[Avodah] Yaakov kissing Rachel

[David Eisen]

RMB wrote:
>As for the permissaiblity... If we take the medrash literally that she
turned 3 (rather   >than 15) on her wedding day, Rivqah wasn't
necessarily 3 yet when he kissed her >(unless they were wed on the day
they met). 

R. Moshe Chaim Pollack in his Vaydaber Moshe (New York, 5703) posits
that Yaaqov's kiss was permissible as Yaaqov and Rahel were already
married at that point! He explains that Yaaqov's removal of the boulder
from the well and subsequent watering of Lavan's sheep constituted a
halachic act of kiddushin as these actions were certainly worth at least
a shaveh perutah. Once full kiddushin was performed, Yaaqov's kiss was
fully permissible. [R. Pollack does not mention this, but perhaps the
reason Yaaqov tells the local sheperds "hasku hatzon, u'lkhu r'oo" (or
in other words: SCRAM!) immediately after they point out to him that
Rahel is walking over to them is to enable Yaakov to mityahed with Rahel
in order to consummate the marriage.] R. Pollack further explains why
Yaaqov cried immediately thereafter: Yaaqov was left with a horrible
feeling that he needed to perform kiddushin in such a peculiar manner
and not with proper kesef kiddushin as he arrived in Haran empty-handed,
without even a shaveh perutah to his name! R. Pollack uses this
innovative reading to explain why the second marriage was fictitious
from a purely halachic perspective, and for this reason, Yaaqov demands
that Lavan bring him "his wife" (hava et ishti) as Rachel, indeed is
already his halachic wife for all intensive purposes.

Another interesting "pshat" to explain why Yaaqov was permitted to kiss
Rahel and why he cried immediately thereafter is offered by R. Yaaqov
Chaim Sofer in his Yismah Yisrael (Yerushalayim, 5749). He explains that
Yaaqov Avinu was one of the yehidei segula, and being on such a high
madregia, he knew that he would not succumb to hirhurim, and therefore
there was no halachic prohibition for him to engage in this physical
contact. As a support text, he quotes the Gemara in Ketubot 17a that
records that R. Aha would carry the kalla on his shoulders to dance with
her. When questioned by his students how could this be permissible, he
replied that "if to carrying a woman on your shoulders is tantamount to
carrying a wooden plank, then it is permissible for you as well!" R.
Sofer adds that if this was true for R. Aha, how much so for Yaaqov
Avinu, A"H, who was a pious and holy saint that did not come to hirhur
aveira. Why, then, did Yaaqov cry after the kiss? R. Sofer explains that
based on the Midrash that Elifaz stole all of Yaaqov's money, he was in
a state of mourning, and a person who is in a despondent state is
incapable of hirhurei aveira in matters of intimacy. The Torah therefore
emphasizes that Yaaqov cried in order to cleanse his action in the eyes
of the readers and to explain that his crying revealed his depressed
emotional state, and in turn, the reader will understand that his kiss
was devoid of any sinful thoughts. 

BTW - according to Bereshit Raba, Yaaqov's kiss was indeed of an
intimate nature, and it explains that Yaaqov cried after he noticed that
the locals started to gossip among each other that this strange man from
the west brought with him his licentious practices as these people from
the east (the residents of Haran) have refrained from such wanton
behaviour (gidru atzman min haerva) ever since Dor Hamabul!

Interesting thoughts for the Shabbat table.

For many more insights into Yaakov's kiss, see Prof. Admiel Kosman's
article 'Then Yaaqov Kissed Rahel..." in: Beit-Mikra 149, 5757.

Shabbat Shalom,
David