Rachel's Stealing of the Terafim/2

Rachel's Stealing of the Terafim

Exegetical Approaches

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Survival

Rachel stole the terafim so that her father could not use them to divine where the family had fled to.

Sources:TanchumaVayetze 12About the Tanchuma, RashbamBereshit 31:19About R. Shemuel b. Meir, Ibn EzraBereshit 31:19About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 31:19About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Tosafists, RadakBereshit 31:19Bereshit 31:30About R. David Kimchi, RambanBereshit 31:19About R. Moshe b. Nachman, ShadalBereshit 31:19About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto

What are terafim?

לָמָּה גָנַבְתָּ אֶת אֱלֹהָי

Sitting on the terafim

Belief in magic and divination

Evaluation of Rachel's actions

Religiosity of the forefathers

Religious Motivations

Preventative

Rachel took the terafim so that her father would no longer worship them.

Sources:Bereshit Rabbah74:5About Bereshit Rabbah, R. Chananel(cited by R. Bachya) Bereshit 31:19About R. Chananel b. Chushiel, RashiBereshit 31:19About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki

Personal

Rachel wanted the terafim for her own personal use.

Sources:Hoil MosheBereshit 31About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi

Economic Advantage

The terafim testified to Yaakov's rights to Lavan's inheritance.

Sources:Modern scholars