The First Surrogate Mother
Many have tried to explain the sequential significance of “Should a woman give forth seed and give birth to a male” (Vayikra 12:2). A baraita seems to take things literally: “If the woman ovulates first, she will bear a male. If the male’s seed is first, she will bear a girl.” Rabbi Tzadok cites further support for this correlation from the pasuk, “These are the sons that Leah bore for Yaakov in Padan Aram, along with Dina, his daughter” (Bereishit 46:15). Still, it is hard to understand what the Torah is hinting at and what the various rabbis are saying.
