Chapter 29

¹ [Verse 1-8 describes Jacob journeying east to find a well covered by a large rock. He speaks with local shepherds, establishing that his uncle Laban lives here, and that Laban’s daughter Rachel is approaching with her sheep.]

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's flock; for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ And when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, and the flock of his uncle Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his uncle Laban. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and broke into tears. ¹² Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, that he was Rebekah's son; and she ran and told her father. ¹³ On hearing the news of his sister's son Jacob, Laban ran to greet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and took him into his house. He told Laban all that had happened, ¹⁴ and Laban said to him, "You are truly my bone and flesh."

When he had stayed with him a month's time, ¹⁵ Laban said to Jacob, "Just because you are a kinsman, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?" ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had weak eyes (lit., “soft eyes”); Rachel was shapely and beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel; so he answered, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." ¹⁹ Laban said, "Better that I give her to you than that I should give her to an outsider. Stay with me." ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my time is fulfilled, that I may cohabit with her." ²² And Laban gathered all the people of the place and made a feast. ²³ When evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and he cohabited with her. — ²⁴ Laban had given his maidservant Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid. — ²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I was in your service for Rachel! Why did you deceive me?" ²⁶ Laban said, "It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the older. ²⁷ Wait until the bridal week of this one is over and we will give you that one too, provided you serve me another seven years." ²⁸ Jacob did so; he waited out the bridal week of the one, and then he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife. — ²⁹ Laban had given his maidservant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid. — ³⁰ And Jacob cohabited with Rachel also; indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served him another seven years.

³¹ God saw that Leah was hated and God opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah conceived and bore a son, and named him Reuben; for she declared, "It means: 'God has seen my affliction'; it also means: 'Now my husband will love me."' ³³ She conceived again and bore a son, and declared, "This is because God heard that I am hated and has given me this one also"; so she named him Simeon. ³⁴ Again she conceived and bore a son and declared, "This time my husband will become attached to me, for I have borne him three sons." Therefore he was named Levi. ³⁵ She conceived again and bore a son, and declared, "This time I will praise God." Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

Chapter 30

¹ When Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, she became envious of her sister; and Rachel said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die." ² Jacob was incensed at Rachel, and said, "Can I take the place of God, who has denied you fruit of the womb?" ³ She said, "Here is my maid Bilhah. Consort with her, that she may bear on my knees and that through her I too may have children." ⁴ So she gave him her maid Bilhah as concubine, and Jacob cohabited with her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ And Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; indeed, God has heeded my plea and given me a son." Therefore she named him Dan. ⁷Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ And Rachel said, "A fateful contest I waged with my sister; yes, and I have prevailed." So she named him Naphtali.

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as concubine. ¹⁰ And when Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son, ¹¹Leah said, "What luck!" So she named him Gad. ¹² When Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, ¹³ Leah declared, "What fortune!" meaning, "Women will deem me fortunate." So she named him Asher.

¹⁴ Once, at the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben came upon some mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." ¹⁵ But she said to her, "Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son's mandrakes?" Rachel replied, "I promise, he shall lie with you tonight, in return for your son's mandrakes." ¹⁶ When Jacob came home from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You are to sleep with me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night. ¹⁷ God heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore him a fifth son. ¹⁸ And Leah said, "God has given me my reward for having given my maid to my husband." So she named him Issachar. ¹⁹ When Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son, ²⁰ Leah said, "God has given me a choice gift; this time my husband will exalt me, for I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. ²¹ Last, she bore him a daughter, and named her Dinah. ²² Now God remembered Rachel; God heeded her and opened her womb. ²³ She conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my disgrace." ²⁴ So she named him Joseph, which is to say, "May God add another son for me."

²⁵ After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Give me leave to go back to my own homeland. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, that I may go; for well you know what services I have rendered you." [Verses 27-42 tell the story of Jacob using breeding techniques to outsmart Laban and leave with a large herd of very healthy animals.] ⁴³ So the man grew exceedingly prosperous, and came to own large flocks, maidservants and menservants, camels and donkeys.

Chapter 35

… ¹⁶ They set out from Bethel; but when they were still some distance short of Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷ When her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, "Have no fear, for it is another boy for you." ¹⁸ But as she breathed her last — for she was dying — she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. Thus Rachel died. She was buried on the road to Ephrath — now Bethlehem. ²⁰Over her grave Jacob set up a pillar; it is the pillar at Rachel's grave to this day. ²¹ Israel journeyed on, and pitched his tent beyond Migdal-eder.

