Kommentar zu Bereschit 30:31

לא תתן לי מאומה, of all the sheep and goats you have now, seeing that I have served you for your two daughters during the period you acquired them. However, from the flocks which I will tend for you from this day on, you will give me the ones which will be born spotted or speckled, after you have first removed all those that are spotted and speckled now, and given them to your sons to look after. I want you to completely separate them from the flocks I look after. Those animals which will be born with the skin pattern I have selected, genetically not related to former generations of your animals with the same skin pattern, will be my wages.

?מה אתן לך, so that you will achieve what you hope to achieve?

ויאמר, Lavan said that he wanted him, Yaakov, to stay with him, asking: ?מה אתן לך, as your wages?

Geben sollst du mir nichts. Jakob hatte schon erfahren, wie Laban im Geben nach geleistetem Dienste zu betrügen wußte. Leisten, eine Einrichtung sollte er treffen, dass das, was Jakobs Lohn sein soll, von vornherein als Jakobs Eigentum ge- boren werde, denn, was einmal Labans Eigentum geworden war, das war so leicht nicht selbst durch den gerechtesten Anspruch von ihm zu erlangen.

?ויאמר מה אתן לך, He said: “what shall I give you for the work you have performed for me?”

לא תתן לי מאומה, if the Lord will see fit to bless me, He will certainly not deny you what you are entitled to. Our sages have a rule that a person cannot negatively influence what his fellow human is entitled to. (Yuma 38)

לא תתן לי מאומה, do not give me anything as fixed salary as my reward; my wages shall be in the nature of something that accrues to me coincidentally as an act of kindness by G’d, not as a sign of goodwill from you, diminishing what was yours. If you agree to these terms, אשובה ארעה צאנך שמור, I will once again tend your flocks as I used to do.

ויאמר יעקב לא תתן לי מאומה, Yaakov said: “you do not have to give me anything;” he referred to the last seven years; he had worked for the hand of Rachel in marriage. She was his now. However, he added, “if you wish me to stay with you longer and to continue to look after your flocks, do the following for me and I will agree and continue to tend your flocks;”