Vayeitzei - 4th Portion

Join me in learning kitas for today. Par the fourth Torah reading for Wednesday chapter 30 verse14. Yesterday's we read about the birth of the first of the tribes. Leia gave birth to four boys and then to a daughter Dena. Then she gave then Raul gave her bondswoman to Yakov and they have two children, two boys and as well as Leia did the same for her bondswoman. They had two boys as well. So we were so far we have studied about the birth of Ruven Shim Yehuda God and Usher and Dan Afali and the story of Dina. Today the Torah continues about the life of Jacob and Leia. Verse 14. And Ruven was taking a walk during the season of the wheat harvest. And he found mandrekes in the field in the field. And he brought them to Leia his mother. And said to please give me from your son's mandras. The Torah Rashi explains to us what's happening here. Why does it tell us that it was it was specifically in the time of harvest? And he says as follows, why are we stressing the fact that it was the time of the wheat harvest to tell us the praise of the tribes was a time of harvest. So therefore the fields were then everybody was able to go on it and he did not steal any wheat or barley from other people's fields. Hello. He found these mandrekes that nobody was cared about it and therefore it was hefker was left for everybody to have. So it wasn't something that he went into somebody's field. While though it was harvest and everybody had their wheat and barley lying around, he did not take any of those and took something which nobody cared about. Dudim. What are these dudim commonly translated as flowers? The gamarra explains that this was siglay a mandre type of asu. It was a type of grasshel jasmine. According to some in the Arab language, it's called jasmine. And some translate these as jasmine flowers as well. Verse 15. And she answered to, "Isn't it enough that you took my husband and you also want to take out take my son's mantra, my son's flowers?" Therefore, in exchange, you will be able to get to be with Yakov, to sleep with Yakov tonight. instead in exchange of your son's mandrekes over here Rashi tells us verse 16 verse she was saying that in a question you already took my husband and now you also want to take my flowers you also want to do this also take my son's mandrekes rashi explains and the word over here as in the taragum when we use the terminology villa meaning in the future and you want to take it. Meaning not only have you taken my husband, you also want to take my son's flowers. Interestingly enough, the commentaries explain here that though technically Leia took Raul's husband, but Raul was so careful in the way she gave Leia the signs that she should not even think to be embarrassed that initially Raul was the intended one by Yakov. And therefore when she told Leia about the signs which was kana she said by the way it's good to know that a Jewish woman or a woman should know about these three important values and thereby Leia thinking at this moment that really she was the one that was always intended to marry Yakov. So we see the humility that even though it brought to some embarrassment later on this was the time that had but she exchanged it with Leia for the flowers really intend I was supposed to be with him tonight but I am going to give it to you in exchange for the flowers of your son now being that was gave up on that merit and she felt that this was easily to be exchanged for cover. She did not merit to be buried with Yakov in the cave of the patriarchs. She was buried on the side of Ble on the side of the road by Blem on the way to Ephesus as we're going to learn later on in chapter 35. Verse 16 returned from the field that evening in the evening and Leia went out to greet him and she said you're going to come to my tent tonight this evening this evening you're going to come to me tonight because I hired you in exchange for my son's mandr speaks and she cohabited with him that night with her that Jacob cohabited with each other that night. The Torah now tells us explain what does it mean I hired you meaning I do I have an obligation though that you really intended to be with still an I paid instead with those mandri that night though that it was only that night this tells us that this was a blessing that Hashem gave her that she would be able to have because of that and God heard Leia that means he took her efforts the very fact that she wanted to be with Jacob as a very special sign and she conceived and she gave birth to Jacob a fifth son what does it mean God heard Learashi explains we don't see this by the other times But since she had a desire to have more children and to have more of the tribe, so God heard her cry and her prayers and Leia said, "God gave me my reward because I have for having given my bondswoman to my husband and she gave and the name to her son." You'll notice that the name is something very interesting here that generally though we pronounce the word the name but in the Torah it has extra sin. The Rebi explains and tells us quoting from his father I believe that you have he was the one to later on to study Torah and the name symbolizes the sin that is pronounced and the sin that is not pronounced the revealed part of Torah and the esoteric part of Torah the one that's not pronounced the Torah now continues with verse 19 and she conceived again and she gave birth to a sixth boy to verse 20. God has indeed given me a superlative portion. Now my husband will surely make his chief abode, his main place because I gave birth to him six boys and therefore she named her son Zulen. What is the word means explains to us and says as follows like the tarum explains a good portion. What is the word? He is bellaini. So the word comes from lash bul a place of dwelling like in old French here bro or hibernate may if you want to take it the Latin origination staying in one place by his mother a place of living and this is what she explains with the name says as follows from now on his main place of dwelling will be with me because I have as many boys as the rest of his wives. Like I have half of the tribes that the rest of the wives have to each and I have six. The Torah now continues with the birth of another child. And after that she gave birth to a daughter and she gave the name gave her name Dina. Verse 21. Why did he called her Dina? The Torah doesn't say why she was called Ena. The rabbis though explain made judgment to herself saying if this child that I'm pregnant with will be a boy, a male, my sister won't even be like one of the bondsoman because all of them have two boys and she won't even have one boy because somebody's going to there's only 12. So therefore she prayed. This was an unusual circumstance that though all of them already gave birth to two boys still hasn't had a child. So Raul will only be left with one boy if this is going to be a boy. So therefore she prayed and this