(טז) וּלְלָבָ֖ן שְׁתֵּ֣י בָנ֑וֹת שֵׁ֤ם הַגְּדֹלָה֙ לֵאָ֔ה וְשֵׁ֥ם הַקְּטַנָּ֖ה רָחֵֽל׃ (יז) וְעֵינֵ֥י לֵאָ֖ה רַכּ֑וֹת וְרָחֵל֙ הָֽיְתָ֔ה יְפַת־תֹּ֖אַר וִיפַ֥ת מַרְאֶֽה׃
Why does the text start by comparing the sister? How does the act of comparison in this case set up the unequal relationship of the women in this story?
How does the act of comparison hurt or help relationships between women and men?
Read each of the commentaries below. How does each add meaning to the idea of the comparison of the sisters?
ועיני לאה רכות. שהיתה סבורה לעלות בגורלו של עשו ובוכה שהיו הכל אומרים שני בנים לרבקה ושתי בנות ללבן, הגדולה לגדול והקטנה לקטן:
"The eyes of Leah were soft". For she supposed that she would be fated to become Esau's [wife] and she wept. For everyone used to say: "Rebecca has two two sons; Lavan has two daughters - the older [daughter] for the older [son] and the younger [daughter] for the younger [son]."
וללבן שתי בנות, the Torah interrupted Yaakov’s narrative by telling us that seeing that Lavan had only two daughters and the younger one appealed to Yaakov, he asked her father for her hand in marriage.
רכות ב' ועיני לאה רכות. אם ידבר אליך רכות. אף על פי כן לא היה אוהב אותה:
Soft. The eyes of Leah were soft. If she was spoken to softly. However, even when he saw her beautiful eyes, he did not love her.
ועיני לאה רכות, “Leah’s eyes were soft, so that due to her beautiful eyes she appeared beautiful all over,”[the expression רך appears next to טוב, “good, when” the calf served by Avraham to the angels in Genesis 18,7 is described) in contrast to Rachel, whose body was beautiful, but whose eyes detracted from this as she cried a lot, fearing that her lot would be to be married to Esau after Yaakov would divorce her due to her barrenness. (No source quoted for this unusual interpretation)
Which woman, Rachel or Leah, have you identified with or empathized with in the past? Why?
What kind of comparisons help build a person? Which kind destroy a person or a relationship?