A Taste of Torah - Vayetze

Parashat Vayetze, this week's Torah portion, details the meeting of Jacob and Rachel, when Jacob experiences love at first sight as the woman who will become his beloved wife approaches the well in town to water her father's flock. As Rachel approaches the well, the townsfolk are unable to get the stone off the well to water their flocks. Jacob is introduces to Rachel and when he discovers that she is Laban's daughter, the family whom he's been seeking, he demonstrates his strength by rolling the stone off the well and then embraces Rachel and kisses her.

This kiss, though, is more than just a kiss. It is a moment that calls us back to his own parents' union. When his grandfather Abraham's servant seeks the right partner for Isaac, he knows that Rebekah is the one because she provides water not only for him, but also for his camels. At this moment, Jacob shows up and opens the well to provide water for the flock Rachel tends and also for the townsfolk. But then, a strange thing happens. Jacob kisses Rachel. We'd think that, perhaps especially in Biblical times, these two single people would have known better than to have kissed on their first date, especially in front of others. But the Hebrew lets us know that this is more than just a chance kiss. In Hebrew, the word used for Rebekah's providing water for Abraham's servant's camels is hishkatah. When Jacob provides water for the sheep, the text tells us, vayash'k. And when he kisses Rachel, the text says, vayishak. Though the verb for providing water comes from a different root (shin-koof-hay) than the one for a kiss (nun-shin-koof), the parallel in sounds is clearly important. This is more than a kiss. It is beloveds meeting for the first time, ready to care for one another, just as one of them learned from his parents.