“He will give me bread to eat and garments to put on.” (28:20)
Question: The words “to eat” and “to wear” seem extra?
Answer: There are people who have food in abundance and a wardrobe full of clothing yet are unfortunately bed-ridden and unable to enjoy their delicacies or garments. Jacob prayed for good health so that he could enjoy his food and wear his clothing. To him health was a primary objective.
“Of whatever you will give me, I will give a tenth to you.” (28:22)
Question: Wouldn’t everybody make such a deal with G-d?
Answer: The famous Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore lived in nineteenth-century England. Queen Victoria once asked him, “What is the extent of your wealth? How much do you own?” Sir Moses told her it would take him a few days to do a proper accounting.
When Sir Moses told her his wealth she became upset, saying, “You’re not telling the truth. Everyone knows that you have much more.” Sir Moses explained that he considered as his wealth whatever money he gave away to charity. Anything else that he possessed was only temporary and could be confiscated or lost.
Jacob was alluding to this thought and said to G-d, “Whatever you will give, I realize, that ‘for me’ I will only have the ten percent which I will give away to charity.”
“And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock.” (31:4)
Question: Jacob wanted to speak to his wives in privacy and told them to meet him in the fields. Why are the words “to his flock” necessary?
Answer: Laban and his men knew very well that Jacob was upset with Laban’s corruptness in dealing with him. If Jacob would have called his wives to a secret meeting in the fields, Laban’s men would have become suspicious that he was planning to flee, and they would have spied on him. Therefore, he let the word out that he was burdened with taking care of the large flock of sheep and that he was calling upon his wives to help him.
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