In Parshat Veyetzei, Breisheet 29:9 we read “…Rachel came
with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.”
According to Ramban, Lavan did not have any other shepherds
aside from Rachel, his daughter.”
How did Rachel end up being in charge of all of Lavan’s
sheep?
Ramban presents two opinions as to why Leah, Rachel’s older
sister was not able to be a shepherdess:
- “Leah’s
eyes were tender”, the strong sun would have hurt her tender eyes and
therefore she would not have been able to handle staying outside in the
sun for long periods of time. - Leah
was of marriageable age and it would not have been befitting for her to be
working with men who may try to take advantage of her.
Rachel was permitted to be a shepherdess as she was still a
young girl so Lavan wasn’t worried about the men bothering her.
All seven of Yitro’s daughters were also shepherdesses as he
didn’t have any sons.
Why wasn’t Yitro concerned about Tziporah and her sisters,
who were of marriageable age, having to encounter the shepherds each time that
they went to the well?
Ramban explains that since Yitro was the Kohen (Priest) of
Midian, he was well respected so he was sure that the men wouldn’t cause his
daughters any trouble.
How did it happen then that the day that Moshe arrived at
the well (Shmot 2:16-17) the shepherds chased Yitro’s daughters away and Moshe
had to come to help them?
According to Rashi, Yitro abandoned idol worship and
therefore the Midianites lost their respect for him and shunned him and his
family.
When Moshe married Tziporah, he took over the job of being
the shepherd as we see in Shmot 3:1: “Moshe tended to the sheep of his
father-in-law Yitro…”
Once Yaakov began to live with Lavan’s family, he started to
work as a shepherd for Lavan right away. Yaakov took over the job as shepherd
from Rachel.
In Yaakov’s case as well as in Moshe’s, the women only
worked as shepherdesses until there was a man available to take over the job.
What is the reason for this?
Midrash Yelamdenu teaches that God miraculously watched out
for the women who would end up marrying righteous men and kept them safe from
harm as it says in Tehilim 34:8: “ The angel of God encamps round about those
who fear him and he delivers them.”
We see from here that the women only worked as shepherdesses
when there was no other choice as it was a dangerous job. As soon as a man was
available to take over for her she was relieved of her duties.
Rachel was unique as she tended all of the sheep on her own.
The name Rachel actually means ewe or sheep. We see Yaakov use the word later
in our Parsha while speaking to Lavan (Breisheet 31:38) “For these twenty years
that I was with you, your ewes (rechelecha) and she goats never miscarried…” We
also find the word in the beginning of Parshat Vayishlach as part of the gift
that Yaakov is preparing for Esav, (Breisheet 32:15) “Two hundred female goats
and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes (richelim) and twenty rams.”
I have a student named Hillel who lives at the Beit Sababa
nursing home at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. Hillel was a shepherd for many years in
the
extremely difficult job for one person to be able to handle all of the sheep by
themselves.
Rachel’s difficult work as a shepherdess may have helped her
prepare for the difficult life that lay ahead.