uh fetus became a girl a female. Verse 22. After Leia gave birth to another two boys and a girl and all the bonds women already given birth and God remembered and he heard her prayers and God heard her prayers and he opened her womb. What does it mean that God remembered? What did God remember? Rashi tells he remembered his righteousness that she gave the signs to her sister that she was worried and concerned that maybe she may have to marry as she maybe she was concerned that Jacob would divorce Raul now that she doesn't have children. So Raul now was concerned that she may have to now marry Asaf because if Yak divorces because she didn't have any children from her now Asov is going to come and what's going to happen the even as also had this in mind because he heard when he heard that she doesn't have any children he said okay I'll go and marry now this is what we have in one of the poems in the liturgy that We find on rashashana that it says the red one referring to when he saw that had no children he had a desire to take her for a wife and therefore Hashem heard her cries and opened her womb and she was able to have a child. That means the exchange. Initially Leia was the one that concerned to marry Raul to marry Asaf. Over here Raul gave over the signs to Leia. Now Leia was the one married to Yakov. She was the one that had children with Yakov. She now was concerned Raul was concerned that she might have to marry Asov because she had no children. Jacob would have to divorce her. And over here as we see that Jacob that Hashem remembered her and then gave her a child. Verse 23 and she conceived and she gave birth to a child and she said may God and God has taken away my disgrace. Verse 23 means from the word of gathering meaning he gathered it in a place where it should not be seen. Like it says in Isaiah that God gathers our embarrassment. Another time we also find that they did not bring them into the home and therefore they ended up dying. Talking about the plagues of blood of hail in the book of Joel that they gathered their the stars are gathered together as other places where we see the terminology of mean together. What does it mean by embarrassment? because I was embarrassed up until now because I was barren. People would say about me, you are not deservant of being a wife to such a great person as Yakov because you didn't have children. And I was concerned that Jacob would divorce me and I would end up having to marry the wicked. And the medish explains why is this because as long as a woman does not have a son she doesn't have within whom to justify the mistakes and to hide her embarrassment once a woman has a son so then anything that happens she blames on the son therefore when she's asked by her husband. Who broke this thing? She would answer back, "Hey, it was your son. Who owed who ate these figs?" Your son. So, when a woman has a child, she's able to blame whatever happens on the child and say, "Hey, it's your son that did it. It's my not my son and it's not my fault. You're the one that brought him here." And this is where it's all happening. Therefore, now when she has a son, God gathered her embarrassment. She now has not to be embarrassed. She has who to blame things on. That's what children are for, I guess. Verse 24. And she called him Yoseph. Now, the Torah tells us another reason why she named him Yoseph. Lamer saying, "May God add me another son. Rashi verse 24 wasn't technically asking for for only one child what happened was she knew with prophecy that Yakov is only going to have 12 tribes being that 11 tribes already born. So she says, she asked, "May it be the will of God that that final child, that 12th child that he's going to have many should be from me." Therefore, she only asked for one more child because she was she knew there was supposed to be one more child and she wanted that that last remaining child that still had to be born should be from her. Verse 25 and it was this is now in the year 2199 14 years that Jacob agreed to work for have now come up and Yakov tells when gave birth to Yoseph and Yakov now turns to and he says he wants to now journey back home send me on my and I will go to my home and to my land. Why does the Torah juxtapose the two that it was only once Yseph was born then does Jacob say he wants to return home? The moment because until now he was afraid as might hurt him. But at this point we have Yoseph was the one who was going to be the counterpart of Asov the one to get to stand up against Asaf because once the Satan of Asov was born of as the verse says that at the end of days when as will be able to try to come to hurt the Jewish people the they are going to be destroyed like fire it consumes straw. So as long as Yoseph wasn't yet born, Jacob wasn't sure that he would overcome Asaf. The moment a Yoseph was born, he knew that he would be able to overcome as because a fire without a flame will not be able to have a strong and power for far for a distance. But however once was born that now that flame and the fire was able to be strong. He knew that God gave him the promise that he was going to be able to overcome Asaf and now he wanted to return home. Now that Yak Ysef was that flame of that fire, that counterpart of Asov, he knew that he would be able to overcome Asov. So what does he demand of Yakov? Of sorry. Yakov demands of love in verse 26. Give me my wives. They are my children that I worked for you that I served you for I will go because you know that the work that I've done I have filled my contract I have done my duty I have kept my part of the deal why did he have to ask love for permission to give him his wives they were his he married them meaning he was being respectful. I don't want to leave without permission. And therefore, he asks if he can take his wives with meaning with your permission. Verse 27 tells them, "If only I would find favor in your eyes, and I would like you to stay. I have learned by divination by that by it is your account that God has blessed me with sons as we're going to see that only up until now he only had daughters and now he had sons as well verse 27 that God blessed me what does it mean by divination I tried to find out things through different ways I tried with my divine with my divination that I realized and I figured out that it was because of you and in your merit that I have this blessing. What's the blessing? When you came here, I had no sons because it says that daughter was coming with the with the sheep. Does it make sense that a person who has sons, he's going to send his daughter to go take the flock to drink and to send him amongst the shepherds? But now, because he had no sons, therefore his daughters had to go. But now, how he had sons. How do we know he had sons? Because later on in chapter 31, it says and they heard the sons of Lavan heard that he heard the sons of Lavan speaking. This concludes the fourth Torah reading for