Toward the end of Parshat Vayeitzei, we encounter the intriguing episode in which Rachel secretly takes her father’s “teraphim.” While her father is tending his flock in the field, her husband, Jacob, decides it’s time to finally leave Laban’s home. On the way out, Rachel clandestinely removes her father’s most prized possession—his collection of idols—and takes it with her.

The question arises: What was Rachel’s motive? What did she hope to achieve by taking the teraphim? And did she believe her father would overlook the theft? This episode becomes even more perplexing considering that it ultimately led to her untimely death, since Jacob placed a curse on whoever had taken the teraphim, not knowing it was his beloved wife.1

Here we explore various explanations given by the biblical commentators.

1. To Help Her Father - Rashi (Midrash Rabbah)

The classic commentator Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) explains that her intention was to “separate her father from idol worship.”2 Clearly, according to Rashi, despite how poorly her father had treated Jacob, she still hoped for him to repent. Removing his idols would perhaps spur him on towards the path of return.

This explanation is based on Genesis Rabbah, which reads as follows:

Her intentions were for the Sake of Heaven. She thought to herself “Why should I leave this old man in his corruption? This is why the verse made a point of mentioning that ‘Rachel stole teraphim that were to her father.’” (The verse can be read to mean that she took them as a benefit to her father.)3

2. So That Laban Would Lose Faith in Them - Rabbeinu Chananel

A similar explanation is offered by Chananel ben Chushiel, who passed away in 1055, when Rashi would have been 15 years old. He writes that Rachel hoped that the loss of the idols, and the very fact that it was possible to steal them in the first place, would prove to Laban how completely worthless and powerless his gods were.4

3. To Prevent Laban From Discovering Jacob’s Plan to Flee - Rashbam

Rashi’s grandson Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, known by the acronym Rashbam, gives an alternate reason to the one cited by his grandfather. He explains—seemingly based on Midrash Tanchuma5—that one of Laban’s idols had the ability to communicate accurate information, and Rachel feared it would inform her father of her husband’s plan to flee.6 Others suggest that she was concerned Laban would be able to trace their exact route by utilizing this magical item.7

4. To Enable G‑d to Appear to Laban to Warn Him - Meshech Chochmah

Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk (1843–1926) offers a unique explanation.8 He writes that G‑d does not reveal Himself in a place of idol worship. Rachel therefore removed the idols from Laban’s possession so that G‑d could appear to Laban and warn him against harming Jacob, which is indeed what happened.9

5. Because She Wanted Them - Bechor Shor

Perhaps the most surprising explanation is found in the work of the 12th-century French Tosafist, Rabbi Joseph ben Isaac Bechor Shor. He writes that Rachel actually desired them for herself.10 This is in line with the many early commentaries who explain that using these teraphim did not innately constitute idol worship. Rather, it depended on the mindset of the individual utilizing them. If the individual believed that the teraphim themselves held power and put their faith in them, that would be considered idol worship. However, if one merely believed that it was a tool or an oracle through which the Divine communicated then that would not be considered idolatry.11 Rachel believed that G‑d had imbued these teraphim with a particular power and she therefore took them to utilize them, without there being an issue of idolatry.

6. It Had Cosmic Significance - Arvei Nachal

The 18th-century Chassidic master Rabbi David Solomon Eibeschutz (1755 - 1813) assigns this episode a mystical element. Basing himself on the works of Rabbi Isaac Luria12—commonly known as the Arizal (1534-1572), the architect of Kabbalah as we know it today—he asserts that Rachel wanted to accomplish something of profound cosmic importance. This is based on the Kabbalistic idea that all holy things have their opposing energy in the forces of impurity.13 These teraphim were in fact the unholy counterpart to the “Urim and Thummim”—a piece of parchment inscribed with the explicit Name of G‑d which was inserted into the High Priest’s breastplate, giving the stones embedded in the breastplate the power to reveal the Divine will. Rachel wished to redeem the holy spark enclosed within Laban’s teraphim. By taking them, she was able to stem the unholy energy that flowed through these teraphim while they were under her father’s control.

Generally, the sparks of holiness trapped within something profane can be released by acts of mitzvot, in such a case the holiness overpowers the forces of impurity and liberates the spark of holiness. However, in the case of the teraphim—which served as the source of power for the forces of impurity—the sparks could not be redeemed in the normal manner. This explains why Rachel stole the teraphim in a stealthy manner—only through such covert action, undertaken at great personal risk, could she subdue the forces of evil and redeem the spark of holiness.14

While each of the above explanations is true in some sense, due to the famous Midrashic adage that there are “70 ‘faces’ of the Torah,”15 the favored classic approach as cited by Rashi is that she took them to encourage her father’s repentance. This is in line with Rachel’s character—constantly putting herself on the line for the benefit of others. Just as she saved Leah from embarrassment by giving her the secret signals she and Jacob had predetermined before their marriage, here she took her father's idols to prevent him from sinning. This ultimately led to her early death from the curse Jacob unwittingly pronounced upon her,16 which in turn led to her being buried on the side of the road—the only one of the matriarchs not to be interred in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron—again the ultimate act of self-sacrifice.