The Four Matriarchs: What Are Their Unique Traits?

Greetings, The matriarchs possessed the traits of the patriarchs. Sarah embodied Chesed (kindness), as the sages explain in the Midrash on the verse, "the soul which they had chosen" (Abraham and Sarah together). Abraham converted the men, and Sarah converted the women. Rebecca exemplified Din (judgment) and Gevurah (strength), clearly seen when she bore twins and later, regarding the blessings, she did not compromise, imprinting everything on the younger son, Jacob, while completely disregarding Esau and struggling against him. (Sarah also expelled Ishmael, though he was not her son but the son of Hagar.) Rachel and Leah embodied Emes (truth), which is a combination of Chesed and Gevurah; truth requires a balance, times to emphasize one trait and times the other. Therefore, there were two women (each with her maidservant—Bilhah and Zilpah—who completed the traits of Chesed or Gevurah for them). Now, all these traits present in the matriarchs certainly existed before their union with the patriarchs, but their potency and significance as influential traits derived from the patriarchs’ strength. This is because the woman’s essence is to actualize the trait—the birth and implementation of the father’s traits into something new: the child. Thus, the matriarchs’ role was to bring forth the power of the three patriarchs. (Hence, the number four always hints at the practical realization of something.)