Omer 2016 Day 20: Zilpah and Bilhah

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Day 20: Yesod in Tiferet, Foundation in Balance
When Zilpah and Bilhah became mothers, it kicked off the "baby wars" as my rabbi in Philadelphia called it. Leah had had four sons, while Rachel was barren. Out of jealousy and in an attempt to "catch up" to Leah, Rachel turned her servant Bilhah into a surrogate and Bilhah had two sons. Then Leah's servant Zilpah entered the race and also had two sons. Leah had two more sons and a daughter before Rachel finally conceived.

This whole saga began as an attempt at balance between two sisters and all these children became the foundation of the Jewish people, the twelve tribes of Israel.