²² While Israel stayed in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine; and Israel found out. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve in number. ²³ The sons of Leah: Reuben — Jacob's first-born — Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴ The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵ The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid: Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶ And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

1. What problems or questions do you find in this text?
2. Which moments in this text seem most interesting or dramatic to you?
3. What is your favorite moment in this story?

a song in Rachel’s voice, by Alicia Jo Rabins/Girls in Trouble

DNA O sister I am half you half me
in between the molecules I feel it when you breathe
late at night when all the house goes silent in their sleep
I will give you everything I promised him I’d keep

Older and younger and hunter and thief
which one is you, and which one is me
silver and water and petal and leaf

Some sisters stay home and some sisters leave
some sisters get what the other ones need
some sisters blossom and some sisters bleed

Both of us are braided through with candles blood and bread
both of us were born with all these visions in our head
you would always promise me that one day we’d be free
late at night I’m leaving and I’m taking you with me

1. This song imagines Rachel singing to Leah. How does it portray Rachel’s feelings towards her sister?
2. Treasure hunt: how many elements of the Biblical and Midrashic text can you find in this song?
3. What emotions does this song evoke for you? In the music? In the lyrics?

a song in Rachel’s voice, by Alicia Jo Rabins/Girls in Trouble

DNA O sister I am half you half me¹

in between the molecules I feel it when you breathe²

late at night when all the house goes silent in their sleep

I will give you everything I promised him I’d keep³



Older and younger and hunter and thief⁴

which one is you, and which one is me

silver and water and petal and leaf⁵



Some sisters stay home and some sisters leave⁶

some sisters get what the other ones need⁷

some sisters blossom and some sisters bleed⁸



Both of us are braided⁹ through with candles blood and bread¹⁰

both of us were born with all these visions in our head¹¹

you would always promise me that one day we’d be free¹²

late at night I’m leaving and I’m taking you with me¹³

1 In the context of Rachel and Leah, this phrase is based on thinking about the genetic and emotional aspects of biological sisterhood and how extreme closeness is also tied to the need to differentiate. It is also the title of the album on which this song appears, because “Half You Half Me” encapsulates the process of midrash-making I enter when writing a Girls in Trouble song - and perhaps the process of midrash-making in general - where an ancient character’s life intersects with my own. 

2 This line refers to the genetic closeness of biological sisters - the DNA molecules, their similarities, and their differences - as well as the possibility of extreme empathy towards one with such similar life experience.

3 In the midrashic interpretation, Rachel gives Leah everything she promised Jacob she’d keep - the passwords they had arranged to whisper under the veil, and by extension, their entire marriage.

4 “Hunter” refers to Jacob’s older brother Esau, in Genesis 25:27: “When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in camp.”

“Thief” is from Genesis 27:35: “Your brother [Jacob] came with guile and took away your blessing.”

This verse plays on the relationship between the two sisters and the relationship between Jacob and Esau, another pair of siblings where the younger has more power than the older, and deceit plays a major role in their relationship. I was inspired by a midrash which pointed out this parallel: “In the morning when he found out that he had been tricked by Leah, and he complained to her, she responded that she had learned from him to do this: when Isaac had asked him if he was his firstborn son Esau, he had answered in the affirmative. This is when Jacob began to hate Leah as we learn in Genesis 29:31: “And God saw that Leah was hated, and God opened her womb”.

--Daat Zkenim (Torah commentary from the 13th century)

5 “Silver and water” is (broadly) inspired by the elemental forces at play in this story, as well as the silver of a dowry, and the water from the well at the beginning of the story. “Petal and leaf” are biology metaphors, drawing again on the theme of DNA, family trees, reproduction, and genetic relationships.

6 I imagine Rachel as more of a go-getter, and Leah more of a homebody - perhaps because the Biblical story begins with Rachel appearing alone at the well. At this moment in the song, I imagine Rachel planning to escape her father by marrying Jacob, and at first telling herself that it is natural that Leah will be left behind with their rather unsavory father.

7 According to a literal reading of the Torah story, Rachel seems (rather unfairly) to get both the love and the beauty in the family. “Leah had weak eyes (lit., “soft eyes”); Rachel was shapely and beautiful” (Genesis 29:17)

8 This foreshadows the fact that Leah will have no trouble conceiving (“blossom”) but Rachel will struggle with infertility and bleed each month. The power dynamic flips in this line, as it does in the story.

