| And Ya’akov (Jacob) left Be’er Sheva and walked toward Haran. | Vayaytze Ya’akov mi B’er Shava vayeylech Harana. | וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה׃ |
Torah Thoughts
In parashat Vayeytze, Ya’akov runs away from his parents’ home, gets married (more often than he planned), has children… in short, he grows up, with the trials and tribulations that come with it. He also suffers from trickery; perhaps fitting for him.
It all starts with him running away from home. He dreams the famous dream in which he sees a ladder going from the ground all the way to the sky, and angels going up and down.
Ya’akov ends up in Haran, where is uncle Laban lives. He sees his cousin Rachel, whom he has never seen, at the well. And he proves himself to her by watering HER camels.
Rachel brings him home, and he meets his uncle for the first time. Ya’akov asks for Rachel’s hand in marriage.
Laban agrees, but when Ya’akov wakes up after his wedding night, he finds he married not Rachel, but her older sister Leah! This, of course, is the source of our tradition of bedecken. “Fool me once, shame on you… .” Yes, even if the bride has no sisters.
Anyhoo… Ya’akov, who was a homebody and like to stay in the tent, becomes a shepherd, and does a great job for Laban.
Eventually, it is time to take his wives, concubines, and children… and the herds he earned during his years as a shepherd… and forge his way…