When we last left Jacob, he was running
away from his twin brother Esau,
after having stolen his birthright.
That act of deception, which involved Jacob’s
impersonating Esau in front of his blind father,
Isaac, was committed at the urging
of Jacob’s mother, Rebecca.
On his way to Haran,
where he hoped to find family and therefore,
someone to marry, Jacob stopped for a rest,
using a stone for a pillow.
While he slept, he dreamed of angels
ascending and descending a ladder to heaven.
Jacob awoke, and named the place Bethel,
the house of God. He then took
the stone pillow, set it upright
and poured oil on it, which was how
you built a monument back in biblical days.
Continuing on the road, Jacob came to a well.
He saw a maiden approaching, and discovered
from the locals that she was his cousin,
Rachel. Possessed by superhuman strength,
Jacob rolled the stone cover off the well
a job which usually took many men
and watered Rachel’s sheep.
Then he kissed her, cried, and told her
they were related, and Rachel ran to tell
her father, Laban.
Jacob agreed to work seven years for Laban
in exchange for Rachel’s hand in marriage.
But at the wedding, Laban, who was
a notorious trickster, substituted his
older daughter, Leah, as Jacob’s bride.
Laban explained that the local custom was
to marry off the older daughter first, but
that Rachel was still available...
for another seven years of labor. But Jacob
was a man in love, so he agreed.
Besides, fourteen years may seem like a lot
for two wives, but he also received
two bonus companions: with Leah,
her handmaiden Zilpah, and with Rachel,
her handmaiden Bilhah.
Having sisters as wives might sound
convenient, but as this story clearly illustrates,
it quite literally BREEDS problems.
Leah begins to bear children,
and Rachel develops extreme jealousy.
So continues an epic sisterly competition,
not just over affection from the same man,
but over fertility.
Welcome to Jacob’s marital life:
Jacob loved Rachel more, so God gave Leah
four children—
Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah.
Meantime, Rachel, who wasn’t getting
pregnant, decided to give her handmaiden
Bilhah to Jacob to have children on her behalf:
Bilhah bore Jacob two sons, Dan and Naphtali,
who were named by Rachel.
But it didn’t end there.
The pregnancy wars continued.
When Leah realized she wasn’t having
more children, she gave her handmaiden
Zilpah to Jacob to become pregnant
on HER behalf, resulting in the births
of Gad and Asher,
named and claimed by Leah.
Team Leah: 6. Team Rachel: 2... sort of.
Leah then becomes pregnant again
bearing Issachar and Zebulun
(numbers 7 and 8, if you’re still counting).
Then she bears a daughter, Dina,
who doesn’t count as one of the sons of Jacob,
for obvious reasons.
Finally Rachel bears a son,
and names him Joseph.
Total for this Torah portion? Team Leah: 8.
Team Rachel: 3...sort of.
That’s eleven out of the twelve sons
who will become Israel’s Twelve Tribes.
Jacob has come a long way
from being the lonely man
on the road to Haran.
But he has gotten there only after years
of intricate family dynamics
and baby mama drama.
But despite his apparent loneliness
on the road, the text indicates, Jacob
is guarded on his journey by angels.
Despite the deception, he meets a woman
at the well and falls instantly in love.
Despite the jealousy, deception, and drama
that emerge from his relationships,
Jacob perseveres out of a desire
to create a family and spiritual home.
Through Jacob’s actions
and the actions of his sons
in the Torah portions ahead,
the Jewish people arrive in Egypt.
And it is the Exodus from Egypt which creates
a desire to move from spiritual or literal exile
to a homeland of equality and freedom.
As Jacob learned, sometimes you have to
leave home to find home.
Producer: Sarah Lefton
Animation Director: Nick Fox-Gieg
Animation: Jeanne Stern
Editorial Director: Matthue Roth
Theme Music: Tim Cosgrove
Written and Narrated by Esther Kustanowitz
Sound Recording: Gabe Schwartz