Questions on Parshas Vayeitsei to think about and discuss:

1. Rashi (28:11) brings that Yakov did not sleep for fourteen years while learning in the Yeshiva of Shem ViEiver. How is this possible as the Gemora Nedorim (15a) says that someone who swears not to sleep for three days gets lashes immediately since it is impossible to do?
2. Why does the Torah spend so much time discussing with all the details of the sheep that were between Yakov and Lovon?
3. Why did Rochel steal the terfoim, type of idol?
4. Why was Lovon so mad when he discovered his terofim, type of idol, stolen? What is this particular idol and why could he not simply replace it? Why did Rochel not simply destroy it – why instead steal it?
5. Why is Parshas Vayeitsei setuma, meaning without any open or closed parshious that usually come in every parsha?
6. Rashi (28:11) brings that on the way Yakov went to the Yeshiva of Shem ViEver for fourteen years (which he was not punished for). Why did he only stay there for fourteen years and not longer?
7. All the dreams in the Torah come together with an interpretation. (Avimelech’s dream was to rebuke him). In Parshas Vayeitsei is the first of seven in the Torah and yet only here does it appear without any interpretation. Why?
8. Why did Rochel, the younger girl, and not Leah, the older one, act as Lovon’s shepherd? We come across later the sons of Lovon. Why were they not chosen to be the shepherds?
9. Yakov was punished for 22 years that he left his parents that in like his son Yosef was separated from him for 22 years (Gemora Megilla 17a). Twenty of these years he was by Lovon and of these, fourteen years were seven for each wife. Yitzchok had told him to get married. If in order to do so he had to work for seven years for a wife why then was he punished for these years? Additionally, Hashem only appeared to him at the end of the twenty years and told him to leave (31:3)?
10. How could Yakov kiss Rochel when seeing her even before explaining who he was?
11. What did Yakov when asked what he was willing to do for marriage to Rochel volunteered to work for seven year. Why not offer less?
12. There are different levels when dealing with people. There is much loved, a bit loved, neutral,  disliked, and the worst is hated. The Avos were such great people. How then do we understand how the possuk describes him as “hating Leah”?
13. Where does the saying “the walls have ears” come from as seen in Parshas Vayeitsei?
14. Who was sent to call Rochel and Leah to the fields to talk to Yakov?
15. How did Lovon know that Yakov had run away?

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

1. Perhaps it is like the Gemora in Sukka (53a) that Yakov never tasted a full sleep going to bed but rather only dozed off for short time periods. Perhaps this is also like the sleep of Dovid described as “shisin nishmin“.
3. There are three reasons why Rochel stole the terfoim: 1) Rashi brings to stop her father worshipping idols. 2) To stop him being able to find out where they were fleeing to and stop giving him advice. 3) Rabbeinu Bechai in the name of Rabbeinu Chananel that when Lovon realised his “god” was powerless to stop being stolen he would do teshuva.
4. Perhaps if Rochel would simply destroy it then Lovon would straight away replace it. Instead, she wanted him to delay from pursuing them by spending time looking for it. She also (like reason 3 in answer 3 above) wanted him to think about this loss. Had it been destroyed he might have simply quickly replaced it.
5. See first Baal Haturim in Parshas Vayeitsei…
7. Perhaps the idea is since this dream refers to the spiritual realm and something so deep that it cannot be adequately described in words!
8. Lovon at that time did not have any sons. It was only later in the merit of Yakov did he have (see Rashi, 30:27). We find that Leah was very sad and presumably she was sick and not very well and therefore Rochel was chosen for the job. Rabbeinu Bechai (29:11) says that since a shepherd was in danger of being attacked by people therefore the shepherd was Rochel since she was still a minor not fit for marriage. Targum Yonason answers that since a lot of his sheep had died, Lovon had sacked the shepherd and meantime Rochol was looking after his leftover sheep.
9. A start of an answer is that if you look closely, Yakov was the one who named the seven year offer for a wife…
10. Rabbeinu Bechai (29:11) either she was very young (five years old) and therefore such a kiss was to be interpreted as friendship as opposed to love. Or he kissed her on the head or shoulder.
11. Rabbeinu Bechai (29:15) answers that at that time Rochel was five years old. Yakov only wanted to marry her when she was 12 years and one day, from the time she was able to have children (even though he could have married her from three years old like Rivka).
12. Of course Yakov did not simply hate her as a person. He hated certain actions that she did. The Sforno (29:31) says he suspected her as having been a willing partner to Lovon’s plan to trick him into marriage. The Baal Haturim says that he suspected her of making herself available to others just like she had made herself accessible to him.
13. Rashi in Berochos 4b uses it to explain why in Parshas Vayeitsei (31:4) Yakov tells Rochel and Leah to leave the house and go out the field to have their discussion since “the walls have ears”.
14. Targum Yonason says it was Naftoli who was the fastest on his feet – perhaps expressing that this matter was urgent.
15. Perhaps like by the Jews leaving Egypt, Lovon had planted spies amongst Yakov’s servants. The Targum Yonason says that when Yakov came to Lovon there was now plenty of water in the well. As soon as he left it stopped. The shepherds therefore knew that Yakov had left and therefore told Lovon.

