Genesis

And Dinah,, etc. to see in the daughters of the land. The expression, in the daughters of the land, needs to be understood; it should have said, "to see the daughters of the land." And that which appears [correct] is that, behold the Sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayishlach 7:1), "Scripture associates her name with Leah. Leah’s daughter loved to go out just as her mother did. How do we know this about Leah? It is written: And Leah went out to meet him (Genesis 30:16), etc." And at first glance, this is a wonder! Did it not know their, may their memory be blessed, saying (Pesachim 3a) that Scripture did not even speak in disgrace of an impure animal? Why would Scripture write with the intention of showing the disgrace of that righteous woman [Leah]? All the more so, since it is known that she truly intended [it] for the sake of the Heavens, since she desired and strove to establish the tribes of God. And it is like their statement, may their memory be blessed (Bereishit Rabbah 72:5).

In fact, it is just the opposite. The Sages, may their memory be blessed, came to say that Scripture associates her with Leah, to say just like the mother, so too is the daughter. This means that just like her mother certainly intended [it] for the sake of the Heavens, so too did the daughter intend [it] for the sake of the Heavens. For their statement, may their memory be blessed, about the verse: and the souls that they made in Haran (Genesis 12:5), "Abraham would convert the men, and Sarah would convert the women (Bereishit Rabbah 39:14) is well-known. Hence she also wanted to grasp onto the ways of her holy forbears, to convert converts from the daughters of the land, in order to bring them under the beneficence of the wings of the divine presence. And that is why Scripture stated, And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out. Meaning that she was truly the daughter of Leah in this going out, acting like her mother for the sake of the Heavens. And that is why she went to see in the daughters of the land. That is to say, to see inside them and the internality of their hearts. For even in the nations of the world, there are some souls that are prepared to accept purity and want to cling to the Jewish people, as is well-known from Ruth and the other righteous converts, who, even when they are still gentiles, accompany and seek out the Children of Israel, because of the holiness within them. And it is because of this that Scripture is recounting Dinah's praise. As she went specifically to see, and not to show herself, her beauty before the eyes of the nations and the princes, since she was beautiful (alluding to Esther 1:11). And also specifically to see in the daughters of the land, and not, God forbid, in the sons of the land. For she had the righteousness of her holy forbears in her, from tip to toe, without budging to the right or the left. So Jacob's bed [the propriety of his family] was complete.

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