Rachel probably conceived Benjamin, her second son, in the spring of 2265 AM (1739 BC). Gen. 29:1011tells how Jacob watered Rachels flock, and then kissed her and wept. Jacob loved Rachel but was indifferent toward Leah. This midrash bore a message of consolation to the Rabbis and the Jews of their time, since, for the Rabbis, Esau symbolized the Roman empire. Rachel feared that her deeds were not favorable in the eyes of God, which resulted in her barrenness. According to this view, from the outset the birthright belonged to Rachels son, which was the intent of both God and Jacob. All the furrows that I plowed in your mother [i.e., acts of intercourse] should I not have done with Rachel? 29a; R. H. 11a), and it was particularly her self-abnegation at the time of her sister's marriage which gained for her the divine clemency (Gen. R. lxxiii. Episode 91: Israel at 75: Voices of Protest. Mandelbaum],Roni Akarah20:1). In another tradition, Rachel envied Leahs good deeds. 14; Midr. pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xxx. When Abraham was about 100 years old, he and his wife Sarah had a son who they named Isaac. Rachel is mentioned twice in the Old Testament beyond her story in Genesis. As compensation for this negative depiction, Scripture calls Israel after her, after her son, and after her sons son. 13b; B. At the well at Haran, Jacob found Rachel, Laban's younger daughter, tending sheep. By merit of the birth of Dan [the son of Bilhah], Rachel became pregnant; and by merit of the birth of Dan, Joseph and Benjamin were born(Gen. Rabbah73:4). She bore another son and a daughter over the next two years. Themidrashperceives Rachel as an educational figure who delineated the path that her offspring were to follow. She hid these teraphim in her saddle bag, and sat on them. 3; Pire R. El. These two exegetical positions derive the word akarah from ikar. The first view maintains that even though Leah had children, Rachel continued to be the beloved and preferred wife, which was expressed in the running of the household. When she realized that she was pregnant and that Jacob already had ten sons (six from Leah, two from Bilhah, and two from Zilpah), she said: Will my sister Rachel not be even as one of the handmaidens? Leah prayed to God on behalf of her sister. Jacob then married Rachel and worked for Laban another seven years for her. The midrash includes Rachel among the seven barren women who were eventually blessed with offspring:Sarah, Rebekah,Rachel, Leah,Manoahs Wife,Hannah andZion [in a metaphorical sense], of whomPs. Isaac married Rabecah and they had two sons - Esau and Jacob. Rachel lost being buried next to Jacob because of her dealing with Leah, but she thereby merited having her son Joseph receive the birthright. Genesis 29:18Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "Ill work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel." Jacob said to himself: When Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, went to fetchRebekah, he brought with him ten camels and all the bounty of his master(Gen. 24:10), while I have not a single nose-ring or band. The second reason for his weeping was his foreseeing that Rachel would not be buried together with him (Gen. Rabbahloc. This exposition aims to applaud Jacobs strength, which increased due to his love for Rachel. Gen. 30:1states: When Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, she became envious of her sister, leading the Rabbis to apply to Rachel the verseCant. At such an age, a girl might be given adult responsibility in a family that did not (yet) have sons. Rachel knows that she is Jacobs true intended bride. In the New Testament, this same verse in Jeremiah is cited in Matthew 2:18 as a prophecy fulfilled through Herods order to kill all male children under two in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas. Agadah to Gen. xxix. She spoke in precise language when she said: May the Lord add another son for meshe did not say other sons, rather, there will be one more son from me. Even when he came to bless her son, he made him [Joseph] secondary to her. The midrash relates that three keys remain with God and were not entrusted to an agent [=angel]: the key of rain, the key of the woman giving birth and the key of the resurrection of the dead. This midrash uses a common date to connect various historical events. 33:6): May Reuben live and not die. This blessing expresses Reubens standing as firstborn, who took a double portion [as is the law of the firstborn]: May Reuben live and not dieMay Reuben live, in this world; and not die, in the World to Come (Tanhuma[ed. Themidrashasserts that the salvation that occurred in his time in the war at Gilgal(Josh. In the four years following their marriage, Leah had four sons; Rachel had none. midrash relates that Rachel was twenty-two years old when she was married to Jacob ( "order.". However, the Rabbis debate the reason behind God granting her the ability to bear children. 113:9states: He sets the childless woman among her household as a happy mother of children (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana[ed. xxxi. 31:15Israel is called after Rachel: Rachel weeping for her children; inAmos 5:15Israel is named after her son: Perhaps the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph; and inJer. Later, when Leah was given in marriage instead of Rachel, the latter revealed the signs to her sister in order to spare her from being disgraced by Jacob. She therefore insisted that Jacob pray to God for children, arguing that his father, Isaac, had done so(comp. Rather, I said: If I am not worthy that the world should be built from me, let it be built from my sister (Gen. Rabbahloc. She said: We are leavingshall we leave this old man in his corruption [i.e., idolatry]? Consequently, Scripture proclaims her praise and tells of the act of theft(Gen. Rabbah74:5). Gen. 30:14relates that Reuben found mandrakes, which are prophylactic, in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Jacob retorted in anger that he did not stand