the torah states that after the birth of leah’s four sons “rachel saw that she had not given birth for jacob, and rachel was jealous of her sister, and she said to jacob, ‘give me children. and if not i’m dying!'” genesis 30:1. in response, “jacob’s anger flared at rachel, and he said, ‘am i in place of god, who has held back the fruit of the womb from you?'”
this interaction illustrates an unique aspect of coveting, the tenth commandment. exodus 20:17. rachel’s unique jealousy manifests in a two-folded fashion first, she evokes suicidal ideation violating the murder commandment-a human relations matter. second, she expresses a loss of faith or belief in god as her initial solution to resolve her jealousy is to seek human assistance.
vayetze reveals how coveting can contribute to spiritual degradation. in the portion, jacob rebuked rachel. he understood that he was a mere instrument of the master of the universe’s plans and desires. rachel’s desires intended to put jacob in place of god. in doing so, rachel’s life would be owned by jacob.
be well!!
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The Ten Commandments Project 