Showing posts with label Vayetze. Show all posts

Vayetze - Five Miracles

Monday, November 12, 2018 · Posted in , , , ,


Five miracles occurred with Jacob when he left Be'er-Sheva:



  1. The day was cut short, and the sun set before its time, because G‑d wished to talk to him
  2. When he awoke in the morning, he found that the four stones (depicting the four wives that he was destined to marry) that he had placed under his head when he lay down, had turned into one stone
  3. He rolled the stone from the well - with one hand, although normally, it required the combined effort of all the local shepherds to remove it
  4. The well began to flow and the water rose to meet him, and it continued to flow for the entire duration of Yaakov's stay in Charan (in verse 10, the Targum will add that it flowed for twenty years)
  5. The earth 'jumped' before him, and on the same day that he left home he arrived in Charan.
Targum Yonatan 28:10

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VeYetze

Sunday, November 15, 2015 · Posted in , , ,


Parsha Summary

Yaakov's Dream
Yaakov Comes to Lavan
Birth of the Tribes
Yaakov's Wands
Yaakov Flees


Parashat VaYetze: Why Did Yaakov Pass On Leah?

After Lavan tricked Yaakov and gave him Leah, he justified his action by saying that in Charan the oldest daughter gets married first. Surely Yaakov knew this, so why did he insist on Rachel instead of Leah in the first place? True, Rachel was the prettier one, but Chazal tell us that the pasuk, Sheker HaChein V'Hevel HaYofi (false is grace and vain is beauty- the beauty of that chein and yofi itself is praiseworthy to the one who masters yirat Hashem) could be attributed to Leah, and Yaakov Avinu did not choose his wives based on appearance.

Rav Yehonoson Eibshitz answers that Leah's eyes were swollen from tears, since she was supposed to marry the older Esav while her younger sister Rachel was supposed to marry Yaakov. However, Esav did not seem too interested in Leah, as she was not pretty because of all her crying, which she did intentionally to sabotage the shidduch.

Yaakov planned on marrying both Rachel and Leah. However Yaakov knew that if he stepped in and married Leah first, Esav will no doubt come calling for the pretty Rachel. He, therefore, wanted to marry Rachel first and then with Esav out of the picture, marry the abandoned Leah after that.

-Revach


Parashat VaYetze
Haftarah VaYetze
VaYetze Pardes - Yaakov and Rachel at the Well

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