tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post1732560864970171822..comments2024-03-05T21:22:43.426-05:00Comments on parshablog: Did Yaakov Stray After His Eyes In Preferring Rachel?joshwaxmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516171362038454070noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-6857328866736927662008-11-30T08:18:00.000-05:002008-11-30T08:18:00.000-05:00Sorry for this delayed response - I was out of tow...Sorry for this delayed response - I was out of town for a couple of days.<BR/><BR/>Actually, I would tend to agree that many of Yaaqov's actions are indeed less than ideal, and that much of the narrative in these parashiyot revolves around his process of personal development, the culmination of which is his confrontation with Esav which he (for the first time) conducts without lying, cheating or running away. This explains why anticipation and negotiation of this major challenge is the stimulus for Yaaqov's name change to Yisrael. It is the defining point in his spiritual odyssey, where he finally becomes the "adam ha-shalem" he was intended to be.<BR/><BR/>Esav, on the other hand, is clearly cast negatively overall - he is impulsive, he marries Canaanite women who are a source of angst to his parents in violation of Abrahamic tradition, he sells his bechora for the momentary satisfaction of a bowl of soup and then despises the whole institution, he responds in an almost childlike manner to the loss of his father's blessing and seems desperately in need of his father's approval, and finally, chooses to resolve his dispute with his brother by murdering him.<BR/><BR/>That is not to say Esav is all bad, but the fact that he winds up the father of rather militant tribes is very telling.Rabbi Joshua Maroofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12585369620887846940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-7155306999322937702008-11-26T13:13:00.000-05:002008-11-26T13:13:00.000-05:00interesting points. i certainly would not consider...interesting points. i certainly would not consider such a position heretical, but i am not sure i agree with it, despite the data points you present. i might draw up a psychological portrait in the opposite direction. and some of those might be more Leah-positive (and Leah-sympathetic) focused that Rachel-negative. And I don't think there was anything wrong with the terafim incident. perhaps this would make for an interesting future post.<BR/><BR/>just off the cuff, though, as i was discussing with someone offline, Esav might easily be read as the righteous character, and Yaakov as the wicked. After all, look at the data points, which Esav himself enumerates. Yaakov from birth is grasping at Esav's heel, trying to pull him back and take what is not his. He is a weakling, staying indoors. He takes the birthright by coercion. He steals the blessing via trickery. He *sleeps* in a holy place, obviously not attuned to its sanctity beforehand. He prefers the pretty, younger daughter. He takes all of Lavan's flock, via trickery with the striped rods. And he takes leave of Lavan without saying goodbye.<BR/><BR/>And yet, at the same time, he clearly is the hero of the story, and God favors him. We have to be careful of judging Biblical characters by *any* 21st century standards. Perhaps this is what I have done with Rachel, but perhaps not. I'll think about it, and perhaps post about it.<BR/><BR/>KT,<BR/>Joshjoshwaxmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05149022516101476797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-26303973312582285712008-11-26T13:00:00.000-05:002008-11-26T13:00:00.000-05:00I disagree with your take on this issue. It seems ...I disagree with your take on this issue. It seems clear that Rahel is regarded as of less noble character than Leah on several accounts, and that Yaaqov's affection for her was not solely based upon her personality, to put it kindly.<BR/><BR/>For example, Rahel "sells" a night with Yaaqov for the dudaim, she steals the teraphim of her father, she insolently demands a child from her husband, and, notably, she is the only one of the Imahot who is buried outside of Me-arat Hamakhpela, which is regarded as a negative according to peshuto shel miqra. <BR/><BR/>All of this evidence points to the possibility, developed convincingly in the book <I>Genesis:The Beginning of Wisdom</I> by Leon Kass and echoed in a somewhat controversial article by a YCT grad a while back, that Yaaqov is subtly taken to task for the mistake of preferring Rahel over Leah. <BR/><BR/>I arrived at that conclusion independently simply by studying the text on a literary level without prior ideological commitments, and found confirmation in the opinions of these scholars who present a compelling line of argumentation.<BR/><BR/>I realize this assertion is unsettling and would be dismissed as heretical in some circles, but that doesn't militate against its coherence.Rabbi Joshua Maroofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12585369620887846940noreply@blogger.com