וַתֵּצֵ֤א דִינָה֙ בַּת־לֵאָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָלְדָ֖ה לְיַעֲקֹ֑ב לִרְא֖וֹת בִּבְנ֥וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
וַיַּ֨רְא אֹתָ֜הּ שְׁכֶ֧ם בֶּן־חֲמ֛וֹר הַֽחִוִּ֖י נְשִׂ֣יא הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּקַּ֥ח אֹתָ֛הּ וַיִּשְׁכַּ֥ב אֹתָ֖הּ וַיְעַנֶּֽהָ׃
Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her, and took her and lay with her by force.
                                            -Genesis 34:1-2

In this week’s parasha, Vayishlach, we read of the first act of sexual violence in the Torah. Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, is raped by Shechem, son of Hamor, the king of the town of Shechem. Shechem subsequently brought disaster upon his entire city when two of Dinah’s brothers slaughtered all the males in their town.
 
In this era of #MeToo, when many famous men (and some women) have been publicly shamed and professionally compromised for their inappropriate sexual behaviour, the contemporary resonance of this story cannot be ignored. And, like everything else, the isolation of the pandemic has dramatically complicated the scourge of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
 
Sexual abuse of any kind is morally repugnant and appalling, and there is no excusing it. And yet, so often the perpetrators, especially those in positions power, believe, as did Shechem, that they are somehow immune from consequence. As the son of the king tried to do, abusers try to rationalize their abusive behaviour as an expression of love or privilege. The Torah clearly demonstrates that abusive behaviour of any kind cannot be excused or tolerated.
 
As human beings, we so easily try to rationalize our own behaviour. It is not unusual for us to believe that our moral failures will go unnoticed. Somehow, we believe that we will get away with it. This is not a new disillusion: in Pirkei Avot, in answer to the question, “what is a straight path that a person should cling to? Rabbi Shimon said: seeing the consequences of one's actions” (Pirkei Avot 2:9).
 
We are going through a profoundly difficult time, but we cannot allow ourselves to use the pandemic and its associated hardships as an excuse for bad behaviour. The message is clear: more than ever, each of us needs to foresee the consequences of our actions and take responsibility for our own behaviour.