Devar/5770/Vayishlach
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עברית
English
And Leah's eyes were weak; but Rachel was of beautiful form and fair to look upon (Gen 29:17)
In this verse, the two daughters of Lavan the Aramaean are presented to us one against the other. The older had "weak eyes" and the younger was beautiful. The expression "weak eyes" is unique in the Tanach, and we need to understand why the Torah chooses to describe Leah in this manner.
Rashi quotes the Midrash Rabbah (the same appears slightly differently in the Talmud Bavli Baba Batra 116b): She thought she would be married to Esau, so she wept…. According to this approach, it was made known to Leah that she would eventually marry Esau, Jacob's brother. She investigated and found out he was an evildoer, and began to weep bitterly over her fate, and prayed to God to nullify His decree. As it says in the Midrash: How powerful was the prayer which cancelled the decree!. From this one may learn that prayer done from withing bitter crying can cancel an evil decree.
Saadia Gaon explains that "weak" means "attractive, delicate". According to this understanding, Leah was especially pretty only in her eyes, while her sister was completely beautiful. That is, when one saw both of them together, the eye would be drawn to Rachel and not Leah -- who would always find herself less desirable to one who was interested only in physical beauty. This approach explains well the juxtaposition of the first and last part of the verse, and also works well with the rest of the story.
However, the approach of the Midrash is difficult to understand: to what end did the Torah juxtapose Rachel's beauty and Leah's sobbing? Jeremiah the prophet wrote: Thus saith the LORD: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not (Jer 31:14). Rachel as well is crying bitterly -- and like her sister, in order to nullify an evil decree (by the way, it is interesting that the usage of the specific Hebrew word "weeping" in this verse is also unique in the Tanach). The prophet continues and tells us that indeed, she was answered: Thus saith the LORD: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. And there is hope for thy future, saith the LORD; and thy children shall return to their own border (ibid 15,16). Our verse comes to compare the two sisters: just as Rachel was beautiful, so too was Leah -- and just as Leah successfully cancelled an evil decree, so too did Rachel. May it be His will we merit to see the completion of the return of their sons to their own border!
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