ג]ועיני לאה רכות, ובודאי יעשה לבן כל התחבולות שיקחה יעקב אחר שהיא בעלת חסרון. ד] מצדשרחל היתה יפת תאר ויעקב אהב אותה וידע שבעבור זה ירצה בעדה שכר הרבה:
וללבן שתי בנות וגו'. נתכוין הכתוב לומר שהיו נכרות ומפורסמות שהגדולה היא לאה והקטנה היא רחל שלא היה יכול לומר כי הגדולה היא הקרואה רחל, גם דקדק לומר הגדולה הקטנה לומר כי לא היו בגדר להחליפם ויעשה קטנה גדולה וירמה ליעקב בתת לו לאה ויאמר כי היא הקטנה ששמה רחל כי הגדולה היתה גדולה ביותר והקטנה קטנה ביותר, והוא אומרו הגדולה פי' שהיתה לאה גדולה בפני עצמה לא בערך רחל לבד היתה גדולה ממנה בשנה או שנתים שההיכר אינו ברור כל כך, ורחל גם כן היתה קטנה ביותר בפני עצמה לא בערך לאה לבד כמו שתאמר כי לאה היתה בת כ' שנה ומעלה ורחל כבת ה' כבת ז', ומעתה אין מקום ללבן לרמות יעקב בתנאו:
וללבן שתי בנות, And Laban had two daughters, etc. The Torah meant to inform us that both daughters were well known, the elder as Leah and the younger as Rachel so that Laban could not pretend afterwards that their names were different. Jacob stipulated that he would serve Laban for his smaller daughter Rachel in order to remove all possible doubt about whom he had in mind. When the Torah described Leah as גדולה, this was not a relative term, but she was tall in her own right not merely by comparison to Rachel, apart from the fact that she may have been a year or two older than her sister. Rachel too was of below average height not only because of her age.
וללבן שתי בנות, יספר הטעם מה שיעקב התחייב תיכף בעבודה של שבע שנים, שלפי הסברא היה לבן מתרצה בעבודה של ג' שנים, כמ"ש טוב תתי אותה לך מתתי אותה לאיש אחר, ובאר שזה היה מד' טעמים. א] כי ללבן שתי בנות,וירא יעקב פן ירצה דוקא שיקח שתיהן והוא לא רצה בלאה. ב] שם הגדלה לאה, ולא ירצה לתת הצעירה לפני הבכירה, או עכ"פ ירצה שימתין עד שלאה תהיה לאיש אחר:
רכות. שֶׁהָיְתָה סְבוּרָה לַעֲלוֹת בְּגוֹרָלוֹ שֶׁל עֵשָׂו וּבוֹכָה, שֶׁהָיוּ הַכֹּל אוֹמְרִים שְׁנֵי בָנִים לְרִבְקָה וּשְׁתֵּי בָנוֹת לְלָבָן, הַגְּדוֹלָה לַגָּדוֹל וְהַקְּטַנָּה לַקָּטָן (בבא בתרא קכ"ג):
רכות TENDER — She thought she would have to fall to the lot of Esau and she therefore wept continually, because everyone said, “Rebekah has two sons, Laban has two daughters — the elder daughter for the elder son, the younger daughter for the younger son” (Genesis Rabbah 70:16).
ויפת מראה. בצבע העור שהיה צח ואדום כי אמנם הצבע הוא מושג לחוש הראות:
ויפת מראה, her skin looked very healthy. Colour is something which attracts closer inspection by the sense of sight.
ועיני לאה רכות שהיתה סבורה לעלות בגורלו של עשו וכו' קשה מנא לו. י"ל לפי שדרך המקרא לספר בשבחן של צדיקים ולא בגנותן ותמיד תמצא שהכתו' אומ' שהאמהות יפות תואר ולא נכתב כאן עיני לאה רכות אלא לשבחה שהיתה סבורה לעלות בגורלו של עשו והיינו שכתו' למעלה שם הגדולה כלומ' שמתוך שהיא היתה הגדולה לכך היו עיניה רכות שהיו הכל אומרים גדולה לגדול:
ועיני לאה רכות. ת״א יאין. פירושו נאות והכי פי׳ רשב״ם. והכונה שהיו נאות אבל מפני רכותן לא היתה יכולה לרעות בצאן משום שאור השמש היה מזיק להן:
ג]ועיני לאה רכות, ובודאי יעשה לבן כל התחבולות שיקחה יעקב אחר שהיא בעלת חסרון. ד] מצדשרחל היתה יפת תאר ויעקב אהב אותה וידע שבעבור זה ירצה בעדה שכר הרבה:
ועיני לאה רכות, יפת תואר היתה אלא שעיניה היו רכות ודומעות,
The eyes of Leah were soft: She was beautiful, but her eyes were soft and teary,
אבל רחל היתה יפת תאר ויפת מראה בלא שום מום. ותאר הוא על צורת הפנים ושאר האברים וקומות הגוף, ומראה על הבשר שהיה לבן ואדום והשער שחור:
But Rachel was of beautiful form and fair to look upon, without any blemish. And "form" refers to the shape of the face and the rest of the body, the posture, and skin color which was write and red (pink), and the hair was dark.
