Vayeitzei: Leah’s Thanksgiving Revolution
Thank God I was able to crank out this last-minute article in under two hours. Pardon the shoddiness of the writing, recording, and art. But hey - it's a dvar Torah on Thanksgiving AND the parashah!
This week's Torah Content has been sponsored by Lou Landau in honor of launching his new business.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.
Vayeitzei: Leah’s Thanksgiving Revolution
The Gemara in Berachos 7b teaches us that Leah was a pioneer in giving hodaah (thanks) to Hashem: “From the day that Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu created His world, no person gave hodaah to Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu until Leah came and thanked Him, as it is stated: ‘This time I thank Hashem’ (Bereishis 29:35).”
On its surface, this midrash seems a bit far-fetched. Really? Nobody thanked Hashem? Not Avraham Avinu, who taught legions of students to recognize Hashem as the Cause of all good? Not Noach, when he brought sacrifices after being saved from the flood? Not Kayin and Hevel, when they brought the first offerings in recognition of the Source of their sustenance? Not Shem, Eiver, Chanoch, Yitzchak, or any of the other righteous individuals who preceded Leah? Granted, this midrash was likely prompted by the fact that Leah’s exclamation is the first instance of the root Y.D.H. (to give thanks) in the Chumash. But still, what insight are Chazal teaching us by telling us that Leah was the very first person in humanity to give hodaah to Hashem?
Here is a translation of the Rashba’s entire commentary on this midrash (Peirushei ha’Hagados pp.18-20):
You already know that the number of sons born to Leah before Yehudah was three, and for all three, [the Torah] gave a reason for their name: Reuven, “because Hashem has seen my affliction” (Bereishis 29:32), Shimon, “because Hashem has heard that I am hated” (ibid. 29:33), Levi [because] “this time my husband will accompany me, for I have given birth to three sons for him” (ibid. 29:34), but in the case of Yehudah, [the Torah] didn’t provide a reason, but only [related Leah’s act of giving] hodaah to Hashem.
[The reason for this is] that she “deserved” the first three [sons] who were given to her, whereas this one (i.e. Yehudah) was beyond what she deserved, and [therefore] she needed to give thanks for him. This is [based on] what the Sages said (Bereishis Rabbah 71:4), that the mothers (i.e. Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah) knew that Yaakov was destined to establish Twelve Tribes, and since they were four women, it would be fitting for each of them to establish three [tribes]. Once a fourth son was born to [Leah], she gave thanks for him, seeing herself as receiving absolute chesed (kindness) beyond what she deserved. This is similar to the statement [of the Sages] in Bereishis Rabbah (ibid., trans. Sefaria):
R’ Berachya said in the name of R’ Levi: This is analogous to a priest who descended to the threshing floor. One gave him a kor (250 liters) of tithe, but he showed him no gratitude. And one gave him a handful of non-sacred produce, and he showed him gratitude. He [the first man] said to him: ‘My lord priest, I gave you a kor, and that one gave you only a handful, and you show gratitude to him?’ He said to him: ‘You gave me from my portion, but that one gave me from his own; that is why I showed him gratitude.’ So, because the matriarchs believed that this one would have three, and that one would have three, when Leah bore a fourth son, she said: “This time I will thank the Lord.”
This hodaah came from her when she saw her fourth son because it was as if she [only] “deserved” the other [three], but the chesed was increased for her, and [a son] was taken from what the others deserved and was given to her.
Until Leah arose, no other human being had seen the middas tuvo (Hashem’s beneficent conduct) – whereby that which someone else deserved was taken from them and given to him – such that it was necessary for him to give thanks for this middah of ribui chesed (abundant kindness), for hodaah comes by virtue of receiving ribui chesed, as David (peace be upon him) said: “Give thanks to Hashem, for He is good, for His kindness endures forever” (Tehilim 106:1), and as the Sages (Bereishis Rabbah 71:5) said:
Leah adopted the craft of hodaah, and her offspring arose as masters of hodaah: David said, "Give thanks to Hashem, for He is good " (Tehilim 136:1); Daniel said: "I thank and praise You, God of my fathers" (Daniel 2:23).
Related to this: when those who serve Hashem are downtrodden, the yediah (knowledge of God in the world) diminishes and the kefirah ba’emes (denial of truth about God in the world) increases, as it is stated: “when He sees that power is gone, no ruler or helper remains, He will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in whom they sheltered?’” (Devarim 32:36-37). And when the servants of Hashem prevail and the nations [of the world] see their success, there will be an increase in hodaah to Hashem (blessed is He). Until the Davidic Monarchy arose from [the Tribe of Yehudah], the nations [of the world] prevailed and denied the truth, but once the Davidic Monarchy arose from Yehudah and prevailed, many from the nations [of the world] converted. And when Yehudah, who was the head of the monarchy was born, and “his hands were at the nape of his enemies” (cf. Bereishis 49:8), then the hodaah came [into the world] – but until that time, there was no one in the world who was fit for hodaah.
