Shabbat Parashat Vayeitzei - 5783

Shabbat Parashat Vayeitzei - 5783

Rabbi Hal Miller

And it was in the morning that behold it was Leah. So he said to Lavan,

"What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I worked for

you? Why have you deceived me?" [Bereishit 29:25]

When reading this verse, we all tend to think of a broken contract, and all

sorts of bad things. There are many questions implicit in this story. Rabbi

Yonasan Gersten of Memphis asks an interesting question, outside of our

normal thought process.

We know what Yaakov was thinking. He offered seven years work for Rachel,

and was surprised when he ended up with Leah. Rabbi Gersten asks why

Yaakov asked Lavan why he had deceived him, but makes no serious protest.

He could have brought Leah back and said, the marriage is void, give me

Rachel as promised. Instead, he accepted Lavan's new terms for Rachel for

another seven year term. Why did Yaakov not put up a fight?

Rabbi Gersten says the answer lies in the deception. He sees two possible

ways that Lavan could have deceived Yaakov. One was what we tend to

think of, that he "switched" the girls at the last instant. This would have been a

clear breach of contract. But there is a second potential point of deception,

dating back seven years.

The text tells us that Yaakov proposed a deal, seven years work in exchange for

Rachel. The text tells us that Lavan thought it a good idea that Rachel go to Yaakov,

but it does not tell us that Lavan accepted the offer. In fact, his response seems

to indicate that he could not accept, since Leah was still available. In other words,

Lavan committed to nothing, although made it clear that Yaakov would be a suitable

mate for Rachel. Yaakov walked off thinking a deal had been struck. The second

possible deception is Lavan's letting Yaakov think, for seven years, that the deal

was in fact in place. Had Yaakov sued on the contract, he would have lost, although

there might have been some equity argument, but with Leah having become the

payment, he may well have lost on that argument too.

This explains why Yaakov did not pursue the conversation or legal action. He had a

choice, accept what Lavan offered now, or walk off with nothing. Yes, Lavan was a

deceiver, but buyer beware--Yaakov put in seven years of work without a contract.