I hope that some readers of this blog are paying attention to my suggestion that Christians humbly engage with ReformJudaism.org and consider the Ten Minutes of Torah study that can be found there. Rabbi Stacy Rigler has a study of the story of Dinah (Genesis 32:4−36:43) that shows a good method for understanding theology and building bridges from the ancient past to today.
Rabbi Rigler writes
As a young rabbinic student, I thought that it was silence that perpetrated violence against women. I imagined if more people understood the prevalence of abuse, they would be more likely to act. In the past 20 years, as stories of abuse against women, trans and non-binary people, and children emerge in every arena, I wonder if the problem might be that these topics are so difficult, we avoid them all together. The story of the rape of Dinah in the middle of Genesis reminds us that sexual violence is part of every society and cannot be ignored . As I re-examined her story this year, I learned that Dinah was likely younger than 13 years old when she was raped.
It has been 20 years since I gave my first sermon on the rape of Dinah. In that time, the rates of reported sexual assault have declined and awareness of sexual violence has increased. There is so much more work to be done. Dinah's name means "justice." Together, this week and every week, let us continue to work towards justice to prevent the prevalence of sexual abuse in every arena... Reading the parashah this week we are reminded that sexual violence is part of our society, both in the past, and in our current day. How will you learn more, do more, listen more, to honor her legacy this week?
The Rabbi provides a helpful list of things that can be done to stop sexual abuse, sexual assault, and the victimization of children that speaks to circumstances within Jewish communities. We need Christians to step towards the work being done by Rabbi Rigler and adapt that for Christian communities.
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