Ending Sibling Rivalry

And it came to pass that in the morning behold it was Leah …                                     Genesis 29:25 But at night it was not Leah (Jacob did not recognize that it was Leah rather than Rachel) because Jacob gave Rachel secret signs, and when Rachel saw that Leah was being brought to Jacob, she said “My sister will be put to shame” and Rachel passed the signs on to Leah.                           Babylonian Talmud, Megila 13 b

          The Talmudic tradition demonstrates Rachel’s greatness. She was willing to forego her chance to marry Jacob (she did not know that she too would be married to him) in order to prevent her sister’s embarrassment.

          Our Sages teach us that Leah reciprocated:

And afterwards Leah gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dina.                              Genesis 30:21 What is meant by “afterwards”? Rav said: After Leah had passed judgment on herself, saying ‘Twelve tribes will issue from Jacob. Six have issued from me and four from the handmaids. If this child will be a male, my sister will not even be equal to the handmaids.’ Thereupon the child was turned into a girl.           Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 60a

          The Book of Genesis is replete with sibling rivalry, from Cain and Abel to Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau through Joseph and his brothers. Rachel and Leah, each conceding something quite important in her life to prevent her sister’s embarrassment, mark the beginning of the rectification of sibling rivalry. This point is expressed in the blessing given to Boaz by the people and elders of Bet Lehem:

May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home as Rachel and as Leah, which two built the House of Israel.”                             Ruth 4:11

          It is noteworthy that the residents of Bet Lehem of the Tribe of Judah, descendants of Leah give prominence to Rachel.

          But it is Rachel’s grandsons who will completely end sibling rivalry. Jacob, near his death gave primacy to Joseph’s younger son Ephraim over the older son Menashe:

And he blessed them on that day saying: with you shall Israel bless saying, may God make you as Ephraim and Menashe…                   Genesis 48:20

          When Jacob gave Ephraim, the younger brother, prominence over Menashe, Menashe willingly accepted his reduced status. Ephraim and Menashe represent the end to sibling rivalry. Rather, they accept their brotherhood without fighting over status.

          Because Ephraim and Menashe represent the ultimate in brotherly love, upon which the future of Israel is based, Israel chooses to bless its sons "as Ephraim and Menashe."