The בני יעקב in פרשת וישלח responded to שכם and חמור his father ‘במרמה.’ This, רש״י explains, means בחכמה. But did they really need this חכמה of getting them to undergo מילה in order to overcome them? The בני יעקב were גיבורים. Rather, the חכמה in getting them to undergo מילה was to eliminate the concern that the nations around them נאספו עלי והכוני ונשמדתי אני וביתי. The בני יעקב understood that once the people of שכם became Jews, everyone would stand aside and not care what happened to them.
06/10/2021