Likewise, at the end of days, everyone will return to give hodaah to His Name (blessed is He) through the offspring of Yehudah, when the Melech ha’Moshiach (King Messiah) arises and rules over the nations, for then all nations will call out in the name of Hashem, saying, “we have only inherited falsehood from our fathers” (Yirmiyahu 16:19) and it is written: “On that day, Hashem will be One and His Name will be One” (Zechariah 14:9).
The crux of the Rashba’s answer to our question is this: Leah was not the first person to thank Hashem; rather, she was the first person to give thanks specifically for middas tuvo (His beneficent conduct) whereby a person is given more than they deserve. The midrash assumes that Leah knew through prophecy that she only “deserved” to have three sons. Yehudah, her fourth son, was therefore an instance of ribui chesed (excess of kindness) which warranted a new level of hodaah. It is this specific type of hodaah that Leah was the first to give – in part because she was the first human being to be granted insider information into her designated portion which enabled her to recognize her fourth son as a chesed beyond what she deserved, and in part because she was on the level of human perfection to appreciate God’s beneficence to her and to express it in her son’s name.
But the real chidush (novel idea) here is an insight into the nature of hodaah. We tend to think of hodaah as an acknowledgement of the good we received, and an expression of this acknowledgement to the source of that good. We see from this midrash (according to the Rashba) that the essence of hodaah is yedias Hashem (knowledge of God). There were others before Leah who received good from Hashem, and we have every reason to believe that they thanked Him. Leah, however, was the first to behold the middas ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu of ribui chesed. That recognition warranted a qualitatively different type of hodaah. In other words, if hodaah were nothing more than an acknowledgment of the good, then it wouldn’t matter how that good came about. We see from this Gemara that hodaah is not just a response to the material good we receive from Hashem, but more than that, it is a response to the insight we gain into how Hashem operates. Such knowledge is the true good for humans, as the prophet states: “let he who glorifies himself do so in this: comprehending and knowing Me, that I am Hashem, Who does kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these is My desire” (Yirmiyahu 9:23).
This explains why the Rashba goes on to discuss at length how Leah’s offspring went on to spread her brand of hodaah to the world. At first glance, the second half of the Rashba’s commentary reads like a non-sequitur: “when those who serve Hashem are downtrodden, the yediah diminishes and the kefirah ba’emes, etc.” We now see why this is relevant to the main idea of the midrash: Leah introduced the concept of hodaah as a response to the influx of yedias Hashem in the world. This type of hodaah reached a highpoint with the establishment of the Davidic Monarchy, and will culminate in the Messianic Era when “the whole world becomes filled with knowledge of Hashem like the water covers the seabed” (Yeshayahu 11:9).
As we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving this year, let us recall the words of George Washington in his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 in which he publicly thanked God for many things – among them, the ability “to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us – and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.”
What do you think of the midrash, the Rashba’s explanation, and my takeaway?
Like what you read? Give this article a “like” and share it with someone who might appreciate it!
Want access to my paid content without actually paying? If you successfully refer enough friends, you can get access to the paid tier for free!
Interested in reading more? Become a free subscriber, or upgrade to a paid subscription for the upcoming exclusive content!
If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.
If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.
-----
Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Instagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Old Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0H
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel
Kudos for combining Thanksgiving with the parsha! Shadal's comment is in a similar vein, but is a little more naturalistic than the midrash. In an article in Bikkurei ha-Ittim, he says: “At the birth of the first
son, she said, ‘Yes, the Lord has seen my misery. Yes, now my husband will love
me.’ Now this is a kindness of which it cannot be said that she was undeserving,
for any good wife deserves to have her husband love her. Similarly, at the birth of
the second son, she said, ‘Yes, the Lord has observed that I am neglected, so He
gave me this one also,’ and this, too, was not a gratuitous kindness. So also at the
birth of the third, she said, ‘Now finally my husband will live with me,’ and this,
too, was something of which she was not undeserving. However, when she gave
birth to a fourth son, after having been given everything that she could have asked
for by right, she saw that this was nothing but a gratuitous gift, and she said,
‘Finally I will render homage [odeh] to the Lord—I will humble myself before
Him, for I am unworthy of all His beneficence.’” Shadal adds that the “thank
offering” [korban todah] was a sacrifice brought by one who acknowledged
having received an undeserved kindness from God.