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Beit Midrash
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While this may be what Ya’akov meant, it is possible that this connection between Lavan’s deceitfulness and Rivka has an additional meaning, even if Ya’akov was unaware of it. Let us start with a reminder that a great nation and its leaders do not always come about easily or in standard ways (consider Moshe and David).
Hashem considered it crucial for the nation emerging from Ya’akov that Ya’akov receive Yitzchak’s special blessing, and so He arranged for Ya’akov’s prophetess mother to help him get it even with subterfuge. Hashem also knew that our nation must be built from two righteous matriarchs who would marry Ya’akov, Leah and Rachel (see Rut 4:11). There was just one major problem – they were sisters, and the Torah forbids marrying two sisters during their lifetimes (Vayikra 18:18). There are many explanations as to how Ya’akov was permitted to do this. The main idea is that since it was before the giving of the full Torah (as opposed to the Noahide commandments), where it was forbidden, the forefathers had more latitude (see Da’at Z’keinim, Bereishit 37:35). Even so, it appears clear that irrespective of his feelings for Leah, Ya’akov would not have agreed to marry Leah along with her sister Rachel if the circumstances had not forced it upon him. It turns out that Lavan’s trickery was the catalyst for the proper formation of Bnei Yisrael, albeit without Lavan’s pre-knowledge or best intentions, like those of his righteous sister Rivka.
Perhaps this was part of Rivka’s prophecy. Yitzchak, in giving instructions to Ya’akov at Rivka’s urging, right after the turmoil-filled events with the berachot (see Bereishit 27:46), said: "… take for yourself there a wife from the daughters of Lavan, the brother of your mother" (ibid. 28:2). In other words, while Avraham suspected that his daughter-in-law/matriarch would be from his brother’s broader family, Yitzchak/Rivka seem to have known that: theirs would be a daughter of Lavan, specifically, that Lavan had multiple daughters, and that they "saw" (likely, prophetically) either of them as a worthy candidate. What Hashem may have left out (or did not want them to tell Ya’akov) is that it was not either of them, but both of them. In order to turn that into a reality, Divine Providence turned to Lavan to be the perfect shadchan for this impossible match – take the righteous Ya’akov, who would not agree to marry two sisters, even before the Torah was given, and trick him to marry Leah first, so that he would have to be married to both.
Let us return to the pasuk connecting Ya’akov to Rivka and Lavan. While Ya’akov meant to present a stark contrast between Lavan and Rivka, Hashem planned Providence’s use of similar approaches by both. Hashem guided Rivka to use deceit to obtain the coveted blessings for Ya’akov and send him to her brother, whom Hashem allowed/enabled to arrange the most impossible yet perfect match for Ya’akov – Leah, followed by Rachel. What teamwork between vastly different siblings!
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The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
