{"id":56396,"date":"2019-05-29T21:32:20","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T18:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=56396"},"modified":"2022-12-21T16:02:42","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T14:02:42","slug":"the-concubine-of-givah-will-we-learn-the-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-concubine-of-givah-will-we-learn-the-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"The Concubine Of Givah: Will We Learn The Lessons?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The barbaric events of the concubine of Givah are almost indigestible, perhaps even more so in the age of #metoo. Nothing can possibly undo the twin cardinal sins of rape and murder, but at the very least we can try to derive the right lessons from this troubling episode.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, the rabbis recommended precisely this – in the form of a summertime dance holiday known as <\/span>Tu be-Av<\/span><\/em>. The Mishnah in Tractate <\/span>Ta\u2019anit<\/span><\/em> teaches:<\/span><\/p>\n

There were no days as joyous for the Jewish people as the fifteenth of <\/span>Av<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Yom Kippur<\/span><\/i>, as on them the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed white clothes, so as not to embarrass one who did not have. All the garments would require immersion. And the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and form a circle [<\/span>mahol<\/span><\/em>] in the vineyards.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Talmud comments: \u201cAll the Jewish people borrow from each other, so as not to embarrass one who did not have.\u201d Why was this an essential part of the ritual?<\/span><\/p>\n

Crucially, the Talmud sees Tu be-Av as a day of flattening the socio-economic differences among the maidens of Israel. The tragedy of <\/span>pilegesh be-Givah<\/span><\/em> had featured a powerful group (the city residents) taking advantage of a vulnerable family (the guests, which include a concubine, who occupies a lower social status than a full wife), which leads to civil war and massive devastation. Almost seeking to overturn this travesty of abuse of power, on <\/span>Tu be-Av<\/em> <\/span>the women diminish dangerous hierarchies and ensure the dignity of their vulnerable peers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our <\/span>mishnah<\/span><\/i>, moreover, extends the motif one step further. \u201c<\/span>Sheker ha-hen ve-hevel ha-yofi<\/span><\/em>,\u201d \u201cGrace is deceitful, and beauty is vain,\u201d declare the women when extending themselves to potential male suitors at the dance. Do not judge a woman by her appearance, nor any individual by his outward characteristics. The Jewish girls go out in borrowed clothing, so as not to embarrass one another. We can no longer distinguish the poor from the rich, the ugly from the beautiful. Their garments are all immersed in the <\/span>mikvah<\/span><\/em>; they too, we can suggest, are all now equally pure.<\/span><\/p>\n

The key to ensuring respect for the vulnerable in society is to begin by reminding ourselves that for all the externalities that divide us, fundamentally we share a common human dignity. The rest, Judges and the Talmud suggest, is mere commentary.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is adapted from a longer version of this essay, which originally appeared at The Lehrhaus at<\/span> www.thelehrhaus.com\/scholarship\/tu-be-av-and-the-concubine-of-givah-2\/<\/span><\/a><\/em>.<\/em> <\/span>Reprinted with permission. <\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":56397,"id":56397,"title":"jud19-sinensky-burne-jones-dancers","filename":"jud19-sinensky-burne-jones-dancers.gif","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-sinensky-burne-jones-dancers.gif","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-concubine-of-givah-will-we-learn-the-lessons\/jud19-sinensky-burne-jones-dancers\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jud19-sinensky-burne-jones-dancers","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":56396,"date":"2019-05-29 18:31:55","modified":"2023-08-10 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