This week's Parshah states,
"ויבא גם אל רחל ויאהב גם את רחל מלאה"
“And he also married Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah.” (29:30)
Q: Wouldn’t it have been sufficient to say “ויאהב את רחל — And he loved Rachel,” instead of saying he loved Rachel more than Leah?
A: The commentaries explain the reasoning behind this wording.
Originally, Yaakov wanted to marry Rachel, so Lavan made him work for 7 years in order to do so. The Chizkuni says that time seemed to pass quickly because Yaakov intensely loved Rachel and was therefore willing to work for her.
In the end, Lavan tried to trick Yaakov by giving him Leah instead; however, Yaakov suspected the deception and therefore arranged secret signs between Rachel and him. When Rachel saw that her father was going to substitute Leah for her, she worried that her sister would be embarrassed, so Rachel taught Leah the secret signs, hoping to convince Yaakov that Rachel was under the veil. When Yaakov discovered Rachel’s plan, he was impressed by her righteousness and good nature, which only strengthened his love for her. The Torah confirms this by saying, “ויאהב גם את רחל — And he loved (also) Rachel more,” “מלאה — because [of what she did for] Leah.”
By: Miriam Cohen (10th)