Q&A: Rachel Giving the Signs to Leah
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Rachel Giving the Signs to Leah
Question
Hello Rabbi, why is Rachel commonly praised for giving Leah the personal signs that she had arranged with Jacob (Megillah 13b)? By doing so, she revealed a secret she had kept with Jacob, caused him to work another seven years, and did not seem to show concern for Jacob.
Answer
Good question. Clearly this was an act done with good intentions, but the act itself does not seem like the right one under the circumstances.
Still, if Jacob had insisted on his position that he did not want Leah, then this would have been a transaction made in error, and he could have sent her away without a bill of divorce. And if he did not do that, then it is possible that he did accept Leah as well, only that he preferred Rachel. If so, giving over the signs only caused Leah too to have a good match, and Rachel also married Jacob. So in the final analysis, maybe it is not all that bad.