Ribqa Immenu 'a"h was a righteous woman and a prophetess. She was also the one suitable to be the wife of our Patriarch Yishaq Abinu (Isaac), who willingly and happily cooperated with his father when he bound him as a sacrifice on the altar. Such an incredible woman we may think, must have been raised in a special home and holy environment.
What kind of home did she have, and who were her father and brother?
"Rebecca the daughter of Bethuel the Armean...sister of Laban the Armean" (Parashath Toldoth, 25:20)
Our Rabbis of Blessed memory, describe Ribqa Immenu's father Bethuel as a dishonest and evil person, who tried to poison Eliezer. Laban, her brother, is the epitome of trickery and deceit. This was her daily environment and exposure. In fact, the Alshikh Haqadosh and the Ohr Hahayyim Haqadosh both comment that the reason Ribqa Immenu was barren for twenty years, was as a direct result of her ancestry - her father Bethuel and brother Laban. She is likened to a rose between the thorns.
The Midrash (Bereshith Rabbah) explains that the reason the Torah repeats Rebecca's genealogy at the beginning of Parashath Toldoth, after mentioning it in the previous Parashah. This was to praise her. Ribqa, the daughter of a wicked man and the sister of a wicked one was not influenced by them and did not learn their bad ways.
There is a commentary which suggests that one of the reasons for having Ya'aqob and Esaw as twins is to give us and the entire world an incredible message. We should not say that Ya'aqob Abinu's righteousness was achieved because of the kind of parents he had, the constellation at the time of his birth, or other forces. Both he and Esaw were born to the same parents, at almost the same time.
My dear friends, there is a powerful message for us here. In every one of us there is a hidden potential to become a great woman. It is not dependent on who our parents are, or our birth place. Haqqadosh Barukh Hu gave us the tools we need to become a great woman. The rest is up to us. We have to refine our character tenaciously, to increase our devotion to Torah life, and strengthen our connection with out Father in Heaven. Then, we will actualize our potential and become the great women we are destined to be.
