פרשת ויצא תשי"א - בריחת יעקב מלבן

And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying: ‘Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this wealth.’

And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime.

Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep. And Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father’s.

ותגגב רחל את התרפים AND RACHEL STOLE THE TERAPHIM — her intention was to wean her father from idol-worship (Genesis Rabbah 74:5).

Rabbeinu Chananel writes as follows concerning the subject of the Teraphim: Rachel stole the Teraphim in order to force her father to become a penitent seeing he would realise that a god which allows itself to be stolen surely could not be something of substance. How could a god who cannot take care of himself take care of others? We find the same argument spelled out in detail in Judges 6,31 where Yoash ridicules the people who want to avenge their idol and execute Jerubaal (Gideon) who had smashed its altar, saying to them: “let the Baal fight his own enemies if he is as powerful as you believe him to be!” Ezekiel 28,9 phrases it thus: “Will you then say before your murderer: ”I am a god?’ But you are a man and no god in the hand of your desecrators.” [The subject of discussion was Chiram King of Tyre, a friend of David and Solomon who developed illusions of grandeur].

ותגנוב רחל את התרפים, in order that Lavan should not be able to locate the whereabouts of Yaakov and his family. We know from Hoseah 3,4 that Teraphim were credited with supplying such information to people believing in their power. Zecharyah 10,2 also refers to them as speaking, though deceptively. At any rate, they were widely consulted to provide information about the future, information of a supernatural dimension.

And Jacob was wroth, and strove with Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban: ‘What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast hotly pursued after me?