Isaac continues his parents' work and eventually marries Rebecca, the next great matriarch, who again decides the course of Judaism. She gives birth to twins, Jacob and Esau. (Unlike Sarah before her, Rebecca is the biological mother of both sons.) Jacob becomes a scholar, Esau a hunter. Although the boys are very different, Isaac and Rebecca intend for them to work as a team toward the good of the Jewish people. In this regard, Jacob is supposed to oversee spiritual and intellectual growth, while Esau is charged with physical and material sustenance.

The Torah tells us that Isaac wants to give Esau a special blessing for material success. Rebecca, who is deeply in touch with the essential nature of Esau, can see past his current superficial righteousness and understands clearly what he will become. It is apparent to her that Esau will eventually use his fathers blessing to undermine Jacob's scholarly pursuits, thus jeopardizing the future of Judaism.

Rebecca sees that Jacob must become spiritually and materially independent of his brother. To this end, she orders Jacob to disguise himself as Esau in order to procure Isaac's powerful blessing. The plan works, and the Torah tells us that when Isaac discovers what has happened -- and why -- he acknowledges the righteousness of his wife's plan (Genesis 27:33). Without Rebecca's clarity, Judaism would have ended then and there.

RACHEL AND LEAH

Jacob takes his place as the third patriarch and marries two sisters, Rachel and Leah. The Torah tells us that Jacob, with his wives and children, lives and works for many difficult years in the house of his father-in-law, Laban. In spite of Laban's dishonest treatment, Jacob remains upright throughout his employment. God ultimately commands Jacob to return with his wives and children to the Land of Israel.

At this turning point, Jacob -- a man of peace -- asks his wives' advice about whether to leave on good terms with Laban or whether they should depart abruptly (Genesis 31:4). Rachel and Leah are aware that their father hopes to infect the young Jewish nation with his pagan ways, and they urge Jacob to sever all connections to Laban's household (Genesis 31:14). Jacob heeds their advice, and the family leaves under cover of darkness. Again, due to the insight of Rachel and Leah, Judaism progresses to its next stage of development, within the Land of Israel.

The matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah built the Jewish nation from within. Each woman possessed the ability to see what was not obvious to the patriarchs, and that is why there is a Jewish nation today. The trait of binah -- the ability to analyze, distinguish, and thereby know the spiritual validity of something -- requires tremendous effort and is, without exception, predicated on Torah knowledge. The Torah explains to us God's view of good and bad, finite and eternal, true and false -- in other words, the value of all things we encounter. Then and now, Jewish women with a deep understanding of Torah use binah to categorize and understand new experiences and situations. Ultimately, female binah is meant to function as a searchlight of truth and clarity.

Every Jewish woman today is able to cultivate and excel in this aptitude. Binah is an inheritance of Jewish women and a gift to themselves, their families, their communities, and society as a whole.

Reprinted with permission from "Jewish Women Speak About Jewish Matters". Published by: Targum Press, Inc.