Rachels Tears

[searchinmyroots]

Listened to a very interesting connection regarding Rachel mourning in Jeremiah 31 and why it may be G-d says "For there is reward for your actions".

What actions is G-d referring to?

May there be a secret word connection that refers to something Rachel did at one time?

There seems to be, and the connection concerns Leah's son Yissachar.

Is there a lesson here to be learned for us?

[BlueBird2]

I like these questions of yours!

Jeremiah 31 seems to be 99% about healing, restoration and joy and 1% about pain and suffering.

A lesson if you would like to call it that, might be that in the middle of restoration and healing there also are pain and suffering and that it's worth enduring them and never giving up.

I see no secret here and hope you'll reveal it for us.

[searchinmyroots]

I like these questions of yours!

Jeremiah 31 seems to be 99% about healing, restoration and joy and 1% about pain and suffering.

A lesson if you would like to call it that, might be that in the middle of restoration and healing there also are pain and suffering and that it's worth enduring them and never giving up.

I see no secret here and hope you'll reveal it for us.

Thanks Blue Bird!

I think the immediate plain message is not to give up hope, and that's what the Jewish people have lived by for their entire existence. 

But lesson may be more geared to my question - What was the action that Rachel did that impressed G-d so much that he said there is a reward? 

The secret seems to be in the Hebrew wording.

" For there is reward for your actions" - In Hebrew -  Yeish sachar lifeulatecha.

Might it be directing our attention to Leah's fifth child, Yissachar?

What heroic action did Rachel do concerning Leah's child Yissachar?

[BlueBird2]

This is really an interesting question! Why is it that it is Rachel who weeps over the murdered babies, and why does the text explicitly state that she will be rewarded for her actions?

Well, I found no answer to your questions after reading the relevant pages in Mose. I found out some other interesting facts though.

If רָמָ֚ה is translated as Rama (the village Rama) instead of plateau or height as it is translated in Tanakh Online it makes sense that Rachel is weeping. Rachel is the mother of Benjamin and Rama is in the territory of Benjamins tribe.

There is an action of Rachel I found and that I wouldn't consider heroic. Yissachar was born because Rachel sold Jacob in exchange for some love apples that she desperately wanted.

As a result, Yissachar (יִשָּׂשכָֽר) was born and Lea saw him as a reward (שָׂכָ֚ר sachar) for giving her maidservant to her husband earlier.

[searchinmyroots]

Blue Bird,

Wow, you're hired as a great investigator!

So there is a little more to Rachel giving Jacob to Leah for the night.

Look at the scene again and notice the interaction when Reuben comes back with the flowers (or love apples as you put it) - 

Genesis 30:14
Reuben went in the days of the wheat harvest, and he found dudaim in the field and brought them to Leah, his mother, and Rachel said to Leah, "Now give me some of your son's dudaim."

15 - And she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband, that [you wish] also to take my son's dudaim?" So Rachel said, "Therefore, he shall sleep with you tonight as payment for your son's dudaim. 

It may be easy to overlook. Rachel is childless and sees Reuben coming back with the dudaim for Leah, how must she feel? 

Maybe she just wants to share in some of the love felt from a child as she has none.

What is Leah's response? She accuses Rachel of stealing her husband, Jacob?? It would seem it should be the other way around, that Leah stole Jacob from Rachel originally.  

So maybe, just maybe Rachael now drops her guard of jealousy and sees things through the eyes of Leah. That even though she first married Jacob and is bearing his children, she doesn't feel the love from Jacob as much as he has for Rachel. 

So how does Rachel respond, or how would do you think someone might respond in general? Probably most people would be appalled by Leah's response and let her know it. But no, Rachel doesn't do that at all, she offers Leah a night with Jacob in her place and the result is a son whose name is Yissachar. The name that seems to reappear in Jeremiah regarding Rachel's reward.

Of course this is only a thought but it is something to think about!

[BlueBird2]

Yes you are correct, it's a flower! and a powerful one!

