Yaacov was forced to leave the parental home to avoid being murdered by his brother Esav for having snatched the paternal blessing through deception. Their mother, Rivka, who had devised the stratagem for Yaacov to obtain the blessing finally convinces her husband Yitschak, that Yaacov was the right person, who would guarantee the transmission of patriarchal teachings to future generations. It was now necessary for him to enter into marriage with a family member still residing in Haran, to prevent him from falling prey to one of the Canaanite women who would probably lead him to practice idolatry.
According to the biblical text, Yaacov was ” yoshev “; a young man used to the warmth of parental home, and now had to go into exile to find his destiny in the environment of relatives he did not know. In Haran, he would be deceived by his uncle Lavan, who would take advantage of the fruit of his labor in order to marry his two daughters, even though Yaacov only loved Rachel, the youngest daughter. Unlike Abraham, who had commissioned his faithful servant Eliezer to choose a suitable wife for Yitschak, the attitude of Yaacov's parents is different: they trust his judgment to select an appropriate partner that will ensure the survival of the monotheistic idea.
While Avraham was willing to offer Yitschak on an altar, he was not confident enough in his judgment to choose a life companion. According to
Bible interpreters, Yitschak was thirty-seven years old when he was “bound”; on the altar, which means that the father had not subdued a minor. Yitschak had consciously participated in God’s “test” of their obedience.
However, when it came to marriage, Avraham preferred to send Eliezer to find a wife for Yitschak, even though you can't transfer personal feeling and passion to another person. It is clear that if we consider that love is the fundamental ingredient for the choice of
a couple, Eliezer’s opinion should not have been decisive.
However, when you emphasize that virtues such as goodness and charity are the qualities that should predominate, then Eliezer could be more objective because emotion and personal passion would be absent.
Yaacov’scase is different. He could differentiate himself from human the character qualities of his brother Esav. He was aware of alternatives and would therefore probably withstand any ruse. Yet, he was tricked by Lavan, who took undue advantage of the fruit of his labors. After a stay of twenty years at the side of Lavan, Yaacov returned to the land of his ancestors. In the opinion of the chachamim, Yaacov was never infected with the immoralities of his uncle. They identify the numerical value of the phrase “I’m Laván”; with the 613 mitzvot, he observed. Although he saw the example of Lavan, he remained true to Yitschak's teachings.
The biblical text reports that when Yaacov returned to the land of Israel and wanted to enjoy tranquility and peace, he had to face the drama that was developing between his children: the envy and rivalry that caused the “sale”; of one of the brothers, Yosef. Although Yaacov did not absorb
Lavan immorality, his sons, on the other hand, did not emerge unscathed from the experience. The jealousy that arose among the brothers was a consequence of the example that they observed in Laván’s home and that now reproduced in their mutual relationship.
It is possible that in the process of building a nation there are necessary characteristics and perhaps indispensable. Namely differences of opinion, even adversity. Without the later period of slavery in Egypt, which began with the "sale" of Yosef, the Hebrew people would never have become consolidated, and, thereby, able to withstand millennia of exile without a loss of identity.
Adversity is the crucible in which national character is forged, while the mission of propagating the monotheistic ideal of the patriarchs is the spur that produces the necessary energy to reach its destination: a nation whose task is to be “or”a beacon for Humanity.
