Musar zu Bereschit 31:43
וַיַּ֨עַן לָבָ֜ן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֗ב הַבָּנ֨וֹת בְּנֹתַ֜י וְהַבָּנִ֤ים בָּנַי֙ וְהַצֹּ֣אן צֹאנִ֔י וְכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה רֹאֶ֖ה לִי־ה֑וּא וְלִבְנֹתַ֞י מָֽה־אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֤ה לָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ הַיּ֔וֹם א֥וֹ לִבְנֵיהֶ֖ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָלָֽדוּ׃
Da antwortete Laban und sprach zu Jakob: Die Töchter sind meine Töchter, die Söhne meine Söhne, die Herden meine Herden, und alles, was du siehst, gehört mir. Aber es sind doch einmal meine Töchter; was kann ich heute ihnen oder ihren Kindern, die sie geboren haben, tun?
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
Laban became aware of this, and this is why he protested in 31,43: הבנות בנותי, והבנים בני והצאן צאני וכל אשר אתה רואה לי הוא. "The daughters are mine, the sons are mine, the flocks are mine; all that you see around is mine!" I have already mentioned that we are called צאן while we are in exile. We also have scriptural proof for this from Psalms 44,23 נחשבנו כצאן טבחה, "We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." When we are on a high spiritual level, however, we are referred to as אדם, as we have shown. There is a difference, however, between אדם when referred to as a male, and between אדם when referred to as female. When G–d first created the human species, the Torah says of G–d's work זכר ונקבה בראם, ויקרא את שמם אדם. "He created them male and female, and He named them Adam" (Genesis 5,2). All the redemptions which we have experienced in the past have always been associated with the female element inherent in אדם; this is why our gratitude was always expressed by שירה חדשה, "a new song (feminine term) instead of as שיר חדש. When the redemption of the future materializes, however, we shall give thanks to the Lord with a שיר חדש, acknowledging the additional dimension of that redemption.
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