My thoughts (very belated) re Parashat Vayetze

Here's the link.  Thank you, Sefaria!

I'm making a few comments about Parashat Vayetze that I don't think I've mentioned before.

For openers, the early books of the Torah don't seem to show much respect for consent.  Bilhah and Zilpah are nonchalantly handed to Yaakov (Jacob) as concubines without ever uttering a word, in the same way that Hagar was handed to Avraham.  The only one the Torah shows giving consent is Rivkah (Rebecca).

Also, here's something I never realized--read carefully:

"let me pass through your whole flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted animal—every dark-colored sheep and every spotted and speckled goat. Such shall be my wages.

וְעָֽנְתָה־בִּ֤י צִדְקָתִי֙ בְּי֣וֹם מָחָ֔ר כִּֽי־תָב֥וֹא עַל־שְׂכָרִ֖י לְפָנֶ֑יךָ כֹּ֣ל אֲשֶׁר־אֵינֶ֩נּוּ֩ נָקֹ֨ד וְטָל֜וּא בָּֽעִזִּ֗ים וְחוּם֙ בַּכְּשָׂבִ֔ים גָּנ֥וּב ה֖וּא אִתִּֽי׃ In the future when you go over my wages, let my honesty toward you testify for me: if there are among my goats any that are not speckled or spotted or any sheep that are not dark-colored, they got there by theft.”

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר לָבָ֖ן הֵ֑ן ל֖וּ יְהִ֥י כִדְבָרֶֽךָ׃ And Laban said, “Very well, let it be as you say.”

וַיָּ֣סַר בַּיּוֹם֩ הַה֨וּא אֶת־הַתְּיָשִׁ֜ים הָֽעֲקֻדִּ֣ים וְהַטְּלֻאִ֗ים וְאֵ֤ת כׇּל־הָֽעִזִּים֙ הַנְּקֻדּ֣וֹת וְהַטְּלֻאֹ֔ת כֹּ֤ל אֲשֶׁר־לָבָן֙ בּ֔וֹ וְכׇל־ח֖וּם בַּכְּשָׂבִ֑ים וַיִּתֵּ֖ן בְּיַד־בָּנָֽיו׃ But that same day he removed the streaked and spotted he-goats and all the speckled and spotted she-goats—every one that had white on it—and all the dark-colored sheep, and left them in the charge of his sons.

וַיָּ֗שֶׂם דֶּ֚רֶךְ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֔ים בֵּינ֖וֹ וּבֵ֣ין יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְיַעֲקֹ֗ב רֹעֶ֛ה אֶת־צֹ֥אן לָבָ֖ן הַנּוֹתָרֹֽת׃ And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was pasturing the rest of Laban’s flock."

So it was Lavan, not Yaakov, who removed the streaked and spotted and speckled goats and all the dark-colored sheep?!  In that case, how did Yaakov manage to breed streaked and spotted and speckled goats and dark-colored sheep from scratch?!  Peeled tree-shoots, my foot!

 

See also my Friday, November 24, 2017 post, Vayetze: How could Jacob have mistaken Leah for Rachel?   TheTorah.com does it again:  This is the most logical explanation I've ever read.