Tuesday, March 7, 2017

parshanut torah comment - Why Yaakov suddenly hurried to have kids at 84?


On the Posuk (Gen 29,21) "וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל־לָבָן הָבָה אֶת־אִשְׁתִּי כִּי מָלְאוּ יָמָי וְאָבוֹאָה אֵלֶיהָ׃" Bereyshis Rabba 70,18 explains that Yaakov was 84 and knew that he's destined to have the 12 tribes, so he was worried when could he do it:



"...אָמַר רַבִּי אַיְּבוּ אֲפִלּוּ אָדָם פָּרוּץ אֵין אוֹמֵר כַּלָּשׁוֹן הַזֶּה, ... אֶלָּא כָּךְ אָמַר לוֹ, אָמַר לִי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁאֲנִי מַעֲמִיד שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שְׁבָטִים, עַכְשָׁו הֲרֵי אֲנִי כְּבֶן שְׁמוֹנִים וְאַרְבַּע שָׁנִים, וְאִם אֵין אֲנִי מַעֲמִידָן עַכְשָׁו אֵימָתַי אֲנִי מַעֲמִידָן, לְפִיכָךְ הֻצְרַךְ הַכָּתוּב לוֹמַר: וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל לָבָן הָבָה אֶת אִשְׁתִּי."




If I remember correctly Yaakov:




  1. Did nothing until the age of 60 (when his twin brother got married at 40).




  2. At 60 after the story with Berochos and fearing Esau's revenge he flees to Ever's Yeshivah and stays there for 14 years (Rachel is 7yo).





  3. He arrives in Charan at 77, meets Rachel (14yo) and loves her but offers Lavan to work for 7 full years.




  4. At 84 he demands to have his rightful wife right away to procreate from her.




  5. On the other hand, his father lived to 180, Avraham to 175, Yaakov himself lived to 147 so he had some 60 years!




So what was so urgent or so special in that date for Yaakov that urged him to justify such a rude (as for B"R) demand?





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