פירוש על בראשית 29:9

FOR SHE WAS A SHEPHERDESS. The intent of this is to relate that Laban’s sheep had no shepherd other than Rachel, since her father turned over the flock to her alone. She alone tended them all the days, and Leah did not go with the flock at all. The matter was thus unlike that of the daughters of Jethro, where all seven daughters tended the flock simultaneously, as it is said, And they came and drew water.⁷¹Exodus 2:16. Perhaps due to Leah’s eyes being tender,⁷²Further, Verse 17. the rays of the sun would have hurt her, or because Leah was older and of marriageable age, her father was more concerned about her. Jethro however was honored in his community and he was the priest of the country, and he was confident that people would be afraid of approaching his daughters. It may be that Laban was more modest than Jethro for Abraham’s family was proper and modest, but Rachel was yet young and there was no concern for her. This is the sense of the verse, And Jacob kissed Rachel.⁷³Verse 11 here. It may be as Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that where the Hebrew word for “kissing” is followed by the letter lamed — [as here: Vayishak Yaakov l’Rachel, instead of the word eth] — it means not on the mouth, but that he kissed her on her head or on her shoulder.

כי רועה היא, she is familiar with the finer points of successfully locating pastures for her flocks.

עודנו מדבר עמם, While he was still talking to them, etc. According to the text this is incorrect. The Torah should have written that the shepherds were still talking to him. Perhaps the reason the Torah phrased it thus is that the whole story is meant to tell us what happened to Jacob, not what happened with the shepherds.