10Ya`aqov left Beer-sheva and set out for Haran.11 When he had reached a certain place, he stopped there for the night, since the sun had set.Taking one of the stones of that place, he made it his pillow and lay down where he was.12He had a dream: there was a stairway, planted on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; and Elohim’s messengers were going up and down on it. 13And there was Yahweh, standing beside him and saying, ‘I, Yahweh, [am] theElohim of Avraham your father, and the Elohim of Yishaq. The ground on which you are lying I shall give to you and your descendants.14 Your descendants will be as plentiful as the dust on the ground; you will spread out to west and east, to north and south, and all clans on earth will bless themselves by you and your descendants.
15Be sure, I am with you; I shall keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this country, for I shall never desert you until I have done what I have promised you.’
16Then Ya`aqov awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Truly, Yahweh is in this place and I did not know!’ 17He was afraid and said, ‘How awe–inspiring this place is! This is nothing less than the abode of Elohim, and this is the gate of heaven!’18 Early next morning, Ya`aqov took the stone he had used for his pillow, and set it up as a pillar, pouring oil over the top of it. 19He named the place Bet-'El, but before that the town had been called Luz.20 Ya`aqov then made this vow, ‘If Elohim remains with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making, if he gives me food to eat and clothes to wear,21and if I come home safe to my father’s home, then Yahweh shall be my Elohim. 22This stone I have set up as a pillar is to be a house of Elohim, and I shall faithfully pay you a tenth part of everything you give me.’
Shabbat Shalom,Have you ever cut a deal with God? Do this for me, give me that, allow this, and in return I willgive You my valuable worship! It sounds very insolent to say the least. But this is what Ya`aqov does.29.21Then Ya`aqov said to Lavan, ‘Give me my wife, for my time is up and I should like to go to her.’ 22Lavan gathered all the people of the place together, and gave a banquet.23 But when night came, he took his daughter Le'ah and brought her to Ya`aqov, and he slept with her.24 (Lavan gave his slave–girl Zilpah to his daughter Le'ah as her slave.) 25When morning came, it was Le'ah! So Ya`aqov said to Lavan, ‘What have you done to me? Did I not work for you for Rahel? Why then have you tricked me?’ 26Lavan replied,‘It is not the custom in our place to marry off the younger before the elder. 27Finish this marriage week and I shall give you the other one too in return for your working for me for another seven years.’28Ya`aqov agreed and, when he had finished the week, Lavan gave him his daughter Ra hel as his wife.29 (Lavan gave his slave–girl Bilhah to his daughter Rahel as her slave.)30So Ya`aqov slept with Rahel too, and he loved Rahel more than Le'ah. He worked for Lavan for another seven years.There is a pitfall in seeing the patriarchs and other biblical figures as models of faith and piety. They are not. The truth of the Tanak is its presentation of Yahwists as ordinary men with human attributes---yet who overcome and mature in their relationship with Yahweh. We cannot learn from supermen, or gods on earth.
Yishaq was a man of Yahweh, as wasAvraham but they both had their struggles with learning what Yahweh wanted, and applying their faith as they worked through their lives. Yahwism is a verb, not a state. The Yahwist is a Yahwist when he constantly seeks Yahweh's Purpose in his life. It also involves the intellect, stubborness, quiet devotion and even manipulation as was shown by Rivqa's strength to make Yahweh's Purpose made known to her come to pass when Yishaq had become weak. Yahwists are not born, but forged in the furnace of the world.
Ya`aqov, though he had seen Yishaq's relationship with Yahweh and Rivqa and knew of Avraham, still had not taken this to himself. Each generation must personally become conscious of Yahweh and cannot not rest upon the faith of their fathers and mothers. Yahwism is not inherited.
Yes, we can pass down traditions and practices and take all the external signs of Yahwistic culture, justas any culture is passed down anywhere in the world. But that will just create vessels of a certain design. Here is Ya`aqov's great discovery that strikes him with awe, making him tremble, as he clumsily removes the lid. His mind is still that of a child, and it is filled much like a small child sloshes juice on the floor as he attempts to fill a cup. But even children must start somewhere, and Ya`aqov begins his own consciousness of Yahweh.
Here we have the first anointing of the Tanak, and a stone becomes a "mashiah" in a sense, signifying a point of intersection between Yahweh and His Purpose in regard to mankind. Later prophets and kings will be anointed and used.
Some interesting thoughts on Bet-El are that the dream was a preview of the giving of the Torah as the numeric value of Sinay (samek-yod-nun-yod) and sulam "ramp" stairway, or ladder (samek-lamed-mem) are both 130. Ya`aqov marks the place (Ha-Maqom a cult center) with a massebah or standing stone which is later condemned as associated with Canaanite religion. Whether it has phallic symbolism or not, this illustrates what has been said: Ya`aqov, in spiteof his father, and as the patriarchs in general, must go continue in an ongoing process of embracing Yahwism. He is not perfect, he, as we, are a development.
31When Yahweh saw that Le'ah was unloved, he opened her womb, while Rahel remained barren. 32Le'ah conceived and gave birth to a son whom she named Re'uven, meaning ‘Yahweh has seen my misery’; and she said, ‘Now my husband will love me.’ 33Conceiving again, she gave birth to a son and said, ‘Yahweh heard that I was unloved, and so he has given me this one too’; and she named him Shim`on.34 Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, ‘This time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ Accordingly, she named him Lewi.35 Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, ‘Now I shall praise Yahweh!’ Accordingly, she named him Y'hudah. Then she had no more children.
