[Avodah] Mama Leah

[Akiva Miller]

Yaakov Avinu knew he would be dying soon, so he spoke to all of his sons,
telling them to bury him in the Machpela. He explained: (Bereshis 49:31)

"That's where they buried Avraham and Sarah, his wife.
"That's where they buried Yitzchak and Rivka, his wife.
"And that's where I buried Leah."

>From the structure of this pasuk, it seems to me that Yaakov deliberately
avoided saying "Leah, my wife."

Can it be so? It makes me want to cry for Mama Leah. Even in death, Yaakov
couldn't bring himself to refer to her as his wife?

I asked several friends. One suggested that since Yaakov was speaking to
all 12 sons together, he did not want to cause any bad feelings towards
those who were from other mothers. At first that sounded reasonable, but if
so, Yaakov could have left out the word "his wife" altogether. Imagine if
he had said "That's where they buried Avraham and Sarah. That's where they
buried Yitzchak and Rivka. And that's where I buried Leah." It would have
been quite clear, and would have shown no favoritism of any kind.

But no. Instead, Yaakov deliberately chose to describe Sarah as Avraham's
wife, and Rivka as Yitzchak's wife, and to leave Leah undescribed.

Any ideas?
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