About Community Gatherings, Observances, and Ceremonies Around Parashat Vayishlach
Communities and Organizations for Safety and Sexual Violence Prevention
This year too, as the Torah reading cycle brings us to Parashat Vayishlach and the story of Dinah’s rape, we will make space and give voice to Dinah and to the sexual violence she endured, and draw on her story to address sexual violence broadly, relevent to people of all genders and ages.
As in previous years, communities and organizations will hold activities to promote safety and prevent sexual violence.
During the Week of Dinah, we will gather, discuss, learn, and delve into the story of Dinah’s rape, in order to engage with her story and with the testimonies within our communities, and to recognize the ongoing need to act with a sense of shared responsibility
Together, we will stand alongside survivors of sexual violence and address our responsibility to prevent sexual violence and promote safety in our communities and families, for the community and for each individual.
What is Dinah Gathering?
A Dinah Gathering is a community gathering held around Parashat Vayishlach, creating space for Dinah’s story and for conversations about sexual violence, silence, listening, and responsibility. Through learning, discussion, creative expression, or prayer, the community is invited to build a greater sense of safety and solidarity, and to make a practical commitment to change in the public and communal sphere.
The Dinah Gathering grew out of local meetings we held in recent years around the reading of the story of Dinah’s rape. Participants asked for a shared space to address sexual violence, silencing, and the community’s responsibility. In response to this need, the gathering took shape as an communal observance that expresses the need to stand alongside survivors of sexual violence. It is important that the gathering also take place in the public sphere, making a visible statement against silencing and against keeping this issue hidden.
How Did the Dinah Gathering Develop?
Where do Dinah Gatherings Take Place?
At first glance, the most fitting place to hold a Dinah Gathering might seem to be on Dinah Streets throughout Israel, in Jerusalem, Be’er Sheva, Yeruham, Ofra, and Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut. But there are few streets named Dinah, while many streets commemorate the other twelve tribes, among whom Dinah is almost never counted. For this reason, it is worth considering the public sphere wherever we are. Taking the gathering into public space creates a visible presence and raises awareness of sexual violence, as well as of “Dinah, the thirteenth tribe.” In doing so, it gives voice in defiance of a longstanding silence.
Even if there is no Dinah Street where you live, you can still gather. Dinah Gatherings can take place on a central street, in a community center, in a synagogue, in a private home, in a public space, or online. The location is not what matters most. What gives the gathering its meaning, wherever it takes place in the world, is the choice to make space for Dinah’s story, to listen to voices that have been pushed aside, and to commit to shared community responsibility.
Collective action and taking responsibility as a community for addressing sexual violence set in motion a process of repair and lay the foundations for broader change in the future, both near and far.
What If There Is No Dinah Street Where I Live?
Dinah Gatherings in Previous Years
Prayers and Poetry for Dinah Gatherings
Dinah Resource Center
A diverse and accessible collection of materials for reading, learning, and deeper study, as well as for preparing a class, Dvar Torah, or gathering.
The Week of Dinah Activities
Local Gathering
Learning, Prayer, and Support
Synagogue
Shabbat D’var Torah or Sermon
Organization or Community
Class, Lecture, Gathering, or Workshop
Partnership and Support
Promotion, Digital Outreach, and Financial Support for the Initiative
Individual Participation
Sign Up for Updates and Join Events During The Week of Dinah
Content Creation
Article, D’var Torah, Midrash, Poem, or Prayer
Ways to Participate in The Week of Dinah
Sign up · Organize · Teach · Learn · Create · Attend · Donate
Throughout the week, there will be classes and lectures, workshops, a day of learning, and a community gathering.
On Shabbat, sermons and Divrei Torah on the theme will be delivered in synagogues across different communities, alongside the weekly Torah reading, Parashat Vayishlach.
Join Us:
November 22–28, 2026
12–18 Kislev 5787
Survivors of Sexual Violence
The General Public
Those Seeking Change, Repair, and Healing
Community Members
Rabbinical Leaders Across Jewish Movements
Leaders of Communities and Organizations
Who Is The Week of Dinah For?
The Week of Dinah in Previous Years
As part of the Week of Dinah initiative, we have created a digital resource center where we direct readers to writing on the subject that can help those who wish to learn and teach, give Divrei Torah and sermons, and create and lead rituals.
This year too, we invite you to send us essays, poems, and prayers that speak directly to Dinah, sexual violence, and treatment and prevention.
gluya@gluya.org
The Shevet Dinah Collective initiative is undertaken with the recognition that this subject can be an ongoing trigger.
The content deals with sexual violence and may evoke emotional and physical responses.
Please listen to your heart and body when engaging with this topic, and participate in a way and at a pace that feels right for you.
The Shevet Dinah Coalition seeks to restore Dinah to our shared story, together with the story of sexual violence, silence, and the silencing of sexual violence. Our hope is to raise awareness and to build a collective culture with greater responsibility, less silencing, a greater ability to recognize and respond to sexual violence, and more support and professional referrals for survivors.
We have come together and will continue to draw strength from the support that has taken shape, and continues to take shape, through the very choice to speak out, to echo our commitment, and to act with responsibility.
Organizations Leading The Week of Dinah initiative
(List Updated as Organizations Join)
ארגוני הובלת שבוע דינה:
כל השותפים בשבוע דינה:
Would Your Community or Organization Like to Join Us?
If you would like to join Shevet Dinah and take part in our annual initiative centered on Parashat Vayishlach, please contact us: gluya@gluya.org
During The Week of Dinah and on Shabbat Vayishlach, we will stand together and say to survivors:
We stand with you!
As communities, we too bear responsibility.
Our goal is to stand in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault, support them, amplify their voices, and resist silencing. Speaking with moral clarity and affirming our commitment to survivors help foster sexual safety and prevent further harm. By speaking out, we commit ourselves, now and in the future, to responding when harm occurs and refusing to enable silencing.
Together, as diverse organizations and communities representing the breadth of Jewish life in Israel and throughout the Diaspora, we will stand with survivors of sexual assault and foster a culture of safety and prevention.
Together, we will stand in solidarity, affirm our belief in survivors, respond with care and compassion, and call for repair and healing.
