And Jacob lifted his feet and went. Since regarding the first journey, our Sages of blessed memory said (Sanhedrin 95) that the earth contracted for him [through a miracle], and according to this the journey did not depend on the efforts of his feet but rather on a miracle, the verse needed to specify that from this point onward he did not travel by means of the earth’s contraction, but rather with his feet like any other person.

“And he saw, behold a well in the field.” It happened that he saw three flocks of sheep lying beside it — this is a sign that there were three [individuals] who encountered women at a well: Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. This is because a woman is compared to a well, as it is said Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well (Proverbs 5:15). We can further say that the three flocks of sheep lying beside it alludes to the three partners in [the creation of] a person. Therefore, it happened that three flocks of sheep drank from the well, just as the three partners in a person’s [creation] from there water all those who are born. And the large stone was on the mouth of the well — because the modest woman is called a locked garden, a sealed fountain, as if sealed with a stone, and it shall not be opened except at the time of birth, and afterwards they return the stone to its place, so that this well should only be used when necessary for the continuation of the species.

And our Sages of blessed memory expounded (in Genesis Rabbah 78:9) the matter of the well in several different aspects. Some say and behold a well refers to the Holy Temple, and some say it refers to [Mount] Sinai, etc. And according to all opinions, these verses do not depart from their simple meaning, rather their intention is to say that the matter of the well and the shepherds happened to Jacob in order to serve as a sign placed in his hands about the future, and regarding this matter the Sages disagreed about what exactly this incident alludes to.

“Do you know Laban son of Nahor?” Why doesn’t it say “Laban son of Bethuel,” and instead of their response we know why doesn’t it say “we know him”? It appears that Jacob wasn’t asking if they were familiar with him or not, as he assumed it was obvious that local residents would know him. Rather, he was inquiring about Laban’s character and lineage. Regarding his character, he asked if Laban took after Nahor, who was an innocent and upright man, or after his father Bethuel the deceiver, who was known to violate all virgins. Thus he asked, Do you know Laban — is he like the son of Nahor, resembling him in his nature? They responded we know, meaning that he is indeed Nahor’s son, following his ways and resembling him in his deeds. Regarding his lineage, Jacob asked if he was truly born from Nahor, Abraham’s brother, for perhaps his mother had conceived him from another man. He wanted to know if there were any rumors about his mother, similar to how there were rumors about Bethuel who violated all virgins. Jacob was concerned that perhaps Bethuel’s wife had also been unfaithful and Laban was born from another man, and thus not truly descended from Nahor. They responded we know, confirming that he was definitely Nahor’s son, as there had been no hint of impropriety regarding his mother. When Jacob asked them Is he well? it was because he knew that all the local people were wicked, and if Laban was righteous according to their words, then presumably he would not be at peace due to the wicked people who typically provoke the righteous. They responded He is well, and behold, his daughter Rachel was coming with the sheep — and if he hadn’t been at peace, he wouldn’t have sent his daughter among the shepherds for fear they would abuse her.

There are those who say that this is why he said to them: indeed, the day is still long — to test them if they were suspected of theft, for shepherds are generally suspected [of theft] (see Rashi’s commentary). And Jacob thought that if they were not kosher [upright], then Rachel should not have been permitted to be alone with them, for it is only permitted [for a woman] to be alone [with men] in a city with two men, and in a field with three upright men. This is why the verse specifically tells you that there were three flocks of sheep, such that they [the shepherds] were upright, and thus it was permissible for her to be alone with them.

“Indeed you are my bone and flesh.” Since it says And he told Laban all these matters but the text does not specify which matters, which things he told him — and it should have said “all that happened to him” — rather, it must be that he told him those things that Esau had spoken in his heart, when he said Let the days of mourning for my father draw near, and I will kill my brother. And he needed to explain to him for what reason [Esau] wanted to kill him, which was because of the birthright and the blessings. Therefore Laban said to him Indeed you are my bone and flesh — with the word indeed/only [ach] he excluded Esau, because the rich has many friends while all the brothers of the poor hate him. According to this, [he was saying] “you are wealthy, and therefore only you alone are my bone and flesh, but not Esau, and therefore you need not fear him because he is not my relative.”

