Vayetzei

Lavan said to him (Jacob), “If you will indulge me, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me on your account.”

30:27

I have realized that all of my blessing is only because of you; and should you depart I will revert to being as deprived a pauper as before. It will then be as if you had not worked for me at all, as all the fruits of your labor and whatever I have profited will turn to naught upon your departure. For such an eventuality I did not give you my daughters.

Malbim (19^th Century)

Lavan would like to keep him as a servant; preferably for no other payment except his keep…he now talks to Jacob like a true crafty villain who affects piety. He does not admit that he would like to keep Jacob simply because of the efficient services he has rendered him. He feels that such practical considerations would have to be paid for, and if one has gone so far as to praise such skills, they would have to be paid well indeed. For this reason he affects extreme piety, and, just as do those today who, having cast off all genuine piety, turn to superstition and think them…religious….

Samson Raphael Hirsch (19^th Century)

I am absolutely convinced that my good fortune during the last fourteen years commenced with your arrival at my doorstep…I have duly noted that I have derived far greater riches through my livestock than is customary. I know that this must be due to your presence.

Sforno (15th Century)

Now it is possible that Lavan used the teraphim for idol worship…But not all teraphim were for the purpose of worship…they also divine with them in order to gain knowledge of future events…People of little faith set them up for themselves as gods…

Ramban (13^th Century)

This seems unfair. Why should a person be blessed just because he was in the proximity of a Torah scholar?...The presence of a Torah scholar will inspire even a morally corrupt individual to limit his destructive acts…

Abraham Isaac Kook (20^th Century)

Because Lavan reasoned that he had indeed been blessed through Jacob’s presence, it must have been God’s will to have Jacob stay with him all these years. God therefore must have condoned his (Lavan’s) own behavior during these years.

Moshe Alshich (16^th Century)

Why does our tradition view Lavan as a scoundrel? Does not Jacob also deceive? In the end, Lavan’s excuse ifs family, a fine, noble justification, but there is no evidence he ever risked anything for them. His method was to grab as much as possible. Lavan emerges from every deception with an added bonus: an extra workhand at no cost. Indeed, Lavan may be able to rationalize, but his true color is clearly revealed; the color of greed. Jacob, on the other hand, understood that entering the tent and pretending to be Esav would lead to inevitable exile. He was pressed on by his mother, Rebecca, and her prophetic vision of the future, but the immediate result of his deception was fleeing into the night…Jacob deceives Esav for the sake of heaven, Lavan deceived Jacob for the sake of self.

Shlomo Riskin (contemporary)