(כה) וַיְהִ֣י בַבֹּ֔קֶר וְהִנֵּה־הִ֖וא לֵאָ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֶל־לָבָ֗ן מַה־זֹּאת֙ עָשִׂ֣יתָ לִּ֔י הֲלֹ֤א בְרָחֵל֙ עָבַ֣דְתִּי עִמָּ֔ךְ וְלָ֖מָּה רִמִּיתָֽנִי׃
(25) And it came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah; and he said to Laban: ‘What is this you have done to me? did I not serve with you for Rachel? why then have you tricked me’
Question Storm:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
(א) ויהי בבקר. שכל הלילה היתה עושה עצמה כרחל מתוך השלשה סימנין שמסרה לה נדה וחלה והדלקת הנר כמו שמסרן יעקב לרחל. מדרש כל הלילה היו משוררין אותן הקרואים הא לייא הא לייא ולמחר כשראה שהיא לאה אמר בודאי זהו שהיו משוררין הא לייא שהיו מרמזין לי שהיא לאה ואמר לה רמאיתא בת רמאי בלילה קראתי לך רחל וענית לי השתא קרינא לך לאה ועני' לי אמרה ליה גבר דלית ליה תלמידוי אבוך קרי לך עשו וענית ליה קרא לך יעקב וענית ליה. כלומר ממך למדתי זה הרמאות ואבוך ענה בך שאמר בא אחיך במרמה ומתוך הדברים התחיל יעקב לשנאתה הה"ד וירא ה' כי שנואה לאה:
(1) ויהי בבוקר, “when it had become morning, etc.” during the entire night Leah had pretended to be Rachel, using three different items to identify herself as her sister, which Rachel had received from Yaakov, one had to do with the laws of women, the second one with the laws of challah, and the third one with the lighting of candles on Friday night. We are told the following in B’reshit Rabbah 70,19: all night long people were singing what sounded like the praises of Leah, sort of hinting to Yaakov that he was being swindled. Yaakov, who had no reason to fear that the town’s people wished him ill, did not suspect being tricked when Leah always answered when he addressed her as Rachel. 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, as when Yitzchok had asked him if he was his firstborn son Esau, he had answered in the affirmative. This is when Yaakov began to hate her as is reported in verse 31...
What is going on here? Is Leah the conniving selfish woman she is described as being in the text?
When the opportunity arose to marry Yaakov, even in this roundabout deceitful way, she saw it as a lifeline that God was throwing her in response to her prayers. Leah couldn't afford not to take it. What she meant by her words to Yaakov, when he realized he'd been tricked, may have been:
Just like you felt it necessary to deceive your father in order to get the firstborn rights to the blessing, because you knew it was the right way to secure your future, destiny and purpose, so too I, knowing I must be part of the Jewish nation and mission, felt it the only possible way to accomplish this goal.
It must not have been easy for Leah. As much as she desired this outcome, she was still marrying someone without his knowledge, who didn't love her, and who’d worked for seven years to marry her sister! Leah, whose name connotes weariness and exhaustion, had to overcome with aggressive strength all the obstacles that stood in her way.
http://www.aish.com/jl/b/women/Women-in-the-Bible-Rachel--Leah-Part-1.html?s=rab
(לא) וַיַּ֤רְא ה' כִּֽי־שְׂנוּאָ֣ה לֵאָ֔ה וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח אֶת־רַחְמָ֑הּ וְרָחֵ֖ל עֲקָרָֽה׃
(31) And Hashem saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
Question Storm:
__________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
(א) וירא ה' כי שנואה לאה, לא היה יעקב שונא אותה, אבל היה אוהב אותה, אלא לפי שהיה אוהב את רחל יותר מלאה קרא לאה שנואה, כלומר כנגד אהבתה של רחל היתה שנואה, וכן האחת אהובה והאחת שנואה (דברים כ"א ט"ו) ולפי שהית' עלובה בעיניה שלא היתה אהובה כאחותה ראה ה' בעניה ויפתח את רחמה.
(1) וירא ה' כי שנואה לאה, Yaakov did not hate her; in fact he loved her. However, seeing that he loved Rachel better it appeared as if he hated Leah. We find a similar situation in Deuteronomy 21,15 where the Torah speaks about a husband “hating” one of his two wives. The meaning there is also relative to the wife he prefers. G’d, Who knew the true state of affairs, i.e. what Leah’s perception of her husband’s feelings toward her were, opened her womb.