to Rebecca or, at least, that the two shared a special bond. We learn of Deborah's death over ten chapters after her first appearance with the simple line: 

"And Deborah, Rebecca's nurse, died and was buried below Beth El under the Oak, so he [Jacob] named it the Oak of Weeping." (Genesis 35:8)

Deborah's death is remarkable for many reasons, the first and most often-cited of which is that her death was mentioned at all, while Rebecca's death was never stated. This line about Deborah's death comes between the rape of Dinah and God blessing Jacob with the name Israel, followed shortly thereafter by Rachel's death and then Isaac's. So Deborah, who began her story as a nurse responsible for maintaining life, was the first in a series of devastating deaths in Jacob's family. The blessing that Jacob received from God was book-ended by death, a reminder that there is balance in glory.