According to Legends of the Jews, he was just waiting for Joseph to be born so he could finally head home. Why? Because Jacob had a sense – a ruach hakodesh, a holy spirit – that Joseph's line would eventually bring about the downfall of Esau. So, upon Joseph's birth, Jacob declared, "Now I need not fear Esau or his legions."

But how exactly did Jacob know it was time to go?

Well, the story goes that Rebekah, Jacob's mother, sent her nurse, Deborah – the daughter of Uz – along with two of Isaac's servants, to urge Jacob to return home. Fourteen years of service were up, after all. Can you imagine the anticipation? The longing for home?

So, Jacob approaches Laban, his father-in-law, and says, "Give me my wives and my children, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country, for my mother has sent messengers unto me, bidding me to return to my father's house." Basically, "I'm outta here, hand over my family!"

Laban, naturally, wasn't thrilled. He responds with a bit of flattery and a touch of… well, let's call it manipulation. "O that I might find favor in thine eyes! By a sign it was made known unto me that God blesseth me for thy sake."

What was Laban's "sign"? Ginzberg, in Legends of the Jews, tells us it was a treasure he found the day Jacob arrived! Laban figured that Jacob was some kind of good luck charm. It's fascinating, isn't it, how people interpret blessings? He sees Jacob as the source of his good fortune.

And honestly, Laban did have a point. The text suggests that God had been working wonders in Laban's house thanks to Jacob's piety. As the text suggests, shortly before Jacob arrived, a plague was ravaging Laban’s cattle, and it stopped with Jacob’s arrival. Also, Laban hadn't had any sons before Jacob came, but during Jacob's time in Haran, sons were born to him. The Zohar tells us of the power the righteous have to bring blessing into the world, and Laban was certainly benefitting.

So, what do we take away from this? It’s a story about family, about destiny, and about recognizing – or perhaps misinterpreting – the blessings in our lives. It makes you wonder: what signs are we looking for? And are we always seeing them clearly?