Hot answers tagged vayeitzei
7
I heard from my Rebbes that this was the greatness of Rachel. Not only did she give away the Simonim but she did it in a way that Leah never noticed and would not feel embarrassed. All part of the great Sacrifice of Rachel. And she never even replied to Leah saying she was the one who let her sister's marraige!
6
There is a fascinating Daat Zekenim which explains the answer to your question. He writes that the Simanim -"signs"- that Yaakov and Rachel made to be able to confirm that Lavan would not pull a "switcharoo" on them and substitute Leah for Rachel on the wedding night (Megillah 13b) where actually the laws of Niddah (women's menstruation cycle), Challah ...
5
Rashi explains (translation from chabad.org) based on the Gemora in Chullin:
He arranged them in the form of a drainpipe around his head because he
feared the wild beasts. They [the stones] started quarreling with one
another. One said, “Let the righteous man lay his head on me,” and
another one said, “Let him lay [his head] on me.” Immediately, ...
5
I have no source for this answer, and I may very well be wrong, but here goes anyway:
Look at the expression Rashi brings: "ושרבב קומתו"
Now this word "ושרבב" rang a bell to me. Where is it used in other places?
1) Regarding the daughter of Pharoh who stretched out her hand - Rashi on Shemot 2:5
והם דרשו את אמתה את ידה, שנשתרבבה אמתה אמות הרבה:
...
5
Many commentaries have offered explanations to this issue. Even if you disregard societal differences of modesty or niddah concerns, there are other possibilities. Here are a few:
Rachel was too young to arouse passion
Ramban argues:
ורחל היתה קטנה ואין לחוש לה. וזה ענין וישק יעקב לרחל
Rachel was young and so there was no concern [that she went ...
2
The gemaroh in Kesubos daf 17 says that Rav Acha danced with the kallah on his shoulder. When the Chochomim asked if they were allowed to also? He answered - if she is like a beam in your eyes then you could do it too. But if not then certainly not. That was all only in those days when they were on a tremendously higher level then us today. Nowadays, ...
2
The Seforno writes that Leah's point was that after Yaakov had married her, Rochel should not have agreed to get married to Yaakov as it is not permitted to marry two sisters.
The Malbim explains that Leah's tone was not confrontational but rather she had pure intentions. Rochel was requesting the dudoim to help her conceive. Leah tried to explain that the ...
2
Having just seen a Medrash that refutes my previous answer, I will suggest another. The Medrash relates that Rachel hid under the bed whilst Leah was together with Yaacov, and every time Yaacov asked Leah something Rachel would answer from under the bed so that Yaacov would not recognize Leah's voice. This proves that Leah knew about it because she had to ...
1
It occurs to me that Esau would have wanted to know where Rachel was had he not seen her at all, since the rumor at the time was Yaacov was the intended of Rachel he knew she existed. Secondly, why did Rachel bow at all if she was hidden from site.
Based on that perhaps he only hid her main figure and did not totally cover her but it was enough to stop ...
1
From http://blog.sinaischolars.com/2011/12/the-impenetrable-stones/
The Chassidic Masters explained this event as follows: Jacob knew that he was leaving the comfortable, holy presence of his father and mother in Israel, to wander into the unknown, corrupt territory of his uncle Lavan in a foreign land. There he would work day and night, trying to ...
1
From http://www.shemayisrael.com/parsha/kahn/archives/vayetze66.htm
Rashi quotes from the Midrash that the purpose of these stones was to protect him from the wild animals roaming free in the area. It seems strange that Jacob should think that a single row of stones could provide him with any real protection against the attack of wild animals. The truth ...
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