The Power of Our Tears - Holy Land Moments devotions | IFCJ

The Power of Our Tears - Holy Land Moments devotions | IFCJ: The Power of Our Tears Credit:Olivier Fitoussi Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. — Genesis 29:17 Each week in synagogue, Jews read through the Torah from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The Torah portion for this week is Vayetze, which means “and he left,” from Genesis 28:10–32:3. Most of us were taught from a young age that crying is a sign of weakness. We might have been told to be strong and to hold back our tears. But as I learned from my father and other people that I admire, the ability to shed tears is a sign of strength. When we cry before God over what truly matters, the power of our tears can change anything. In this week’s Torah portion, we read about the matriarchs Rachel and Leah. Scripture tells us that, “Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel… was beautiful.” The Jewish sages explained that Leah’s eyes were weak from crying because she knew prophetically that her cousin Esau was destined to be her husband, while his younger twin Jacob was intended for her younger sister Rachel. Each couple was destined to give birth to six of the twelve children that would form the nation of Israel. However, Leah also knew that Esau was a wicked man. He was