By Rabbi Avraham Chaim Bloomenstiel
Q: Why is the order of the matriarchs in the Birkas HaBanos (the Blessing on the Daughters given to one’s daughters on Friday Night) Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah? Didn’t Leah come before Rachel chronologically?
A: The text we use in the blessing is based on the order of the matriarchs given in the Talmud in several places (i.e., Nazir 23b, Sanhedrin 105b, and Horios 10b): Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, and Leah. In the Midrash (Pesikta d’Rav Kehana 1:7) they are also listed in this order. The real question to ask is “Why this is the preferred order in Rabbinic literature?”
I was mulling it over tonight and remembered something from parshas Vayigash. When the Torah lists all of Yaakov’s family who descended to Egypt, it describes Leah, Bilhah, Rachel, Zilpah, and their children and grandchildren. However, only Rachel is referred to as “Yaakov’s Wife” in this list (compare Bereshis 46:15 to 46:18, 19, and 25.) Rashi explains that Rachel is the only one called “Yaakov’s wife” because she was the foundation of the household. So, we see from here that the Torah itself ascribes her special prominence.
Using this idea as my starting place, I found the answer in the Ramban’s commentary to Bereshis 44:27. The Ramban (Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman–the leading Spanish rabbi of the 13th century) explains that the Tanakh consistently lists Rachel ahead of Leah (see Bereshis 31:4 and Ruth 4:11) because even though Yaakov married Rachel after Leah, Rachel should have been the primary wife. Yaakov only married Leah as a result of Lavan’s deception. Therefore, Leah was not truly the “first wife.” To “correct” this situation and ascribe proper honor to Rachel as the first wife, she is listed before Leah.
It seems that this is the reason Rachel is always listed before Leah in the Talmud and the Midrash, and why we do so in the bracha on Friday nights.