[Avodah] Gid ha'nasheh

[Akiva Miller]

.
R' Chaim Tatel wrote:

> At any rate, it makes sense that Yaakov would be hit there,
> as a reminder that his marriage to Rachel after his marriage
> to her sister Leah would not hold up when he entered Eretz
> Yisrael. (not long after this episode, Rachel died in childbirth
> of Binyamin).
>
> Aside from feeling the psychological pain of Rachel’s death,
> perhaps Yaakov also had to feel physical pain.

I draw a distinction between "consequences" and "punishments". I have
heard in the past that Eretz Yisrael was unable to tolerate Yaakov's
being married to two sisters, and that Rachel's death was a
consequence of that.

But RCT writes that Yaakov was given a reminder of that consequence,
and that he had to feel pain as well. Now it sounds like Yaakov was
being punished.

If he was punished, it must be that he was punished for some choice
that he made. What choice was that? What did he do wrong? If he could
do it all over again, what ought he do differently? Specifically:
After having married Leah, should he have not married Rachel?
Alternatively, (according to those who say that he was not fooled but
knew that Leah had the simanim,) should he have not married Leah? Or
should he have protested and annuled the marriage to Leah?

If he was punished, what did he do wrong?

Akiva Miller