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<p><font size="2">I thought y'all (and especially RYGB, given not only the content but also the byline :-)) would enjoy this d'var Torah....</font><br>
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<br>
<font size="2">Was it permitted for Jacob to marry two sisters?</font><br>
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<font size="2">Rabbi Yitzchok Schochet, Mill Hill Synagogue</font><br>
<br>
<br>
<font size="2">Our portion relates how Jacob our forefather</font><br>
<font size="2">worked for seven years for his uncle Laban, in</font><br>
<font size="2">exchange for his daughter Rachel’s hand in</font><br>
<font size="2">marriage. At the final moment, the malevolent</font><br>
<font size="2">Laban replaced his younger daughter with her</font><br>
<font size="2">older sister Leah. When Jacob realised he had</font><br>
<font size="2">been duped he requested Rachel’s hand in</font><br>
<font size="2">marriage, and this was granted on condition of</font><br>
<font size="2">another seven years of labour.</font><br>
<br>
<font size="2">One question the commentators grapple with is how</font><br>
<font size="2">Jacob was allowed to marry two sisters, in</font><br>
<font size="2">categorical violation of a Biblical precept</font><br>
<font size="2">forbidding such a union. Granted the Torah had</font><br>
<font size="2">not been given yet, but our Sages observe that</font><br>
<font size="2">through prophetic insight our forefathers were</font><br>
<font size="2">aware of the Torah’s content and adhered to the</font><br>
<font size="2">many commands contained therein. Jacob’s</font><br>
<font size="2">behaviour seems to contradict this supposition.</font><br>
<br>
<font size="2">Nachmanides suggests that the forefathers kept</font><br>
<font size="2">the commandments of the Torah only when they</font><br>
<font size="2">lived in Israel, whereas Jacob married the</font><br>
<font size="2">sisters while he was living in Haran. This,</font><br>
<font size="2">however, would contradict an earlier statement of</font><br>
<font size="2">Rashi, "with Laban I dwelt and the 613</font><br>
<font size="2">commandments I kept." A number of other solutions</font><br>
<font size="2">offered are flawed on various levels.</font><br>
<br>
<font size="2">Based on this premise quoted by Rashi, the</font><br>
<font size="2">Lubavitcher Rebbe offers a simple yet insightful</font><br>
<font size="2">explanation. He says that while indeed the Torah</font><br>
<font size="2">was legally binding after Sinai, it was kept</font><br>
<font size="2">beforehand by the forefathers only as a</font><br>
<font size="2">self-imposed stringency. Rachel waited an initial</font><br>
<font size="2">seven years in order to marry Jacob. Even as she</font><br>
<font size="2">played a role in the switch with her sister, if</font><br>
<font size="2">for no reason other than to spare her any</font><br>
<font size="2">embarrassment, she herself would have remained</font><br>
<font size="2">devastated at being denied the opportunity of</font><br>
<font size="2">marrying her soul-mate. For Jacob, this changed</font><br>
<font size="2">everything. It’s one thing to uphold the</font><br>
<font size="2">fundamentals of one’s faith when it is formally</font><br>
<font size="2">required. But as the Torah was not legally</font><br>
<font size="2">binding, it’s an altogether different matter to</font><br>
<font size="2">maintain rigidity in self-imposed standards when</font><br>
<font size="2">at the expense of another, in this case, at Rachel’s expense.</font><br>
<br>
<font size="2">When one wishes to take upon oneself more than</font><br>
<font size="2">may be required within the realm of Jewish law,</font><br>
<font size="2">it is certainly commendable. However, where this</font><br>
<font size="2">is going to be at the material or spiritual</font><br>
<font size="2">expense of someone else, then not only is not</font><br>
<font size="2">admirable, it is fundamentally flawed. When</font><br>
<font size="2">encountering another who is in need of spiritual</font><br>
<font size="2">help, even where that may take away time from</font><br>
<font size="2">"perfecting oneself," one must see the truth</font><br>
<font size="2">which underlies Jacob’s marriage to Rachel. Care</font><br>
<font size="2">for others overrides concern for self-perfection; it goes beyond G-d’s law.</font><br>
<br>
<font size="2">Rabbi Judah HaNassi taught: "Which is the right</font><br>
<font size="2">path for a person to choose for himself? What is</font><br>
<font size="2">harmonious for the one who does it, and</font><br>
<font size="2">harmonious for one's fellow man." Be as pious as</font><br>
<font size="2">you want to be, as long as it is only you paying the price.</font><br>
<font size="2">-----</font><br>
<font size="2">Shabbas Shalom and all the best from</font><br>
<font size="2">--Michael Poppers via RIM pager</font><br>
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