The dudaim are a charm for pregnancy; but know, that whoever uproots the dudaim from the ground pays for it with his life. The moment he uproots the dudaim, he dies on the spot! The Tzror Hamor brings the words of a Midrash found in Parshat Vayechi:
Yissachar is a strong donkey – Do not read it as "garem" but as "garam" (caused). Reuven went into the field and found dudaim, but he did not know what they were. He went and tied a donkey to the dudaim and went away. What did the donkey do? It tried to flee, and the dudaim were uprooted and cried out with a great cry, and the donkey died, for such is the way of dudaim. When Reuven came to his donkey and saw it dead, he understood that they were dudaim. He took them and gave them to his mother Leah, and Yissachar was born. That donkey which uprooted the dudaim caused Yissachar to be born, and therefore it says: "Yissachar did not cause it to come, but rather the donkey."
It emerges that Reuven's donkey uprooted the dudaim, and in the merit of this, Yissachar was born.
The Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah, 99:9) asks how Leah knew Yaakov had arrived? It says Leah heard the donkey braying and went to greet him. Rashi writes that this donkey Yaakov rode caused Yissachar to be born, as it turned toward Leah's tent instead of going to Rachel's tent. From this Yaakov understood that if Hakadosh Baruch Hu was directing the donkey to Leah's tent and not to Rachel's, it was a sign that he should enter there.
With this, I would like to pause for a moment on a very interesting point. After Rachel requests dudaim, Leah says to her:
“Not only did you take my husband, but you're also taking my son’s dudaim?!”
Rabbotai, did Rachel take Leah’s husband? If anything, it’s the exact opposite! She's the one who gave Leah the simanim – the signs, and if not for her, Leah would still be single today! This question bothers many commentators and appears for the first time in the words of the Alsheich HaKadosh; Rav Shalom Schwadron devotes three pages in his weekly Parsha commentary to explain this teaching.
Rav Schwadron says something truly wonderful. The Gemara (Megillah 13b) states: In the merit of the modesty that was in Rachel Imeinu, she merited that Shaul came forth from her, and in the merit of the modesty that was in Shaul, he merited that Esther came forth from him. And what modesty was in Rachel? It is found in: And Yaakov told Rachel that he was her father's brother.
The Gemara asks, was he her father’s brother? Wasn’t he really the son of her father’s sister? Rather, what he said to her was: “Will you marry me?” She replied: “Yes, but my father, Lavan, is a swindler, and you will not be able to outwit him.” He said to her: “I am his brother in deception.” She said to him: “Is it permitted for the righteous to engage in deception? Is it permitted for a tzaddik to act deceptively?” He responded: “Yes, when dealing with deceptive individuals, as it says (With the pure you will show yourself pure, and with the perverse you will show yourself twisted).” Yaakov then asked Rachel: “What deception is he capable of?” She replied: “I have a sister who is older than me and he will not marry me off before her.”
The Gemara then says that Yaakov gave her simanim; the night of the wedding arrived, and Rachel said: “Now my sister will be embarrassed.” Rachel Imeinu thought, writes Rav Schwadron, that the wedding would be a small family affair, but suddenly she sees the whole city is in attendance! Rachel said: "Will my sister be ashamed in front of the whole city?! I will give the simanim to her immediately." She went and gave her all the signs, and And it was morning, and behold, it was Leah. Does this Pasuk imply that until now she was not Leah, but only in the morning she became Leah?! No. Rather, through the simanim that Rachel gave to Leah, Yaakov didn’t realize it until morning arrived. Therefore, she merited that Shaul came forth from her.
The Gaon Rav Schwadron asks: Why is it said that she handed over the simanim when it should have said she revealed them? And what modesty is there in this act? It is written in the Da’at Zekainim that all night she acted like Rachel, through the three signs given to her: niddah, challah, and lighting the candles; just as Yaakov had given them to Rachel. Rav Schwadron says Yaakov gave her the three laws of niddah, challah, and lighting the candles, which are the foundation for building a Jewish home. He said to her: "I will come at night and ask for these laws. If you know them, you will be my wife, and if not, you won’t be." At the moment Rachel saw Leah approaching the chuppah, she innocently said to her: "Come, and I will teach you these laws, which are necessary for every Jewish home."