9 The braid metaphor refers to the braided challah (see next note) as well as the image of a havdalah candle (not, strictly, part of the three simanim, but certainly related through both fire and Shabbat) - and finally, the structure of the DNA spiral that makes up our bodies and is a central metaphor in this song.

10 This refers to Midrash 3 above: “During the entire night Leah had pretended to be Rachel, using the three simanim (signs) that Rachel had given her: niddah [Jewish laws around menstruation], challah, and lighting of candles on Friday night, as Jacob had given them to Rachel.”--Daat Zkenim. See the Teacher’s notes above for more information on this midrash.

11 I imagine a version of the story in which despite their differences and tensions, both sisters grew up together in a difficult household - based on the actions of Laban in this story - and had rich inner lives, which they whispered about to each other, although these inner lives were likely invisible to everyone around them.

12 I imagine that Leah, as the older sister, felt the need to protect Rachel from their father who (based on later actions in this story) did not have their best interests at heart.

13 Here I dramatize Jacob, Rachel and Leah’s finally leaving the home of Lavan in Genesis 14:13-21. I imagine that (staying with the midrashic interpretation of the story) Rachel is aware that she has helped Leah escape with her. After all, if she hadn’t given Leah the passwords, Leah might still be at home, unmarried and alone with Lavan. Perhaps that was even in her mind earlier, as she decided to give Leah the passwords.

In general, I am fascinated by the shifting power dynamic between Rachel and Leah. Their relationship reflects a power flip that happens over and over in the Torah, where the older sibling is supposed to be more powerful, but the younger prevails. In this song, I imagine that when Rachel and Leah were young, Leah probably was more capable simply because she was older; and I imagine her feeling protective over her younger sister. But as young adults, Rachel turns out to be beautiful and beloved, while Leah is unloved, and therefore less powerful. However, the power flips again after the marriage, when Leah is able to birth male children one after the other, a source of power and pride in the world of the Torah, while Rachel struggles with infertility.

The end of the song gestures towards the loyalty and allegiance that can sometimes develop later in life between siblings who have a difficult relationship in youth. In the end of “Half You Half Me,” Rachel orchestrates their escape from their father’s house - and makes sure to bring Leah. I imagine a triumphant ending as the two sisters leave their father’s house together, still family, still imperfect, but choosing to build the next generation of their family together.  

Try one of these:

Visual

• Draw Leah and Rachel (realistic, stick figures, or abstract) - how do you imagine them to be similar and different?
• Sketch the wedding scene. How do you imagine it looked? Where was Rachel?

Music

• Write a love song from Rachel to Jacob, Leah to Jacob, or Jacob to either sister
• Create a “mixtape” of songs that relate to this story. What would be the soundtrack of Rachel and Jacob’s relationship? Leah and Jacob’s? Leah and Rachel’s?

Movement

• Choreograph a re-enactment of the wedding ceremony. This could be silent, or done with background music. How does Leah move; what does Rachel do; what does Jacob do when he lifts the veil? This could be one person playing multiple parts, or created by a group.
• In chavruta: have one person play Rachel, and the other Leah, in a wordless conversation between the two sisters. How would each sister express her feelings towards the other through movement? Would the characters respond to each other, or ignore each other? Multiple chavrutas could work on this separately, then come back together to present, noticing similarities and differences among the groups.

Writing

• Write a letter from Rachel to Jacob explaining why you chose to give the passwords to Leah
• Write a letter from Leah to Rachel, expressing Leah’s feelings about her sister, at one of the following moments:
  • as a teenager, before Jacob comes to town
  • the day after the Leah and Jacob’s wedding;
  • a few years into the marriage, when Leah has many children and Rachel none;
  • soon after Rachel’s death
  • Summarize Rachel or Leah’s story in six words

  Or use one of these verses as a jumping-off point and write, draw, dance or sing about it:

  Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and broke into tears. (29:11)

  Leah had weak eyes (lit., “soft eyes”); Rachel was shapely and beautiful. (29:17)

  So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. (29:20)

  When evening came, [Laban] took his daughter Leah and brought her to [Jacob]; and [Jacob] cohabited with her…When morning came, there was Leah! (29:23 & 25)