Hello Alan, we hope to get Jacob to Haran today, but before we start do you have anything to share about the legacy of a righteous Jew?
< = = = Yes, Mr. Comfort. "A righteous Jew should create and maintain an ethical will to pass on their values, wisdom, and life lessons to future generations, ensuring that their beliefs and traditions continue. This practice strengthens family bonds and provides guidance and a sense of purpose for loved ones.
The practice of writing ethical wills has deep roots in Jewish tradition, dating back thousands of years in both oral and written traditions. The Torah consolidates life lessons, wise and unwise, from great and minor figures that went before us and can be thought of as God's Ethical will for his people. "
Bravo Alan, I would say that is perfect, as is, as a component of the legacy section of your D'var Torah. Now let's get Jacob to Haran.
After leaving Bethel, Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east. He saw a well in the distance. Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well. They had developed a custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone and watering the animals. Afterward the stone would be placed back over the mouth of the well.
Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?” “We are from Haran,” they answered.
“Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, we know him,” they replied.
“Is he doing well?” Jacob asked.
“Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, we know him,” they replied.
“Is he doing well?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.”
< = = = They partially evade Jacob's question, "is he doing well?", why is that?
John smiled, "Perhaps because they know him and would never consider playing poker with Laban. Yada, the word used for know is a Swiss army knife of a word and can mean many things. Sometimes God allows a bit of humor into his ethical will for us.
11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud. 12 He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s side—the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban.
13 As soon as Laban heard that his nephew Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home. When Jacob had told him his story, 14 Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!”
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month, 15 Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”
16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. 17 There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. 18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”
19 “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” 20 So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. Genesis 28:11 - 20 NLT
Finally, the time came for him to marry Rachel. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.”
So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. When Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”
“It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.
< = = = This is very transactional. It seems that God is allowing women to be bought and sold. These days we call that sexual trafficking. I'm not sure I want to hear anymore.
I rather think you do, John Comfort replied wryly. It is transactional, it has to be. There is no Paypal, Venmo, Zelle, they haven't even invented coins yet, a shekel is an amount of silver weighed out onto a scale that is hopefully somewhat accurate. This is an epoch when men and women are trying to fulfill God's mandate to be fruitful and multiply in the best way they can. There are no dating sites, no swipe left, or right. Jacob came to get hitched, Rachel and Leah are focused on the same. There is no birth control, no abortions, no premie care. However, there are aphrodisiacs like mandrake which your forefather Jacob might well need in his journey ahead. I noticed a copy of Fiddler On The Roof in your father's DVD collection. If you have never watched it, I recommend that you do. It helps bridge Jacob's days to ours. Shall we continue, or would you rather exit the bus?
< = = = You tell a great story, and my father wants me to learn from you, so I shall continue, but I want permission to throw a yellow flag on the sexual trafficking.
"I'll pass a note to the Man upstairs.", John chortled.
31 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. 32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.”
33 She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, “The LORD heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.”
34 Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”
35 Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the LORD!” And then she stopped having children. Genesis 28: 31 - 35 NLT
A pregnancy is nine months, so time in Jacob's second 7 year . . . what is the best English word for it? Bondage, servitude, peonage, is flying along. Leah has given him four sons and for us, the Jewish nation, one in particular matters: Judah. Before we jump into the next section, let's keep in mind. Yes they are weaponizing pregnancy, yes, it is beyond strange. However, God has promised Abraham's sons and daughters will be as numerous as the sand. These women can sense in Jacob, the touch of God, so they want to play a part. Will there ever be a time and situation like this again, no. But you must be thankful for these events Alan. And back to our story.
When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”
Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too.” So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. Rachel named him Naphtali for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”
Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. Leah named him Gad for she said, “How fortunate I am!” Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son. And Leah named him Asher for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”
So Alan, here's the deal. God himself is choosing to set the stage to create his people, out of one child of the promise, two wives, two servants and we will see reverberations of that as we walk down history.
14 One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” Genesis 30:14 NLT
< = = = What's a mandrake?
A narcotic plant. The root has a somewhat human form. It was very prized in that region in those days for its medicinal properties including infertility and as an aphrodisiac.
< = = = Righteous people are prizing a narcotic plant, I'm gonna have to think about that a bit.
You can be sure this part of the story is in the Torah for a reason. Multiple scholars have indicated the most important use of the plant in this story is reversing infertility. Leah may not have been Jacob's first choice for a bride, but she was productive and kind, (most of the time). Let's see how this plays out.
15 But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?”
Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.”
16 So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. 17 And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 She named him Issachar for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” 19 Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. 20 She named him Zebulun for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. 24And she named him Joseph, for she said, “May the LORD add yet another son to my family.
22 Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. 24 And she named him Joseph, for she said, “May the LORD add yet another son to my family.
Genesis 30:16 - 24
< = = = Alan mused, "It appears the Lord allowed the agency of the mandrake to work. And Leah, not Rachel, is the mother of the Jewish nation, though Rachel got on the boards in the end.
We are going to see it is Leah, not Rachel, that is buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs. I think that is enough for today. Keep thinking about your D'var Torah and I will be back soon.
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