I had forgotten about that part that Leah davened to have a daughter.

Rather, I was trying to say that although Leah suffers early on (as poignantly shown in your painting), she eventually comes into her own – as Larry puts it, “from the perspective of their legacies,” but I think also in her own lifetime. And not just as her children’s mother. She becomes her husband’s partner in his life’s work – like Sarah/Avraham and Rivka/Yitzchak.

You see, I agree with you that the sisters aren’t in competition. Instead, I believe that they complement each other and serve different roles. As you will recall, Yaakov is transformed into Yisrael shortly after Rachel’s death. Thus, Rachel is loved by “Yaakov” – i.e. the private individual – but Leah is the perfect wife for “Yisrael” – i.e. the father of the nation. In other words, there’s room in Yaakov/Yisrael’s life
for both Rachel and Leah – just at different stages.

From the perspective of their legacies, perhaps. But in terms of their personal lives, Rachel is the beloved one and Leah is the neglected one, and that fact keeps coming through. I think it is an interesting use of mirroring as a literary technique.

Mrs. S., can’t we just understand each of their pains and their glories without needing to put down one or the other? In my painting, I was relating to Leah’s early pain of not being the beloved or not being able to choose a husband who loves her for herself. But I do appreciate that Leah did have quite a bit to be proud of as a mother.

The duadinum seem to be a few pesukim back from the Leah giving birth to Dina… now, of course, your short comment got me more curious. I’ll read more on Shabbat.