It turns out that Leah Imeinu did not know there was a secret here. She saw that her sister was teaching her the basic laws, and she said "Baruch Hashem," but she didn’t know this was a sign between Rachel and Yaakov. Therefore, she was able to later say: Is it not enough that you have taken my husband? She did not know about any secret set of signs; basic laws were handed over, not revealed. These are the wonderful words of Rav Shalom Schwadron.
The Alsheich asks ten questions about the dudaim, and we’ll mention just a few of them. Why did Rachel not answer her sister upon hearing Is it not enough that you have taken my husband? Why did she not set the record straight? She instead said nothing, and not only that, but she even gave in and said, "Therefore he shall lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's dudaim." In responding this way, she essentially admits Leah was correct – why does she concede the point? The second question: Rachel requests the mandrakes, and the Torah then states Leah’s remark: For I have hired you with my son's dudaim; and he lay with her that night. It should have said: that night. What is the meaning here of he lay? Chazal in the Gemara (Niddah 31a) say it teaches that Hashem contributed to the act, as is stated: Yissachar is a strong donkey, which is understood as Hakadosh Baruch Hu directed Yaakov’s donkey toward Leah’s tent and lead to the conception of Yissachar.
The Alsheich asks, why is the participation of Hakadosh Baruch Hu necessary specifically in Yissachar’s birth? After all, there are three partners who share in the creation of a person: the father, the mother, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu. So, in the context of every birth, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is a partner! Why is He called out in the case of Yissachar?
Another question the Alsheich asks: With none of the tribes do we find a number associated. When Reuven was born, it does not say: And Leah bore a first son. When Shimon was born, it does not say: And Leah bore a second son. The only time a number appears with the matriarchs Leah and Rachel is here, with regards to the birth of Yissachar, where it says: a fifth son.
Another question he asks: It is written that Hashem heard Leah, and she conceived and gave Yaakov a fifth son – this implies that there was a Tefillah from Leah. What was this prayer, and why specifically for this child?
Before we answer his questions and build his yesod, I want to read just one more Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah, 72:3):
Rabbi Elazar said: One lost and one lost, one gained and one gained. Leah lost the mandrakes and gained two tribes and the birthright, while Rachel gained the mandrakes and lost the tribes and the birthright. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: One lost the mandrakes and gained the tribes and burial with him. Leah Imeinu indeed gave the mandrakes, but she received two tribes and was also buried with our father Yaakov. Rachel gained the mandrakes and lost the tribes and burial with him.
After speaking of the gains and losses related to the dudaim, the Midrash also praises Leah’s act of giving them to Rachel: Come and see how pleasing the mediation of dudaim was before the One who spoke and the world came into being, as, by means of the dudaim, two great tribes in Yisrael were produced – Yissachar and Zevulun. Yissachar sits and engages in Torah study, Zevulun sets out to the seas and comes and provides for Yissachar’s mouth, and the Torah proliferates in Yisrael – “the dudaim emitted fragrance”.
On this Midrash, the Maharzu asks: What does it mean that Rachel lost the birthright and Leah acquired the birthright? What birthright is this – Reuven was born long ago, and Yosef was not yet born?!
First of all, it is written in other commentaries that Hakadosh Baruch Hu's plan was that there would be four tribes for Leah, four tribes for Rachel, and two tribes for each of the maidservants. This means that up until Yehuda, they were all supposed to belong to Leah. For Rachel Imeinu, destined were Yissachar, Zevulun, Yosef, and Binyamin. However, in this matter of the dudaim, where Rachel requested them from Leah, she lost two tribes. But what does this mean? It means that Leah took two additional tribes.
The Maharzu says, when Leah took these two tribes, she acquired the birthright. Not that the firstborn Reuven now belonged to her, but she now has the birthright in terms of the count of tribes. She now has six tribes and Rachel has two.
Even though Hakadosh Baruch Hu rectified it for Rachel afterward – when Yosef was divided into two tribes, and Menashe and Ephraim also joined the count – had the original incident not happened, Rachel would have had four tribes, and Menashe and Ephraim would have joined afterward, so a total of six would have belonged to Rachel, and only four to Leah. Since she went and sought the dudaim, she gained the dudaim, but she lost the birthright; she does not have the birthright in the count of tribes.