Another explanation: Since he [Laban] saw nothing with him [Jacob], for he came empty-handed, if so, you don’t have the closeness that wealthy people share, rather only the closeness of flesh and blood alone. Another explanation: After he [Jacob] told him [Laban] how he deceived Esau by taking the birthright, [Laban] said Indeed you are my bone and flesh — you are a deceiver like me, therefore it is fitting to draw you close to me, for you are just like me.

And he also loved Rachel more than Leah. This implies that he loved Leah, except that he loved Rachel more than Leah. However, the verse [later] states And God saw that Leah was hated, and furthermore, what is the meaning of also [in the verse]? It appears that just as the advantage of wisdom becomes apparent through foolishness, like the advantage of light that becomes evident through darkness — for no quality’s superiority is recognized until one sees its absence and sees one thing compared to another, only then does the advantage of wisdom and light become more apparent — similarly, Jacob loved Rachel for her own inherent qualities, but beyond this love, he developed additional love for her through comparison with Leah. For when he saw one against the other, Rachel’s superiority became even more apparent. This is what is meant by he also loved Rachel — the word also comes to include the additional love that flowed to Rachel from [comparing her to] Leah. The letter “mem” in mi’Leah [than Leah] is not indicating comparison [of degree]. Some say that this additional love stemmed from Leah because Rachel gave over the [secret] signs to Leah [on her wedding night], and this act was considered righteousness on her part, therefore he increased his love for her.

“For the Lord has heard that I am hated.” Even though at the birth of her first son she said now my husband will love me, and all the more so he would not hate her, why then did she say for I am hated? Nevertheless, it appears that she thought it would be so [that he would love her] but it did not work out as she hoped. For she reasoned that since a woman is [married] only for children, and a son is undoubtedly beloved, how could the source [i.e., the mother] be hated while its waters [i.e., offspring] are cherished? Therefore she said now my husband will love me. But afterwards she saw that she had been mistaken, for logically her sister should have had the second son, so why did God give this one to me as well? It must be because it was revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He, that he [Jacob] still maintained his hatred. Therefore she said for the Lord has heard — He alone, may He be blessed, examines his heart and hears all the words that are with his heart, but I did not know this as I thought his hatred had already departed.

Furthermore, it is possible that at the birth of the first son he loved her, but in between [births] the situation deteriorated and he returned to hating her. For this is the common way — during the seven days after birth, the father rejoices in his offspring, and incidentally also rejoices in the wife he took, but as days pass everything is forgotten and his love departs. And she too prophetically said Now my husband will love me — specifically now, during the time of birth and close to birth, but not afterwards. She knew this from the great distance of his heart, that this love would only be temporary. Therefore she said now. With the second son she said for I am hated, and with the third son it says therefore he called his name Levi — Jacob named him, showing that he agreed with her words and that he desired to cleave to her. But regarding the previous children, she named them names indicating love, though we had not yet seen his agreement until she bore the third son — then he revealed his mind that his hatred had completely departed.

“Now my husband will become attached to me…” Rashi explains that he [Levi] was named so because he would be accompanied by the priestly gifts. However, the verse states that he was named Levi because now my husband will become attached to me. What appears most correct to me is that the Matriarchs spoke with divine inspiration, and when she [Leah] said at the birth of her first son now my husband will love me, the intention was because the firstborn son was born to serve God, as the divine service was performed by the firstborns. This is why Isaac loved Esau, because he was the firstborn and he thought he would perform the divine service, while Rebecca loved Jacob because she saw prophetically that the birthright would eventually return to Jacob. Similarly, Leah said now my husband will love me through the firstborn son, because there is a covenant that the firstborn will always be born to the hated wife in order to bring about love for her. This is how Abarbanel explains in Parshat Ki Teitzei regarding the verse and the firstborn belongs to the hated one (Deuteronomy 21:16). However, the Holy One, Blessed be He, knew that eventually the birthright would be taken from Reuben due to his defiling his father’s bed. Therefore, she was still hated, which is why it says because God heard that I am hated and gave me this one too. She didn’t say that this son would bring about love for any particular reason, until she gave birth to Levi, whom God named Levi because he would be accompanied by the priestly gifts in exchange for God’s service which was his responsibility. Through this reason “my husband will become attached to me and love me,” because from me was born, this time, the son who would bear the responsibility of divine service. According to this explanation, Rashi’s interpretation aligns with the plain meaning of the verse.