Later on the practice of taking two sisters would be condemned, but it is here a custom of Haran. Ya`aqov finds out how troublesome foreign customs can be. We often see the biblical treatment of women as property, and indeed the word for "husband" in Hebrew is ba`al "possessor" "owner" while the word for wife is actually 'ishah woman.Ya`aqov has four women at his disposal now, but he loves Rahel. Even insuch a potentially loveless, economic system, love comes into play, and often (but not always as it has legal parameters with rights) it is the factor that separates the wife who has distinct rights over servants (with few rights), and concubines. Ya`aqov reverses the roles here and serves in order to obtain Rahel and incidently Le'ah.
30 Rahel, seeing that she herself gave Ya`aqov no children, became jealous of her sister. And she said to Ya`aqov, ‘Give me children, or I shall die!’ 2This made Ya`aqov angry with Rahel, and he retorted, ‘Am I in the position of ‘Elohim, who has denied you motherhood?’ 3 So she said, ‘Here is my slave–girl, Bilhah. Sleep with her and let her give birth on my knees; through her, then, I too shall have children!’ 4So she gave him her slave–girl Bilhah as concubine. Ya`aqov slept with her,5 and Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son by Ya`aqov.
6Then Rahel said, ‘‘Elohim has done me justice; yes, he has heard my prayer and given me a son.’ Accordingly she named him Dan.7 Again Rahel’s slave–girl Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a second son by Ya`aqov.8 Then Rahel said, ‘I have fought a fateful battle with my sister, and I have won!’ So she named him Naftali.
9Now Le'ah, seeing that she had ceased to bear children, took her slave–girl Zilpah and gave her to Ya`aqov as concubine. 10So Le'ah’s slave–girl Zilpah gave birth to a son by Ya`aqov.11 Then Le'ah exclaimed, ‘What good fortune!’ So she named him Gad. 12Le'ah’s slave–girl Zilpah gave birth to a second son by Ya`aqov. 13 Then Le'ah said, ‘What blessedness! Women will call me blessed!’ So she named him 'Asher.
14One day, at the time of the wheat harvest, Re'uven found some mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Le'ah. Rahel said to Le'ah, ‘Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.’15 Le'ah replied, ‘Is it not enough to have taken my husband, without your taking my son’s mandrakes as well?’ So Rahel said, ‘Very well, he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.’ 16When Ya`aqov came back from the fields that night, Le'ah went out to meet him and said, ‘You must come to me, for I have hired you at the price of my son’s mandrakes.’ So he slept with her that night.
17‘Elohim heard Le'ah, and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son by Ya`aqov.18 Then Le'ah said, "‘Elohim has given me my reward for giving my slave–girl to my husband.’ So she named him Yissaskar. 19Again Le'ah conceived and gave birth to a sixth son by Ya`aqov,20 and said, ‘‘Elohim has given me a fine gift; now my husband will bring me presents, for I have borne him six sons.’ So she named him Zevulun. 21Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22Then ‘Elohim remembered Rahel; he heard her and opened her womb.23 She conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, ‘Elohim has taken away my disgrace!’24 She named him Yosef, saying, ‘May Yahweh add another son for me!’
Again women are the focus of Yahweh. But here is a lesson. How often will an unloved woman seek her husband's love by having a child? All too often this does not work and she mistakes his love for the child as love for her which will pass. A man can give a child to anyone, but not his love even totally disregarding a sincere and good woman desperate to do anything, even pretending that his love for the child is also for her. A man's love can be cruel. But Yahweh compensates Le'ah with children who will love her and she can thus gain the love of Ya`aqov if only second-hand through his sons. Perhaps we can better depend on Yahweh's love and mercy rather than anothers'.
By Le'ah--
Re'uven: Yahweh has seen / ra'ah my misery / be`anyi also, he will love me / ye'ahavani (<'ahav).
Shim`on: Yahweh has heard / shama`
Lewi: "he will become attached" / yillawah
Y'hudah: "I will praise Yahweh" / 'odeh 'et-yhwhBy Bilhah (Rahel)--
Dan (pronounced Dahn): "Elohim has judged for me (in my favor)" / danani 'elohim
Naftali: mighty struggles I have struggled / naftuley 'elohim niftaltiBy Zilpah (Le'ah)--
Gad (pronounced God): With Luck / baggad
'Asher: in fortune, indeed fortunateness of daughters = what fortune among daughters / 'ashri ki 'ishruni banotBy Le'ah again--
Yissaskar: my hire / sikari
Zevulun: "this time he will value me" / happa`am yizbeleni
Dinah (Dee-nah): din"judge"By Rahel--
Yosef: mayYahweh add to me another son / yosef yhwh li ben 'aher
All of these children by different women, and all these women and children belong toYa`aqov. They all make up the bases for the tribes of Israel. Although man considers the firstborn entitled to the birthright, we have seen that Yahweh is not bound by this human convention. And though Ya`aqov will be bound by his special love of Rahel and her child over Le'ah andher children, Yahweh's love is different than man's and it will be a son of Le'ah that will have the more important descendants.