Rachel/0
Rachel
Religiosity
The common assumption is that despite Rachel growing up in an idolatrous home, she herself believed in Hashem.
Unique Traits
Sensitivity
Crying for children
Possible Flaws
"Give me Children..."
In Bereshit 30:1 Rachel beseeches Yaakov, "Give me children; if not, I am dead!" Yaakov responds harshly, getting angry at her and saying, "Am I in place of God who has kept from you fruit of the womb?" What did Yaakov find problematic about Rachel's words that he grows so angry? Was Rachel's lament somehow misplaced, or is it Yaakov who is being insensitive?
- Rachel erred – Many commentators assume that Yaakov's anger was justified and that Rachel had erred:
- Radak and R. Avraham b. HaRambam1 explain that in turning to Yaakov rather than Hashem, Rachel betrayed that she did not recognize that the matter was in Hashem's hands and not his. She should have instead asked him to pray for her.
- Ramban,2 in contrast, assumes that Rachel had in fact asked that Yaakov pray to Hashem, but her mistake was is in viewing Yaakov's prayer as some type of automatic magical remedy. Yaakov taught her that even the prayers of the righteous are not always answered.3
- Finally, Akeidat Yitzchak suggests that Rachel did not realize that her primary purpose in life was not simply to bear children, but to fill her life "בדברי שכל וחסידות". Her barrenness was not a reason to think her life was not worth living.
- Yaakov Erred – Bereshit Rabbah maintains that Yaakov was in the wrong, presenting Hashem as responding to Yaakov, "כך עונין את המעיקות?!"
- Misunderstanding – R"Y Bekhor Shor4 asserts that Yaakov misunderstood his wife, assuming that she was expecting him to somehow do what Hashem had not, when Rachel had meant only that he should take her maidservant and sire children from her so that Rachel could be their surrogate mother.
Taking the Terafim
Bereshit 31 describes Yaakov's flight from Lavan's house. Surprisingly, the Torah adds that Rachel took advantage of Lavan's absence to steal ("וַתִּגְנֹב") his terafim ("תְּרָפִים"). The chapter provides neither motivation nor justification for Rachel's actions. What are "terafim" and why might Rachel have taken them? How are we to understand the theft? [For full discussion, see Rachel's Stealing of the Terafim.]
- Justified – Many commentators maintain that Rachel's motives were pure and that the ends justified the means.
- Personal survival – Tanchuma and others suggest that terafim were used for divination and Rachel stole them so that her father could not use them to divine the whereabouts of the family when they fled. As her deed was motivated by a desire to save her family, Rachel's actions were justified.
- Religious motivations – Bereshit Rabbah asserts that he terafim were idols and that Rachel took them so that her father would no longer worship them.
- Not justifed – A smaller number of commentators present Rachel as acting with less worthy goals, and that she took the terafim for her own personal use.
- Fertility – Hoil Moshe mantains that the terafim were believed to have powers to bless barren women with children and that Rachel took them hoping they would help her conceive again.
- Foreign worship – Ibn Ezra more radically suggests that Rachel (and the other wives and children) had learned idolatrous worship from her father and had not yet totally forsaken it. According to such a reading, monotheism was not a given for some of the Patriarchs/ Matriarchs, but rather the the result of a religious journey.
Trading for the Mandrakes
Commentators debate whether Rachel acted correctly or incorrectly in trading a night with Yaakov for the mandrakes:
- lack of faith
- degradation of Yaakov
- justified
Family
Barreness
Rivalry with Leah
I. Jealousy – Bereshit 30:1 explicitly mentions Rachel's envying of her sister.
II. Naming of children – Most readers assume that the names given by Rachel and Leah to their children reflect the strife and rivalry between the sisters. In naming her first three children (Reuven, Shimon, Levi), and again in naming her sixth, Leah explicitly expresses her distress and the desire to be loved by her husband. Rachel's naming of Yosef, in turn, expresses both the pain and shame her barrenness had caused, and her intense desire for more children It should be noted, however, that none of these names betrays active jealousy or blame towards the sister who has what the other is lacking, but simply heartbreak over individual loss. Rachel's naming of Bilhah's children, might be an exception:
- Dan – Ibn Kaspi asserts that this name directly addresses the sibling rivalry, with Rachel claiming that the birth served to avenge her of her sister. In contrast, R"Y Bekhor Shor reads the name as expressing Rachel's acceptance of God's judgment and the decree of infertitiy, seeing in it no expression of ill will towards her sister at all.
- Naftali – Ibn Ezra and others understands the root "" to mean to wrestle or struggle, seeing Rachel as explicitly mentioning her struggles with her sister. Targum Onkelos, however, relates the word to "תפילה", prayer, claiming that Rachel is simply thanking Hashem for heeding her prayers and providinga child like he had for Leah.
III. Mandrakes – The story of the mandrakes similarly highlights the conflict between the sister's, as Rachel trades a night with Yaakov for Reuven's mandrakes (believed to have powers to aid in conception). Most read Leah's initial reaction "is it not enough that you have taken my husband, that you want also my son's mandrakes" as further revealing her bitterness. However, R D"Z Hoffmann (uniquely) reads the sister's exchange as one of playful jest, with no real anger on either side.
IV. Midrashic Portrayal / Leah's Role in Trickery
