Thought for the Week:

Jacob, because of his brother [Esau], humbly went out from his own land and came to Laban and worked for him; and there he was given the scepter of the twelve tribes of Israel. (1 Clement 31:4)

Commentary:

So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. (Genesis 30:39)

Laban agreed to give Jacob all the striped, spotted, speckled and dappled born among his flocks. Immediately after making the agreement, he removed all but the solid-colored animals, to eliminate the possibility that Jacob would receive any livestock.

Not to be so easily outmaneuvered, Jacob engaged in a genetic-engineering experiment. He peeled sticks to make spotted, striped, speckled and dappled patterns on them and placed the peeled sticks near...