Love At First Sight

It is perfectly okay to describe Yakov Avinu’s first meeting with Rachel, as “love at first sight.” The text of the Torah clearly describes how deeply Yakov felt towards Rachel.

Some commentators have a problem explaining why Yakov kissed Rachel after meeting her, and immediately cried. The more extreme view is that Yakov cried after he realized that he violated being “ שומר נגיעה,” when he wasn’t supposed to show physical affection before his marriage. A more “normal” explanation was that he cried because he knew that he would not be buried with her in the future. (Rachel was buried in Bethlehem and Yakov, in Chevron.) And an even more normal explanation was that he kissed her because he loved her, and his crying, was an expression of happiness that he found his mate. They were tears of joy.

This leads us to realize the extent of Rachel’s incredible act of kindness towards her sister, Leah. Despite the great bond between her and Yakov, she would not allow her sister to be humiliated. Had she revealed Lavan’s trickery, Leah would have been terribly shamed. Rachel would not let this happen.

This was one of the greatest acts of Chessed mentioned in the entire Torah. Falling in love and finding our soulmate, is a wonderful thing. But we must always be aware that we must avoid causing others pain and humiliation. This is one of the most moving stories in our holy Torah.