Parashat VaYetsé en Inglés

Parashat Vayetsé, "And He Went Out" Bereshit 28:10 - 32:3 Laban had two daughters; the older was Leah and the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were weak." (Bereishit 29:16,17) It's 3 am. The baby starts crying. If you let it cry, it'll probably fall back asleep within a couple of minutes. After all, babies spend a good part of their lives crying. You could roll over and go back to sleep. The baby will stop crying within a couple of minutes. The baby stops crying because he knows that tears are useless. But when your baby starts crying, and you pick it up, you teach it an invaluable life lesson. Our Sages teach us that Leah's eyes were weak because she constantly cried at the thought that, as Laban's eldest daughter, she was destined to marry Isaac's eldest son, the wicked Esav. But even though Jacob loved Rachel and had worked for her for seven years, and even though he was super careful to ensure Laban wouldn't trick him into marrying Leah, Leah's tears meant that the decree was canceled, and she became Jacob's first wife. When all the gates of Heaven have closed, the gates of tears remain open.