[Avodah] Yaakov kissing Rachel

[SBA]

From: "Marty Bluke" <>
When Yaakov first meets Rachel the first thing he does is kiss her and then
he cries. What is the significance of this kiss? How was Yaakov allowed to
do that?
----
From: "Rich, Joel" <JRich at Segalco.com>
<http://www.ottmall.com/mj_ht_arch/v35/mj_v35i75.html#CAAD>  (80)
<http://www.ottmall.com/mj_ht_arch/v35/mj_v35i80.html#CABN>  (85)
<http://www.ottmall.com/mj_ht_arch/v35/mj_v35i85.html#CADE>

=========================
Let me repeat my post from those days:

Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 04:54:51 +1100
From: "SBA" <sba at blaze.net.au>
Subject: "vayyishaq yaakov lerachel"


From: "Markowitz, Chaim" <CMarkowitz at scor.com>
> Isn't there a medrash that Rochel was 4 or 5? If that's the case she
> wouldn't be a niddah and there should be no issur.

I didn't know of this Midrash - but thought up the following - based on
a similar idea.

(SBA 2006 edition - the Shaarei Aharon write sthat she was 5)

Q 1. Hayitochen Yaakov Ovinu kisses his cousin?

Q 2. Yaakov said Bitcho "Hak'tana" whilst later Lovon said Lo'seis
"Hatze'iro" lifnei hab'chiro. Why the different leshonos?

Q 3. Why did Yaakov - no 'yungermantchik' by now - agree to wait 7 years
before the wedding? Why not marry first and then work off his 7 years?

Q 4. 7 years later when Lovon cheated him with Leah, he married Rochel
a week later - this time (when he already had a wife and the possiblity
to have children) - there was no years of waiting. Why the different
arrangement now?

But if we accept that Rochel was a still a young child at the time -
'alles iz farentfered'.

1) Kissing your 5 year old cousin is no big deal (especially when you are
well past the pension age.)

2) At the time (when Yaakov as makming the'deal' with Lavan)
 she was a 'ketana' (only 5 years old) - 7 years later she was no longer a
'ketana' but  (still) ''hatze'iro'.

3) At the age of 5 she was simply too young to get married and

4) 7 years later - she was of a marriagable age and there was no need
to wait any longer.

(I realise that this little Q&A is so poshut that probably 'es shteyt')

SBA

(Admittedly if you follow the above links, you''ll find that not everyone
thinks that my pshetel is really that great...)
==========================

> Joel Rich
> PS- I never got an answer that resonated


As one of my rebbes used to say: 
("noch a mazel) az fun a kashe shtarbt men nisht..."

SBA