At night Yaakov was not aware that it was Leah with whom he had been united in marriage. Indeed, as Rashi comments, Yaakov had prearranged signals with Rachel for their wedding night. When Rachel saw, however, that Leah was being substituted for her, she told her sister the signs – out of concern for Leah’s potential humiliation. Rachel’s supreme act of abrogation is considered of such import that it serves as eternal merit for her descendants. Chazal relate that when the first Bais Ha’Mikdash was destroyed and the Jewish people were taken into captivity, the Patriarchs and Moshe intervened from…
