Leah Immenu was an extremely righteous woman. In fact, we are told that her eyes were tender due to her excessive crying. She cried for years, with a fervent prayer to change the decree of her marriage to Esau. Rashi in his commentary explains that people would say that Rebecca the matriarch had two sons. The older one, Esau, will marry the older daughter of Laban (Leah), while the younger son (Ya’aqob), will marry Rahel, the younger daughter of Laban.
Such was the level of Leah's righteousness, that she wept continuously to annul the Heavenly decree to marry the wicked Esau and merited to connect with the righteous, Yaaqob.
How then, did she tell her childless, pained sister, "Was your taking my husband insignificant?".
Hakham Yoseph Hayyim, a"h gives a deep insight into this perplexing statement. Leah Immenu's intention when saying these harsh words, "was your taking my husband insignificant?", had a hidden, lofty intention -- that of praising her sister. She wanted to publicize her sister's greatness. When Rahel Immenu asked Leah for the Dudaim (good smelling plants), and Leah replied with harsh and painful words, we would have expected Rahel to cry out, "Is he your husband-or mine? Didn't I selflessly give him to you to prevent any embarassment caused to you?"
But Rahel, the noble Rahel accepted Leah's provocative statement quietly and did not respond. She accepted her sister's words, and therefore offered to let Yaaqob go to Leah's tent in exchange. Leah was able to show the entire world who her sister was, her nobility, righteousness, and admirable inner qualities.
