[Avodah] Watch whom you marry

[Michael Elzufon]

> R' Richard Wolpoe asked:
> > How did HKBH let Y'aaov Avinu have relations with Le'ah that
> > night when his Kesubbah said Rachel - which meant his bi'ah
> > was assur.
>
> I figure it's a kal vachomer from the heter to marry two sisters:


WADR: This does no address my question at all
Ya'akov CONCSIOUSLY married 2 sisters.  Whether he did the right thing
or
the wrong thing he STILL had bechira.

In fact: Ya'akov had 3  options:

   1. Annul the marriage to Le'ah
   2. Give up on Rachel
   3. Add Rachel to  his existing marraige to  Le'ah

Ya'kov did NOT have to marry 2 sisters at all.  Even if he did #1 he
still
could have  married Rachel whilst Le'ah was alive since after all it was
a
Mikach Ta'us.  Why Ya'kov chose what he chose and did what he did has
already been justified to my satisfaction.

To reiterate: the original question is strictly about the case of HBKH
protecting tzadikkim from UNINTENDED acts.  And this impacted the
relationship with Le'ah and hurt Reuven in the sense he was in effect
born
out of wedlock if you accept that Le'ah was impregnated that very night.


From: "Liron Kopinsky" <liron.kopinsky at gmail.com>

Lurker piping in here for a second.
1) I don't have a source, but I heard once that Ramban says that Ya'akov
only kept all of the mitzvot while he was in Eretz Yisrael.
2) It has always bothered me how Rashi could say that Ya'akov kept
Taryag
Mitzvot when we know explicitly that he didn't by marrying Rachel.
Kol Tuv,
~Liron Kopinsky
[[MJE]] The Ramban RLK is referring to is at Bereshith 26:3.  The Ramban
also makes the point that it was all b'torath eino m'tzuveh v'oseh and
concludes that pshat is that the Avoth kept sheva mitzvoth bnei Noah and
brith milah, specific commands (go to Eretz C'na'an, the Akedah, etc.),
belief in G-d, and good midoth. Other rishonim say more or less the same
thing. 

RRW's question starts by holding an aggada to the rigorous standards of
pshat.  That is sweet if you can draw something good out of it, but
there is no need to do so.