פּירוש אויף בראשית 29:30

עוד שבע שנים אחרות YET SEVEN OTHER YEARS — Scripture adds the apparently redundant word אחרות another seven years, for the purpose of comparing them to the preceding seven years. — Even as he had worked faithfully during the earlier period (not anticipating any deception on Laban’s part), so he worked faithfully during the latter period, although he (Laban) had practised this deception on him (Genesis Rabbah 70:20).

ויאהב גם את רחל מלאה, “Yaakov also loved Rachel more than (he loved) Leah.” What is the meaning of the word גם, “also,” in this verse? Normally a man’s first wife occupies a permanent place in his heart, more so than any subsequent wives he will take. The Torah tells us that whenever Yaakov spent time with Rachel, he enjoyed that “quality time,” more than when he spent time with Leah. This was so although his first experience of marital intimacy had been with Leah. This is hinted at by the word גם.

AND HE LOVED RACHEL MORE THAN LEAH. The reason why Scripture mentions that he also loved Rachel more than Leah is that it is natural for a man to have more love for the woman with whom he first had relations, just as the Sages have mentioned with reference to women:⁹⁴Sanhedrin 22b. “And she makes a firm commitment only to he who marries her first.” Thus Jacob’s loving Rachel more than Leah was unnatural. This is the sense of the word gam: [and he loved ‘gam’ Rachel than Leah].