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11/7/13

Leah and Rachel

And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah (29:25)
When Jacob said to Rachel, "Will you marry me?" she replied to him: "Yes, but father is a sharper, and you will not be able to hold your own against him."
"I am his equal in trickery," said Jacob.
Asked Rachel: "May the righteous indulge in trickery?"
Said Jacob: "Yes. 'With the pure be pure, and with the crooked be crafty' (II Samuel 22:27)."
So Jacob gave over to Rachel identifying signals [to protect themselves against Laban's deception]. But when Leah was being led into the bridal chamber, Rachel thought, "My sister will now be disgraced," and she entrusted her with these signals... Thus Jacob did not know that it was Leah he married until morning.
(Talmud; Rashi)
All that night, Leah was impersonating Rachel. When Jacob woke in the morning and saw that she was Leah, he said to her: "Daughter of The Deceiver! Why have you deceived me?" Said she to him: "And you, did you not deceive your father, when he asked you, 'Are you my son Esau?'"
source

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