ועיני לאה רכות: רך ענין חולשה ויתרון הרגשה, כמו רך הלבב, והבאתי מורך בלבבם. והטעם שהזכירה התורה דבר זה הוא (כדברי תלמידי כמוהר"ר איגל) לבלתי נחשוב כי מה שלא היה יעקב אוהב את לאה היה מפני מדות רעות שהיו בה, והיה זה גנאי לשבטים שיצאו ממנה.
וישק יעקב לרחל וגו' ורחל היתה יפת תואר ויפת מראה ויאהב יעקב לרחל (בראשית, כט י-יז). ולכאורה הפלא ופלא על יעקב אבינו עליו השלום בחיר שבאבות שהתורה מעידה עליו (בראשית כה, כז) ויעקב איש תם וקיים כל התורה כמאמרו עם לבן גרתי ותרי"ג מצות שמרתי, יתן עיניו ביופי ומדת הצדיק הוא בהיפוך שקר החן והבל היופי אשה יראת ה' כו'. ושמעתי ממודי הקדוש בוצינא קדישא המגיד מודינו דוב בער שהענין הוא כך, דהנה ידוע שיעקב אבינו עליו השלום עבד להשם יתברך במדות התפארות וכל דבר שהיה בו ניצוץ מפואר אף על פי שהכלי היה דבר גשמי מן החומריות הגביה את הניצוץ המפואר והעלה אותו לשרשו ועבד בזה להבורא יתברך ובשביל זה וישק יעקב לרחל ורחל היתה יפת תואר ויפת מראה ויאהב יעקב את רחל, שיעקב ראה את רחל שהיה בה ניצוץ מפואר והגביה אותו לשורשו לשורש העליון ועבד בזה להשם יתברך. וזהו כוונת הכתוב (בראשית לט, יב) וינס ויצא החוצה. שהנה ידוע שזאת הרשעה קשטה עצמה לפני יוסף הצדיק כמאמר חכמינו ז"ל בגדים שלבשתה שחרית לא לבשה ערבית. וזהו וינס ויצא החוצה, שהוציא הניצוץ המפואר החוצה מן החיצונים להקדושה והגביה אותו למעלה ועבד בזה להשם יתברך. והנה ידוע שיוסף עבד להשם יתברך במדה אחרת ובזה העת עבד להשם יתברך במדות התפארת כנאמר לעיל. וידוע כי כל צדיק שעובד להשם יתברך באיזה מדה מהמדות זוכה לראות את הצדיק שעבד להשם יתברך גם כן במדה הזאת ובשביל זה אמרו חכמינו ז"ל (סוטה לו:) דמות דיוקנו של אביו ראה והמשכיל יבין:
Genesis 29,11. “Yaakov gave Rachel a kiss, etc;” [note that the Torah does not refer to Rachel’s physical appearance until verse 17 after Yaakov had already worked for him for over a month. Ed.]
Genesis 29,17. “and Rachel was shapely and beautiful.” At first glance it is surprising that the Torah appears to link Yaakov’s falling in love with Rachel in verse 18, ויאהב יעקב את רחל, “Yaakov loved Rachel,” to the description of her physical assets in verse 17. Is it possible that Yaakov, the most highly admired of our patriarchs, was attracted by Rachel’s physical features, and that this is why the Torah reports matters in this sequence? Our sages called our attention to Yaakov’s message to his brother Esau in Genesis 32,4 where he told him עם לבן גרתי, ”I have remained a stranger while with Lavan, etc.” The numerical value of the letters in the word גרתי, equals 613, the number of commandments in the Torah. Yaakov reminded his brother that during the entire period that he spent in Charan he had observed the Torah, and therefore had little to fear. A man who could make such a statement certainly did not marry Rachel because he was smitten by lust to possess her shapely body. Anyone who observes the 613 commandments is well aware of the statement by Solomon in Proverbs 31,30 that שקר החן והבך היופי, that external attributes such as physical beauty or even a graceful walk, etc., are deceptive and offer no clue to the owner’s character.
We must look further for the reason why the Torah made a point of mentioning Rachel’s physical attributes. I have heard from my revered teacher the Maggid of Mezeritch Dov Baer, of sainted memory, that we must understand this as follows. We know that the principal attribute used by Yaakov in serving the Lord is the attribute known as תפארת, harmony, located in the center of diagrams of the 10 emanations, ספירות. Any physical matter on earth, containing a “spark” from this emanation, is spiritually elevated by the presence of this spark, regardless of how secular it is by nature. Through this spark of the attribute of תפארת, its host is brought closer to its roots in the celestial regions, and engages in some degree of service to the Lord.
We must look further for the reason why the Torah made a point of mentioning Rachel’s physical attributes. I have heard from my revered teacher the Maggid of Mezeritch Dov Baer, of sainted memory, that we must understand this as follows. We know that the principal attribute used by Yaakov in serving the Lord is the attribute known as תפארת, harmony, located in the center of diagrams of the 10 emanations, ספירות. Any physical matter on earth, containing a “spark” from this emanation, is spiritually elevated by the presence of this spark, regardless of how secular it is by nature. Through this spark of the attribute of תפארת, its host is brought closer to its roots in the celestial regions, and engages in some degree of service to the Lord.
