וַיָּבֹ֨א יַעֲקֹ֣ב מִן־הַשָּׂדֶה֮ בָּעֶרֶב֒ וַתֵּצֵ֨א לֵאָ֜ה לִקְרָאת֗וֹ וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֵלַ֣י תָּב֔וֹא כִּ֚י שָׂכֹ֣ר שְׂכַרְתִּ֔יךָ בְּדוּדָאֵ֖י בְּנִ֑י וַיִּשְׁכַּ֥ב עִמָּ֖הּ בַּלַּ֥יְלָה הֽוּא׃
און װי יעקב איז געקומען פֿון פֿעלד אין אָװנט, אַזױ איז לאה אים אַרױסגעגאַנגען אַנטקעגן, און האָט געזאָגט: צו מיר מוזטו קומען, װאָרום אָפּדינגען האָב איך דיך אָפּגעדונגען פֿאַר די ליבעפּעלעך פֿון מײַן זון. און ער איז מיט איר געלעגן אין יענער נאַכט.
Rashi
בת לאה THE DAUGHTER OF LEAH — so Scripture calls her. Why not the daughter of Jacob? But just because she “went out” she is called Leah’s daughter, since she, too, was fond “of going out” (Genesis Rabbah 80:1), as it is said (30:16) “and Leah went out to meet him”. With an allusion to her they formulated the proverb: “Like mother, like daughter”.
Rabbeinu Bahya
The reason the Torah describes Dinah as ”Dinah the daughter of Leah went out,” when we all know she was Leah’s daughter is because she was trying to attract attention to herself; she had bedecked herself (Bereshit Rabbah 80,1). She proved to be a true daughter of her mother who had also attracted attention to herself by leaving her tent as we have been told in 30,16. Scripture is critical of women who leave the security and modest environment of their homes unnecessarily. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 7,11-12 “She is loud and rebellious, her feet would not stay home. Now outside, now in the streets, she lurks at every corner.” David had written about a woman who stays at home. that “the true measure of a princess is found in the fact that she remains indoors.” (Psalms 45,14) When the angels asked Avraham where Sarah was, he answered: “here she is in the tent (Genesis 18,9).”
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי עלית משכבי אביך, “because you mounted the couch of your father.” Yaakov revealed here that when the Torah wrote of Reuven that he “slept with Bilhah” (Genesis 38,22) that that verse is not to be taken literally, but that all he did was to disarrange the sheets on his father’s couch, compare Shabbat 55 where it is made clear that Yaakov criticised Reuven only for mounting the bed. This in itself was an act of desecration. According to the Talmud the words אז חללת...אביך must be understood as “then you desecrated your father (in heaven) whose Presence was associated with my bed.” Proof of the validity of this interpretation is the fact that Yaakov spoke of משכבי אביך, “your father’s beds (pl).” On the same folio of the Talmud our sages also said that this means that Reuven desecrated two couches, two sheets, that of his father, and that of the Divine Presence. The authors of that interpretation were forced to say this as they were of the opinion that the Divine Presence, שכינה, was ever present in Yaakov’s vicinity. G’d was never out of Yaakov’s thoughts. We have an interesting nuance in Genesis 30,16 where the Torah speaks of Yaakov sleeping with Leah on a night which was not originally her turn [in return for her giving Reuven’s dudaim to Rachel. Ed.]. The Torah does not write וישכב עמה בלילה ההוא, “he slept with her on that night,” but it writes: וישכב עמה בלילה הוא, “He (G’d) slept with her at night.” This is proof that the Divine Presence was present even on Yaakov’s couch. Leah’s conceiving on that night may well have been helped by that Divine Presence. She may have been aware of this when she called the son born to her as a result יששכר.
This episode also teaches that anyone who honours his father also honours G’d vicariouly. Conversely, anyone who dishonours his father dishonours G’d at the same time. All of this corresponds to what our sages (Kidushin 30) taught that every human being is the result of input by three partners, i.e. his father, his mother, and G’d (who provides the soul). As a result, G’d accounts it as a meritorious deed when someone honours his father and mother, seeing that by honouring His partners such people honour G’d Himself. By doing this they treat G’d as if He were present in the company of his parents.
This episode also teaches that anyone who honours his father also honours G’d vicariouly. Conversely, anyone who dishonours his father dishonours G’d at the same time. All of this corresponds to what our sages (Kidushin 30) taught that every human being is the result of input by three partners, i.e. his father, his mother, and G’d (who provides the soul). As a result, G’d accounts it as a meritorious deed when someone honours his father and mother, seeing that by honouring His partners such people honour G’d Himself. By doing this they treat G’d as if He were present in the company of his parents.