Questions on Yakov’s wives and the Shevotim:

1. How could Yakov marry two sisters something that the Torah forbids?
2. How many daughters did Yakov have?
3. Where is the source of Sheva Brochos from Parshas Vayeitsei?
4. Who named the Shevotim?
5. What lies behind the name Levi?
6. Who were the parents of Bilha and Zilpa?
7. What is so special about the Dudoim that Reuven collected and Rochel was so desperate for?
8. By all the births of the Shevotim it first gives a reason of praise before giving the name. The only exception is Reuven (29:32) where the name is given before the reason. Why?
9. Leah called her fourth son, Yehuda, meaning thanksgiving to Hashem (see Rashi, 29:35). The Gemora Brochos (7b) brings that by doing so she was the first one to thank Hashem. Surely there were people before her who already thanked Hashem. What then does this mean?
10. Rochel asked Yakov to marry her maidservant, Bilha, since she was barren – like Soro had done to Avrohom with Hogor. Leah already had children. How then could she give, and Yakov agree, to marry her maidservant, Zilpa, for more children?
11. Why do we not pronounce the second letter of “shin” in the name Yisochor?
12. Why does it not mention any pregnancy by the birth of Dena?
13. By all the shevotim’s births it brings the name and reason. Why is this totally omitted by Dena (30:21) with just a name and no reason?

Ideas for answers on Yakov’s wives and the Shevotim:

1. The Ramban answers that they only kept the whole Torah in Eretz Yisroel while he remained married to two sisters only outside of Eretz Yisroel (as Rochel died on the way). The Maharal says that before the Torah was given the Avos could decide to do prohibited things based on spiritual calculations and this was no longer allowed after the Torah was given. The Chizkuni (29:28) answers that since they were converted it as if they are reborn and are not related to each other – no longer viewed as sisters. Another answer is that Rochel and Leah were only half-sisters sharing the same father but a different mother and by the goyim they go after the mother and therefore both were permitted to Yakov.
2. From what is stated explicitly in the possuk it appears Yakov only had one daughter, Dena (30:21). However, the possuk says (37:35) that when Yakov saw Yosef’s torn turncoat he refused to be comforted by his daughters (plural) implying he had more daughters. Rashi brings that according to R’ Yehuda with each of the twelve tribes a twin girl was born whom they married. Rashi (35:17) brings that with the birth of Binyomin another twin girl was born. According to all this Yakov had fourteen daughters! (This means that he had twelve shevotim and fourteen daughters totalling twenty-six children, the gematria of the Shem Havaya!)
3. (29:28) When Yakov got married to Leah and was told he would also be given Rochel to marry, he first waited seven days of sheva brochos for Leah before marrying Rochel.
4. The pesukim imply that the mothers got to name their sons with the exception of Levi (29:34) and (the renamed) Binyomin named by Yakov (35:18).
5. The Chizkuni (29:34) explains that until now there were two children so that Leah could hold one with each hand. However, with the third child she would now require how husband to escort her (loshon levoyo) and assist with the third child!
6. They were also the daughters of Lovon from a different wife making them half sisters of Rochel and Leah (see Rashi, 31:50).
7. Perhaps Rochel was desperate for a child. The Dudoim naturally assist to have children. Perhaps to show that this was incorrect, the result was that instead Leah, who was meant to have these dudoim, had children unnaturally (after having stopped giving birth) while Rochel did not.
9. I heard a fantastic explanation from R’ Moshe Aaron Stern zt”l. Usually when one gives thanks, it is forgotten some time later. By Leah calling her son Yehuda she was ensuring that this thanks was remembered the whole time by the mere mention of his name! In this sense she was the first one to thank Hashem!
10. The Ramban (30:9) answers that you have to say that they had prophecy that Yakov would have the twelve shevotim from four wives and Leah wanted most of them to be associated with her.
11. See Daas Zekeinim (30:18) who gives two reasons…
12. The Chizkuni and Ibn Ezra (30:21) says since Dena was a twin of Zevulun (therefore pregnancy is already mentioned by Zevulun for both of them). Rashi brings that by pregnancy she had a boy and only by birth was it changed to a girl – hence it cannot mention pregnancy and birth by Dena since they were not with the same child!
13. See Rashbam…

Chakira(s) on Parshas Vayeitsei:

• When Yakov travelled at the beginning of the parsha, he had kvitzas haderech, literally the jumping of the way. What does this mean? Does it mean that he was sped above the ground or does it mean that he stayed in one place and the ground moved him or did both happen, he and the ground moved?

In depth Articles about the Twins: Yakov and Esav

1. TWINS – YAKOV & ESAV, PART 1
2. TWINS – YAKOV & ESAV, PART 2