[Avodah] FWD from Daf-haShavua Vayetze 5767/2006: Was it permitted for Jacob to marry two sisters?

[MPoppers at kayescholer.com]

I thought y'all (and especially RYGB, given not only the content but also
the byline :-)) would enjoy this d'var Torah....
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Was it permitted for Jacob to marry two sisters?
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Rabbi Yitzchok Schochet, Mill Hill Synagogue


Our portion relates how Jacob our forefather
worked for seven years for his uncle Laban, in
exchange for his daughter Rachel’s hand in
marriage. At the final moment, the malevolent
Laban replaced his younger daughter with her
older sister Leah. When Jacob realised he had
been duped he requested Rachel’s hand in
marriage, and this was granted on condition of
another seven years of labour.

One question the commentators grapple with is how
Jacob was allowed to marry two sisters, in
categorical violation of a Biblical precept
forbidding such a union. Granted the Torah had
not been given yet, but our Sages observe that
through prophetic insight our forefathers were
aware of the Torah’s content and adhered to the
many commands contained therein. Jacob’s
behaviour seems to contradict this supposition.

Nachmanides suggests that the forefathers kept
the commandments of the Torah only when they
lived in Israel, whereas Jacob married the
sisters while he was living in Haran. This,
however, would contradict an earlier statement of
Rashi, "with Laban I dwelt and the 613
commandments I kept." A number of other solutions
offered are flawed on various levels.

Based on this premise quoted by Rashi, the
Lubavitcher Rebbe offers a simple yet insightful
explanation. He says that while indeed the Torah
was legally binding after Sinai, it was kept
beforehand by the forefathers only as a
self-imposed stringency. Rachel waited an initial
seven years in order to marry Jacob. Even as she
played a role in the switch with her sister, if
for no reason other than to spare her any
embarrassment, she herself would have remained
devastated at being denied the opportunity of
marrying her soul-mate. For Jacob, this changed
everything. It’s one thing to uphold the
fundamentals of one’s faith when it is formally
required. But as the Torah was not legally
binding, it’s an altogether different matter to
maintain rigidity in self-imposed standards when
at the expense of another, in this case, at Rachel’s expense.

When one wishes to take upon oneself more than
may be required within the realm of Jewish law,
it is certainly commendable. However, where this
is going to be at the material or spiritual
expense of someone else, then not only is not
admirable, it is fundamentally flawed. When
encountering another who is in need of spiritual
help, even where that may take away time from
"perfecting oneself," one must see the truth
which underlies Jacob’s marriage to Rachel. Care
for others overrides concern for self-perfection; it goes beyond G-d’s law.

Rabbi Judah HaNassi taught: "Which is the right
path for a person to choose for himself? What is
harmonious for the one who does it, and
harmonious for one's fellow man." Be as pious as
you want to be, as long as it is only you paying the price.
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Shabbas Shalom and all the best from
--Michael Poppers via RIM pager
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