Mandrake

I think it's all about love. Leah gave birth to sons and hoped that she would finally be loved for it. Rachel was loved and feared loosing the love of her husband because she had no children. Jacob loved only Rachel and spent his nights with her.  For me it's hard to believe Rachel has stopped being jealous. The wound is so deep and even increased when she saw that her deal which was supposed to helped her to become pregnant makes her older sister pregnant. Lea calls her son "there's a reward," while Rachel is obviously overlooked.

I have another idea what the reward might be for. Lea believed she had been rewarded by God for giving Jacob her servant and thus producing him children.

The same did Rachel. She too gave Jacob her servant and produced him children that way. This might be the action the text says she was rewarded for.

[searchinmyroots]

Blue Bird,

Yes, some say it is a Mandrake but if I'm not mistaken, that is the only place in the entire Hebrew bible the word "dudaim" is used. So most don't know exactly what it is referring to.

I understand your point of view but unless I overlooked it, the Hebrew bible doesn't seem to give hint that Rachel was jealous after that incident. And you'll notice that after that incident G-d opened Rachel's womb. 

I'm not sure I agree that Rachel was awarded for her action of providing a concubine for Jacob. The way I see it (an it's just an opinion!) is she did it for herself, not for Jacob. Jacob already had children and could have had more with Leah if he wanted. And then the question would be, why didn't G-d say anywhere there is reward for Leah if she did the same?

The thing that stands out here is the name of Leah's child and the use of the word in Jeremiah when G-d describes reward for Rachel. That is the connection to look for.

Again, it's all speculation, thought, conversation and diving deeper into the text which can provide many answers. So there is no wrong or right, just something to think about and what the lesson might be!

[BlueBird2]

Your view feels much better. I don't like the logic and moral behind my theory.

For my theory speaks in my opinion that I hardly know a text where someone is rewarded for overcoming a feeling or attitude rather the hard facts and actions. The reward in Jer. is about children which could also show a parallel to Lea.

On the other hand there is Sara, Abrahams wife. Things went wrong when she helped herself by giving Abraham her servant. Some say that this disobedience — her failure to wait for God — gave rise to mighty nations that God “had to” bless for Abraham’s sake, and which later became enemies of Israel.

[BlueBird2]

It may be easy to overlook. Rachel is childless and sees Reuben coming back with the dudaim for Leah, how must she feel? 

Maybe she just wants to share in some of the love felt from a child as she has none.

What is Leah's response? She accuses Rachel of stealing her husband, Jacob?? It would seem it should be the other way around, that Leah stole Jacob from Rachel originally.  

It took me a few days to realize what you wrote here. Rachel's nature may have been kind and innocent; simply sitting with Leah and watching the child come, she just wanted to be part of the give and take between mother and child.
 
The text says that Rachel envied / was jealous of her sister in verse 1. Wouldn't it be likely that the text would also mention if she stopped envying Leah?

[searchinmyroots]

It may be easy to overlook. Rachel is childless and sees Reuben coming back with the dudaim for Leah, how must she feel? 

Maybe she just wants to share in some of the love felt from a child as she has none.

What is Leah's response? She accuses Rachel of stealing her husband, Jacob?? It would seem it should be the other way around, that Leah stole Jacob from Rachel originally.  

It took me a few days to realize what you wrote here. Rachel's nature may have been kind and innocent; simply sitting with Leah and watching the child come, she just wanted to be part of the give and take between mother and child.
 
The text says that Rachel envied / was jealous of her sister in verse 1. Wouldn't it be likely that the text would also mention if she stopped envying Leah?

Good question!

I'm looking it over as well and see that a lot of time and events transpired since verse 1!

Bilhah had 2 children and Zilpah had 2 children as well. That seems like it may have taken a few years.

Rachel was still barren when the Reuben scene took place and maybe she came to feel differently now. Maybe not right away, but when she realized how Leah actually felt.

But yes, it would have been nice if there was added verse that said something like - "And Rachel was jealous no more"!

Maybe G-d wants us to dive deep into the texts, words and there associations to bring out more meaning.