Musar for Genesis 30:16
וַיָּבֹ֨א יַעֲקֹ֣ב מִן־הַשָּׂדֶה֮ בָּעֶרֶב֒ וַתֵּצֵ֨א לֵאָ֜ה לִקְרָאת֗וֹ וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֵלַ֣י תָּב֔וֹא כִּ֚י שָׂכֹ֣ר שְׂכַרְתִּ֔יךָ בְּדוּדָאֵ֖י בְּנִ֑י וַיִּשְׁכַּ֥ב עִמָּ֖הּ בַּלַּ֥יְלָה הֽוּא׃
And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said: ‘Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son’s mandrakes.’ And he lay with her that night.
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
Jacob's choice of words, when he asked Laban to give him his wife at the end of seven years of service, is truly puzzling. Even the most boorish person would not use such crass language. Genesis 29,21 sounds as if Jacob said: "Hand over my wife for I have completed my years." We must also wonder at Leah's choice of words in 30,16: "To me you must come this night, for I have hired you for the mandrakes of my son."
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