In 1985 Alison Bechdel created something called “The Bechdel Test,” a set of standards that a film must meet in order for her to consider watching it. The film must have at least two women in it, the women need to talk to each other, and they need to talk about something besides a man. At the time these were difficult standards for Hollywood to meet. The concept has since become a part of the broader cultural conversation surrounding gender and gender bias. Thankfully, more and more of our cultural representations of women are clearing the test; sadly, if unsurprisingly, our Torah fails this test again and again. Especially in this week’s parsha.
Parsha Vayeitzei centers upon the rivalry between two sisters, Rachel and Leah; destined to fall in love with and ultimately marry the same man, Jacob. While the text refers to Rachel as “lovely to look at,” it only notes that Leah had “weak” or “soft eyes.” Jacob falls in love with Rachel but is tricked into marrying her older sister, Leah, by their father, Laban. The entirety of the sister’s tale from this point on is about the struggle for the love of this one man – and the ways in which each holds something over the other: while Rachel has Jacob’s heart, Leah is the one who is able to bear him children.