Jacob had a tough time at his uncle Laban's house. He fell in love with Rachel, but was tricked into marrying Leah. When he finally succeeded in marrying Rachel, his home was plagued with jealousy between the two sisters.
This strife wasn't limited only to Jacob's household. It continued on in future generations: in the struggle between Joseph and the brothers; and in the rivalry between King Saul (descended from Rachel) and King David (from Leah). Why did Jacob need to endure so many obstacles when setting up his family, complications that would so influence the future of the Jewish people?
The Present Versus The Future
We live in a divided reality. We continuously debate: how much should I live for the moment, and how much should I invest for the future? We are constantly weighing and balancing between the here-and-now and the yet-to-come. This conflict exists on all levels - the individual, the family, the community, and the nation.
God's original design for the world was that we should be able to taste the sweetness of the fruit even in the wood of the tree (Genesis 1:11). In other words, even during the intermediate stages, we should be able to sense and enjoy the final fruit. When the world is functioning properly, the present is revealed in all of its radiance and serves as a suitable guide to a more sublime future. In such a perfect world, our current desires and wishes do not impinge upon our future aspirations.
But our universe is a flawed one. The earth failed to produce trees that taste like fruit. Our lives suffer from the conflict between the present and the future, the temporal and the eternal. Both the individual and the community often need to disregard the sensibilities of the present, since they will not lead us to the destined path of the future.
Rachel And Leah - The Present And The Future
Jacob's marriage to two sisters, and the ongoing rivalry between them, is a metaphor for the duality of our existence.
Like all things in our world, the house of Jacob was plagued by a lack of clarity. Jacob should have been able to establish his family based on an enlightened present full of integrity and goodness. He should have been able to marry and set up his home without making complicated calculations to prepare for future times. The natural purity and simple emotions of a holy and faultless soul should have sufficed.
Rachel, whom Jacob immediately loved for the beautiful qualities of her soul, represents the simple and natural love for the revealed present. Jacob felt that the manifest beauty of Rachel was also in harmony with the hidden world of the distant future.
But God's sublime counsel decreed that the future destiny of the people of Israel belonged to Leah. This future was so profoundly hidden, that its current state - in Leah - was completely concealed from Jacob.
The hidden quality of Leah was thus embedded in the very foundations of the Jewish people. Because of Leah, we can raise our sights afar, skipping over the present circumstances, for the sake of a lofty future. Just as Jacob found himself unexpectedly wed to Leah, so, too, the path of the Jewish people throughout history does not always proceed in a gradual and orderly fashion. Often the future projects its way into the present, in order to elevate and sanctify it.
Nonetheless, we aspire for the simpler state, in which the present is enlightening and through its light, the future acquires its greatness. Thus, Rachel was always honored as the primary wife. Even Leah's descendants in Bethlehem conceded, "Like Rachel and Leah who both built the house of Israel" - purposely placing Rachel before Leah. (Ruth 4:11)
Two Kings, Two Messiahs
The rivalry between Rachel and Leah, the conflict between the beautiful present and the visionary future, also found expression in the monarchy of Israel. The temporal reign of Saul, descended from Rachel, struggled with the future eternal dynasty of David, from Leah's children. And even in the Messianic Era, the division between Rachel and Leah will continue on with two messianic leaders: the precursor redeemer, Mashiach ben Yosef from Rachel, and the final redeemer, Mashiach ben David from Leah.
[Based on Ein Aya vol. IV, pp. 44-46]
This strife wasn't limited only to Jacob's household. It continued on in future generations: in the struggle between Joseph and the brothers; and in the rivalry between King Saul (descended from Rachel) and King David (from Leah). Why did Jacob need to endure so many obstacles when setting up his family, complications that would so influence the future of the Jewish people?
The Present Versus The Future
We live in a divided reality. We continuously debate: how much should I live for the moment, and how much should I invest for the future? We are constantly weighing and balancing between the here-and-now and the yet-to-come. This conflict exists on all levels - the individual, the family, the community, and the nation.
God's original design for the world was that we should be able to taste the sweetness of the fruit even in the wood of the tree (Genesis 1:11). In other words, even during the intermediate stages, we should be able to sense and enjoy the final fruit. When the world is functioning properly, the present is revealed in all of its radiance and serves as a suitable guide to a more sublime future. In such a perfect world, our current desires and wishes do not impinge upon our future aspirations.
But our universe is a flawed one. The earth failed to produce trees that taste like fruit. Our lives suffer from the conflict between the present and the future, the temporal and the eternal. Both the individual and the community often need to disregard the sensibilities of the present, since they will not lead us to the destined path of the future.
Rachel And Leah - The Present And The Future
Jacob's marriage to two sisters, and the ongoing rivalry between them, is a metaphor for the duality of our existence.
Like all things in our world, the house of Jacob was plagued by a lack of clarity. Jacob should have been able to establish his family based on an enlightened present full of integrity and goodness. He should have been able to marry and set up his home without making complicated calculations to prepare for future times. The natural purity and simple emotions of a holy and faultless soul should have sufficed.
Rachel, whom Jacob immediately loved for the beautiful qualities of her soul, represents the simple and natural love for the revealed present. Jacob felt that the manifest beauty of Rachel was also in harmony with the hidden world of the distant future.
But God's sublime counsel decreed that the future destiny of the people of Israel belonged to Leah. This future was so profoundly hidden, that its current state - in Leah - was completely concealed from Jacob.
The hidden quality of Leah was thus embedded in the very foundations of the Jewish people. Because of Leah, we can raise our sights afar, skipping over the present circumstances, for the sake of a lofty future. Just as Jacob found himself unexpectedly wed to Leah, so, too, the path of the Jewish people throughout history does not always proceed in a gradual and orderly fashion. Often the future projects its way into the present, in order to elevate and sanctify it.
Nonetheless, we aspire for the simpler state, in which the present is enlightening and through its light, the future acquires its greatness. Thus, Rachel was always honored as the primary wife. Even Leah's descendants in Bethlehem conceded, "Like Rachel and Leah who both built the house of Israel" - purposely placing Rachel before Leah. (Ruth 4:11)
Two Kings, Two Messiahs
The rivalry between Rachel and Leah, the conflict between the beautiful present and the visionary future, also found expression in the monarchy of Israel. The temporal reign of Saul, descended from Rachel, struggled with the future eternal dynasty of David, from Leah's children. And even in the Messianic Era, the division between Rachel and Leah will continue on with two messianic leaders: the precursor redeemer, Mashiach ben Yosef from Rachel, and the final redeemer, Mashiach ben David from Leah.
[Based on Ein Aya vol. IV, pp. 44-46]