Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Quotation for Bava Batra 245:21

בעא מיניה אבא חליפא קרויא מר' חייא בר אבא בכללן אתה מוצא שבעים בפרטן אתה מוצא שבעים חסר אחד אמר ליה תאומה היתה עם דינה דכתיב (בראשית מו, טו) ואת דינה בתו אלא מעתה תאומה היתה עם בנימן דכתיב

is] that her bounties were extensive.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Rakkoth is taken to be an abbreviation of [H] 'long', i.e., she had many privileges. Priests and Levites through Levi, and kings through Judah, descended from her. ');"><sup>38</sup></span> Rab said: [Her eyes were] indeed actually weak, but that was no disgrace to her but a credit; for at the crossroads<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Where people of all classes and localities meet. ');"><sup>39</sup></span> she heard people saying: Rebecca has two sons, [and] Laban has two daughters; the elder [daughter should be married] to the elder [son] and the younger [daughter should be married] to the younger [son]. And she sat at the crossroads and inquired: 'How does the elder one conduct himself?'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'what are his deeds'. ');"><sup>40</sup></span> [And the answer came that he was] a wicked man, a highway robber.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'robbing people'. ');"><sup>41</sup></span> 'How does the younger man conduct himself?' — 'A quiet man dwelling in tents'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. XXV, 27. ');"><sup>42</sup></span> And she wept until her eyelashes dropped.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' From their lids. ');"><sup>43</sup></span> And this accounts for the Scriptural text, And the Lord saw that Leah was hated.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XXIX, 31. ');"><sup>44</sup></span> What [could be the meaning of] 'hated'? If it is suggested [that it means that she was] actually hated, [surely] it may be retorted, is this] conceivable? [If] Scripture did not speak disparagingly of an unclean animal, [would] it speak disparagingly of the righteous? But the [meaning is this]: The Holy One, blessed be He, saw that Esau's conduct was hateful to her, so he opened her womb.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. v. 31. ');"><sup>45</sup></span> Wherein did Rachel's modesty lie? — It is written, And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother and that he was Rebecca's son.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. v. 12. ');"><sup>46</sup></span> Was he not the son of her father's sister? But he said to her, '[Will] you marry me?'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'be married to me'. ');"><sup>47</sup></span> [And] she replied to him, 'Yes, but father is a sharper, and you will not he able [to hold your own against] him'. ''Wherein,' he asked her, 'does his sharp dealing lie?' — 'I have,' she said, 'a sister who is older than I, and he will not allow me to be married before her' — 'I am his brother', he said to her, 'in sharp dealing'. — 'But,' she said to him, 'may the righteous indulge in sharp dealing?' — 'Yes,' [he replied]. 'With the pure, [Scripture says], Thou dost show thyself pure, and with the crooked Thou dost show thyself subtle.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' II Sam. XXII, 27. ');"><sup>48</sup></span> [Thereupon] he entrusted her [with certain identification] marks.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' By which he might know her in the dark. ');"><sup>49</sup></span> While Leah was being led into [the bridal chamber] she<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Rachel. ');"><sup>50</sup></span> thought, 'my sister will now be disgraced', [and so] she entrusted her [with] these very [marks]. And this accounts for the Scriptural text, And it came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. XXIX, 25. ');"><sup>51</sup></span> which seems to imply that until then she was not Leah! But, [this is the explanation]: On account of the [identification] marks which Jacob had entrusted to Rachel who had entrusted them to Leah, he knew not [who] she [was] until that moment. Abba Halifa of Keruya enquired of R. Hiyya b. Abba: [With regard to those who entered Egypt with Jacob], Why do you find [the number] seventy in their total<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XLVI, 27. ');"><sup>52</sup></span> and [only] seventy minus one in their detailed enumeration?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. ibid. 8ff. ');"><sup>53</sup></span> — He said unto him: A twin [sister] was [born] with Dinah; for it is written, With [eth] his daughter Dinah.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 15. The superfluous 'with', Heb. eth [H] implies the birth of a twin sister. ');"><sup>54</sup></span> But if so,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'from now'. If eth implies the birth of a twin. ');"><sup>55</sup></span> was there [also] a twin [sister] with Benjamin, for it is written

Ramban on Genesis

AND HIS SONS’ DAUGHTERS. These were Serah, the daughter of Asher, and Jochebed, the daughter of Levi. This is the language of Rashi. But what will Rashi include in the term, his daughters, [which is also plural, although Jacob only had one daughter, Dinah]? Rather, it is the way of Scripture, when mentioning the genealogy of many people, to refer to an individual in the plural form, as for example, And the sons of Dan: Hushim;181Verse 23 here. And the sons of Palu: Eliab.182Numbers 26:8. The same is true here: “daughters” refer to Dinah. “His sons’ daughters” refers to Serah the daughter of Asher, but Jochebed [Moses’ mother] is not mentioned by Scripture [as being among the persons who went down to Egypt], as it is said, All the souls were threescore and six.183Verse 26 here. She is, however, hinted at, according to the opinion of our Rabbis.184Baba Bathra 123a. See also Ramban, next Verse.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Previous VerseFull Chapter