Views which grate on modern sensibilities:Sexual abuse is less serious than using an inaccurate commerical scale

Update:8/18/13Rape: Different perspectives through history
Update 8/1813 I was in Beit Shemesh for Shabbos. The Rav of the shul gave a drasha about Yafas To'ar based on the Ohr HaChaim (Devarim 21:11)  -  that sometimes rape is the result of spiritual attraction. He also explains the rape of Dinah in this way. This Ohr Hachaim in my opinion is inconsistent with Chazal and clearly grates on modern sensibilities. [The Ohr HaChaim mentions in about 5 places that he sometimes presents views that disagree with Chazal] I mentioned  to the rav that I was not aware of a single other commentary which expresses such a view  While he also didn't know of anyone else who gives this explaiantion - he didn't seem to understand what I found problematic with the Ohr HaChaim. [In contrst there is no mention of any spiritual significance to rape in his commentary  Bereishis 34:1 regarding Dinah and Shechem]
===============
Update 8/18/13 Chofetz Chaim says that the  Torah indicates that slander is worse than rape

ספר שמירת הלשון ח"ב - פרק כב

"וענשו אתו מאה כסף, כי הוציא שם רע על בתולת ישראל" (דברים כ"ב י"ט). ואיתא בערכין (דף ט"ו.) במשנה, נמצא האומר בפיו חמור מן העושה מעשה, [שעל אונס ומפתה אין צריך לתן, רק חמשים כסף, וגם אינו מתחיב מלקות, מה שאין כן במוציא שם רע]. ונוכל לומר, דזוהי כונת הכתוב (עמוס ד' י"ג), "כי הנה יוצר הרים וברא רוח ומגיד לאדם מה שחו". והינו שהאדם, כשהוא מתבונן לפרקים על עניניו, אינו מתבונן, רק על מעשיו, אבל אודות דבוריו אינו חושב כלל, כי חושב בנפשו, מה קלקול יוכל להגיע על ידי דבור, הלא הוא דבר שאין בו ממש? אבל באמת לא כן הוא, כי הקלקול שמגיע למעלה על ידי דבוריו הוא הרבה יותר ממה שמגיע על ידי מעשיו.

==================================
I just received the following letter which raises a very important question. It seems at first glance at this gemora that either our evaluation of sexual abuse and sin is too high or that of theft is too low.

Dear Rav Eidensohn

I am just working on Yevamot (21a) and I came across this Gemara, which states that the sin of uneven measures is worse than the sin of arayot, because one can do teshuva for the latter:

Yevamos (21a)[Soncino translation and notes] For R. Levi said: The punishments for [false] measures are more rigorous than those for [marrying] forbidden relatives; for in the latter case the word used is El, but in the former Eleh. — El implies rigour, but Eleh implies greater rigour than El. Is not Eleh written also In connection with forbidden relatives? -That [Eleh has been written] to exclude [the sin of false] measures from the penalty of kareth. In what respect, then, are they more rigorous? — In the case of the former, repentance is possible; in that of the latter repentance is impossible. [Bava Basra 88b - One cannot by mere repentance make amends for robbing. The return of the things robbed must precede penitence. In the case of false measures it is practically impossible to trace all the individual members of the public that were defrauded.]

Perhaps this goes some way to explain why incest and other sexual crimes are not treated as seriously as they should be in certain communities. Firstly, the possibility of real teshuva is something which I imagine psychotherapists would challenge. But the Gemara says it is possible. And incest (or other sexual sins) are not as bad as stealing (though I know that in some communities stealing is also not considered such a serious sin).

                           Regards, 

                             D.

Artscroll answers the question based on Rashi (Yevamos 21a) that as long as a mamzer didn't result from the sexual sins it is possible to do complete teshuva. In contrast stealing from the masses when it is not known who the customers are and thus can't return what was stolen and thus can never completely repent. Thus the gemora is not saying that sexual sins are less severe than stealing but rather that the punishment from false measures is more inevitable than for sexual sins. "Thus although the arayos transgressions carry the harsher penalty (kares), the punishment for using false measures is more severe in the aspect of its virtual inevitability, due to the extreme difficult of performing proper penitence to preclude it."