ספר בראשית

Genesis 29,31. “When G’d saw that Leah was hated, He ‎opened her womb.” There is a somewhat enigmatic ‎comment on this verse in Aggadat Bereshit 48 according to ‎which some of Leah’s descendants would be enemies of G’d, and ‎that this is why she is called here ‎שנואה‎, in reference to the ‎wicked deeds of some of her offspring. (The angels protested ‎Leah’s having children as they foresaw that on account of Zimri ‎from the tribe of Shimon 24000 Israelites would lose their lives ‎and not enter the land of Israel) Our verse would explain that just ‎as Yishmael at the time (Genesis 21,17) was not allowed to die ‎from thirst as at the time he was free from sin, so Leah, who had ‎prayed not to become the wife of the wicked Esau, could not be ‎denied children now on account of something over which she ‎could have no control. She had demonstrated that she hated ‎wickedness so what more could she have done? [I have ‎rephrased this a little, as the whole idea of when G’d interferes ‎with natural developments in order to forestall wicked deeds and ‎when not is exceedingly complex. Ed.] Our verse makes ‎clear that other considerations notwithstanding, Leah’s prayer to ‎bear children was answered positively.‎