QUESTION:
What does the name “Rochel” mean? And what does “Leah” mean?
ANSWER:
The name “Rochel” is linked with the kind of sheep that the Torah calls “Rochel”. The Midrash in Shir HaShirim Rabah says that just as a “rochel” is a sheep that acts modestly, so did Rochel act with modesty, when she was silent so that she wouldn’t embarrass Leah. The word “Leah” means “pleasure”. Sefer Chaim v’Chessed (Bo) says that this is the meaning of the words of the Targum that the “eyes of Leah were [brittle] beautiful to see”.
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