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Why did the brothers negotiate with Shechem if they were furious? The shiur explains that fury stems from being put down, not just from loss. The brothers' demand for circumcision was wisdom—a litmus test to see if Shechem would acknowledge respect, offering genuine resolution instead of mere revenge.
The shiur analyzes the story of Dinah's abduction in Parshas Vayishlach, focusing on the brothers' psychological response and the wisdom of their strategy. The Ramban (רמב"ן) asks several difficulties: if the brothers' plan was trickery (mirmah) to kill the people of Shechem, why didn't Yaakov know about it? How could Yaakov have agreed to the marriage? And why were only Shimon and Levi singled out for punishment if all the brothers participated in the deception? The Ramban resolves this by explaining that the original plan was merely to weaken Shechem through circumcision in order to retrieve Dinah, not to destroy the city. Shimon and Levi acted unilaterally in wiping out Shechem. However, Rashi (רש"י)'s approach presents a problem: Rashi says the brothers answered "b'chochma" (with wisdom), not mere trickery, and adds that there was no improper trickery because "asher timeh es Dinah achosam"—they had defiled their sister. What is the connection between the wisdom and the defilement?
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Bereishis 34 (Parshas Vayishlach)
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