Isaac arrives in Gerar and, like Abraham before him, pretends that Rebecca is his sister, rather than his wife. The subterfuge fails when King Abimelech sees the two of them behaving in a manner more consistent with a married couple and rumbles their deception. The Torah uses the phrase mesachek — playing, messing around, laughing and joking, to describe the behaviour which gave them away.
Surely someone of the stature of our forefather Isaac would hardly be laughing and joking and over-familiar with his wife right by the window for all to see? Would they really have indulged in such a “PDA” (Public Display of Affection)?
The Levush (Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, 1530-1612) in his commentary Ha’orah, addresses this question and concludes that they closed the window, or did the equivalent of closing the curtains or blinds nowadays, in such a way to suggest privacy, something that would not be expected from siblings. From this King Abimelech deduced that there was more to the situation than met the eye.
The famous prophet Balaam, sent by King Balak to curse the Children of Israel, ended up blessing them instead saying the famous line “Mah Tovu…”, “How good are your tents O Jacob, your dwelling-places, O Israel”. The rabbis took this as a reference to the modesty of the people, their sense of privacy within their own homes.
