The Legal Woman is a great movie, the lesson I learned from it is that men are something else, I really feel so bad for Monica after all the trust, love and attention she showed him, he always cheated on her! Leah`s life as Jacob`s wife was painful. She was so lonely that even the Lord noticed her and blessed her with many children as comfort. Because of the extreme emotional distress suffered by Leah (and Rachel) during the marriage, Yahweh later clarified strictly his opposition to exposing the nakedness of a woman and her sister while they were still alive (Genesis 30:1; Leviticus 18:18). While Rachel was barren for the first fourteen years of her marriage, she is still described as Jacob`s favorite wife and a powerful woman. Jacob`s other wife is Rachel`s sister, Leah, which causes problems between the sisters, especially because Leah can give birth to children. Rachel initially relies on her servant Bilhah to give birth to children for her, but Rachel eventually becomes pregnant and has another child. However, rabbis debate why God grants them the ability to have children. Overall, the Midrash portrays Rachel as incredibly generous and compassionate, and her kindness is visible in her descendants. Although Adrian is madly in love with his wife, Adrian is attracted to his wife`s best friend and begins an illegal affair with Nicole. Nicole is deeply in love with her best friend`s husband, who gives her the care and attention she seeks.
She risks her lifelong friendship with Monica. Before his death, Rachel names the newborn. Gene. 35:18 testified: «But when she breathed her last, for she was dying, she called him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. The rabbis explain that Rachel called the child «the son of my suffering» [in Aramaic], while his father gave him the Hebrew name «Benjamin.» Midrash sources state that Rachel died at the age of thirty-six (Seder Olam Rabbah 2) and list three women who had and died of difficult deliveries: Rachel, the wife of Phinehas (1 Sam. 4:19), and Michal (daughter of Saul) (2 Sam. 6:23) (Gen. Rabbah 82:7). The struggle between Rachel and Leah did not end with Rachel`s death and is reflected in the question of birthright: which of Jacob`s eldest wives would receive the birthright, Reuben or Joseph? In the Torah, Reuben is stripped of his firstborn status for violating his father`s bed (Genesis 49:3–4), and this distinction is granted to Joseph when Jacob declares Ephraim and Manasseh to be his sons (Genesis 48:5–6). Joseph thus receives a double share, which is the right of the firstborn.
Midrash, however, offers two main approaches to this issue. According to one of them, Reuben, son of Leah and firstborn of Jacob, received the birthright. Deuteronomy 21:15–17 prescribes, «If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and both … Sons have carried it […] He must not treat the son of the loved one as the firstborn, without the son of the beloved, who is older. Instead, he must accept the firstborn, the son of the unloved, and give him a double share of everything he owns. The Midrash compares this mandate to the story of Jacob. Of the two women Jacob married, Rachel was loved and Leah was unloved. Both bore him children. When His time came to say goodbye to the world, He gathered His sons, but He did not choose Joseph instead of Reuben. On the contrary, he said to the latter (Genesis 49:3): «Reuben, thou art my firstborn»; Despite this, Jacob also spoke of himself in a derogatory manner (v. 4): «Stable as water, you shall no longer excel.» Many years later, Moses would bless Reuben and deliver him from this shame (Deuteronomy 33:6): «Let Reuben live and not die.» This blessing expresses the position of Reuben as the firstborn, who took a double portion [as is the law of the firstborn]: «Let Reuben live and not die» – «Let Reuben live» in this world; and not to die», in the world to come (Tanhuma [ed.
Buber], Vayeze 13). This account emphasizes that Jacob acted in accordance with the commandment of the Torah and did not prefer the son of the beloved woman to the son of the ignorant. Jacob gave Reuben birthright, but it was postponed because of Reuben`s sin, which was justified in Moses` day and regained his birthright. Another exegetical tradition tells that when Rachel saw the events of destruction and the Israelites were exiled from their country, she jumped before God and said, «Lord of the universe! It is known before you that your servant Jacob`s love for me knew no bounds, and he worked for my father for seven years. When those seven years were over and the time came to marry my husband, my father advised me to talk to my sister. It was extremely difficult for me when I heard about this advice. I informed Jacob and waved to him so that he could distinguish between me and my sister so that my father could not exchange me. After that, I comforted myself, suffered from my desire and felt sorry for my sister that she would not suffer from shame, and I gave her all the signs I had given my husband to think she was Rachel. And that wasn`t all – I went under the bed where he was lying with my sister: he talked to her, and I answered whenever she was silent, so he wouldn`t recognize her voice. I acted kindly to her, I was not jealous of her, and I did not shame and dishonor her. What am I, flesh and blood, dust and ashes, that I was not jealous of my rival wife, and that I did not allow her to be ashamed and dishonored, but you, living and eternal King, why were you jealous of idolatry that has no meaning, and you banished my children killed by the sword, and allowed their enemies to do with them as they wanted? God`s mercy was immediately revealed, and He said, «For your sake, Rachel, I will put Israel in its place, for there is a reward for your work.