in the place of God, Who alone decided questions of that sort. Had I not revealed to thee our signs, he would never have become thy husband" (Midr. Buber],Vayeze20). Vilna] petihtah 24). Rachel said: Were not the vicissitudes that Jacob underwent for me? The Rabbis were concerned with the nature of this kiss, which they regarded as an improper act. Jacob agreed to this. The midrash connects these actions, both of which express Rachels compassionate nature. Now that you have sinned, the birthright has been given to Joseph, the priesthood to Levi, and kingship to Judah (Gen. Rabbahloc. This exposition emphasizes that Jacob acted in accordance with the commandment of the Torah and did not prefer the son of the loved wife to the son of the unloved one. After discovering that he had been tricked, Jacob married Rachel also and then worked out another seven-year contract for this marriage. Hadjittofi, Fotini, and Hagith Sivan. Rachel said: I prepared myself [nupeti, i.e., I prepared myself for Jacobs bed], I allowed myself to be persuaded [pititito withdraw in favor of my sister and to aid her to be Jacobs wife], I exalted my sister over myself [taliti ahoti alai], and I have prevailed(Gen. Rabbah71:8). Gen. Various Jewish sources say Rachel died at age 36 and other sources say age 45. Why did Rachel die? Themidrash, however, presents two principal approaches to this question. The most extreme description of Rachels act of self-sacrifice appears inLam. He said to them: My masters, why do you disagree about me? All this means that Jacob was married to Rachel for some time between about 15 years and 22 years. The Rabbis learned from this that when God decrees greatness for a person, He decrees greatness for all his posterity to the end of time (BTMegillah13b). Some consider that she did so in order to conceal Jacob's flight; others, that her object was to turn her father from idolatry (Pire R. El. 8:6: Passion [kinah, literally, jealousy] is mighty as Sheolthis was Rachels jealousy of her sister (Tanhuma[ed. Rachel asks Jacob: Is this how your father [Isaac] acted toward your mother [Rebekah]? The affair of the mandrakes is generally represented by the Rabbis as unfavorable to Rachel; and it was due to her mode of obtaining them (comp. [1] Jacob decided to leave quietly at night. Later, Rachel became the mother of Joseph (xxx. R. xxx. Jewish philosopher, scholar, and physician. Jacob labored 14 years to win Rachel in marriage. Instead of giving Laban the traditional bride-price, Jacob agreed to work for Laban seven years to earn Rachel's hand in marriage. 15 (see Biblical Data, above) is the source of the midrashic legend that when the Israelites were driven into captivity by Nebuzar-adan, and the supplications of the Patriarchs and of Moses proved of no avail, Rachel arose from her grave and implored God's clemency, basing her plea upon her own self-abnegation with regard to her sister. Agadat Bereshit li. Jealous of her sister, Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife. 19:11) drippings of the comb [nofet zufim], which are in the portion of Naphtali, who will engage in Torah study (Gen. Rabbahloc. When not specified, "Talmud" refers to the Babylonian Talmud.Talmud asserts that the Matriarch Rachel was one of the first women prophets. [9][10][11], Last modified on August 11, 2016, at 17:07. 28:20) his tribe received the jasper [yashfe, with the meaning ofyesh pehthere is a mouth] stone in the High Priests breastpiece. The custom in those days was for a man to wait at least a week after arranging to marry a woman. So lonely was she that even the Lord took notice of it and blessed her with many children as consolation. How old was Rachel when she died. We don't need to perform good works to earn it. The exegetes holding this view find Rachels words(Gen. 30:15) to be somewhat prophetic: I promise, he shall lie with you tonightwith you he will lie [in the grave], but with me he will not lie [in the grave]. God took pity on Leah and allowed her to bear children, while Rachel was barren. The Rabbis further learned from Jacobs words that a wifes death profoundly affects her husband(BTSanhedrin22b). xxiii. Whatever the case, she died young. Jacob was quite old compared to other generations when he finally married. The proverb teaches that we should not be surprised by this similarity, since Rachel was exceedingly beautiful, so was her son. 1; Tan., Wayee, 19; Gen. R. lxxi. Jacob loved Rachel passionately even before they were married, but Rachel thought, as her culture had taught her, that she needed to bear children to earn Jacob's love. Jacob was quite old compared to other generat. Rachel lived in Harran, or Paddan Aram, and that's where she met her cousin Jacob. They consented, as is said inGen. 31:14: Then Rachel and Leah answered, saying []. Since Rachel spoke before her sister, she was punished by dying before her(Gen. Rabbah74:4). Rachel then offered to allow Leah to lie with Jacob that evening. Jacob should have understood her pain, instead of rebuking her for the manner in which she spoke. Both bore him children. A miracle was performed for her, the idols were transformed into cups, and therefore Laban did not find them(Gen. Rabbah74:9). 32), he not knowing that Rachel had taken the images. In the episode of the mandrakes, when Leah reproached her sister for having robbed her of her husband (Gen. xxx. "teaching," "study," or "learning." The uncertainty arises from the unknown time between Jacob leaving Paddan-aram and arriving in Ephrath which was presumably at least 2 years (with Bethel in between) and when Joseph was 17 years old. According to these first two traditions, Naphtalis name portrays an experience undergone by Rachel. Today the site is surrounded by an armed fortress and under heavy guard. After that I consoled myself, I suffered [to overcome] my desire and had compassion for my sister that she not suffer disgrace, and I gave her all the signs that I had given to my husband, so that he would think that she was Rachel.
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