When the Torah (Genesis 39,13) reports that Joseph וינס ויצא החוצה, “fled and went “outside,” to escape the efforts of Potiphar’s wife to seduce him, he did so because he realized that that woman had used her mode of dress to lure him into a sinful relationship (Yuma 35). She had employed whatever holy spark she possessed in a reverse manner, instead of a means to come closer to her Creator. When Joseph escaped from her presence he took with him this “holy spark” thereby serving his Creator and paving the way for this “spark” that had escaped from the Shechinah to find its way back to its roots.
It is known that Joseph, though, of course also serving the Lord, did not do so by using principally the attribute of harmony as his father was in the habit of doing. However, at this critical juncture, in his fateful seclusion with the wife of his master Potiphar, he resorted to the attribute of תפארת as the means to avoid sinning.
It is also known that every tzaddik who serves the Lord, regardless of which of the attributes in the diagram of the emanations he uses as his primary model, will be granted a vision of the tzaddik who had made that attribute his primary role model in serving the Lord. When the Talmud Sotah 36 relates that at the critical moment before the seduction, Joseph had a vision of his father, it is a vision of the emanation of תפארת that the Talmud refers to as having been seen by Joseph.
Genesis 29,17. “and Rachel was shapely and beautiful.” At first glance it is surprising that the Torah appears to link Yaakov’s falling in love with Rachel in verse 18, ויאהב יעקב את רחל, “Yaakov loved Rachel,” to the description of her physical assets in verse 17. Is it possible that Yaakov, the most highly admired of our patriarchs, was attracted by Rachel’s physical features, and that this is why the Torah reports matters in this sequence? Our sages called our attention to Yaakov’s message to his brother Esau in Genesis 32,4 where he told him עם לבן גרתי, ”I have remained a stranger while with Lavan, etc.” The numerical value of the letters in the word גרתי, equals 613, the number of commandments in the Torah. Yaakov reminded his brother that during the entire period that he spent in Charan he had observed the Torah, and therefore had little to fear. A man who could make such a statement certainly did not marry Rachel because he was smitten by lust to possess her shapely body. Anyone who observes the 613 commandments is well aware of the statement by Solomon in Proverbs 31,30 that שקר החן והבך היופי, that external attributes such as physical beauty or even a graceful walk, etc., are deceptive and offer no clue to the owner’s character.
We must look further for the reason why the Torah made a point of mentioning Rachel’s physical attributes. I have heard from my revered teacher the Maggid of Mezeritch Dov Baer, of sainted memory, that we must understand this as follows. We know that the principal attribute used by Yaakov in serving the Lord is the attribute known as תפארת, harmony, located in the center of diagrams of the 10 emanations, ספירות. Any physical matter on earth, containing a “spark” from this emanation, is spiritually elevated by the presence of this spark, regardless of how secular it is by nature. Through this spark of the attribute of תפארת, its host is brought closer to its roots in the celestial regions, and engages in some degree of service to the Lord.
We must look further for the reason why the Torah made a point of mentioning Rachel’s physical attributes. I have heard from my revered teacher the Maggid of Mezeritch Dov Baer, of sainted memory, that we must understand this as follows. We know that the principal attribute used by Yaakov in serving the Lord is the attribute known as תפארת, harmony, located in the center of diagrams of the 10 emanations, ספירות. Any physical matter on earth, containing a “spark” from this emanation, is spiritually elevated by the presence of this spark, regardless of how secular it is by nature. Through this spark of the attribute of תפארת, its host is brought closer to its roots in the celestial regions, and engages in some degree of service to the Lord.
When the Torah (Genesis 39,13) reports that Joseph וינס ויצא החוצה, “fled and went “outside,” to escape the efforts of Potiphar’s wife to seduce him, he did so because he realized that that woman had used her mode of dress to lure him into a sinful relationship (Yuma 35). She had employed whatever holy spark she possessed in a reverse manner, instead of a means to come closer to her Creator. When Joseph escaped from her presence he took with him this “holy spark” thereby serving his Creator and paving the way for this “spark” that had escaped from the Shechinah to find its way back to its roots.
It is known that Joseph, though, of course also serving the Lord, did not do so by using principally the attribute of harmony as his father was in the habit of doing. However, at this critical juncture, in his fateful seclusion with the wife of his master Potiphar, he resorted to the attribute of תפארת as the means to avoid sinning.
It is also known that every tzaddik who serves the Lord, regardless of which of the attributes in the diagram of the emanations he uses as his primary model, will be granted a vision of the tzaddik who had made that attribute his primary role model in serving the Lord. When the Talmud Sotah 36 relates that at the critical moment before the seduction, Joseph had a vision of his father, it is a vision of the emanation of תפארת that the Talmud refers to as having been seen by Joseph.