In this week's Torah portion, Laban, Yaacov's father-in-law, cheats Yaacov horribly by switching his older daughter Leah, putting her in place of his younger daughter Rachel, so Yaacov would marry the wrong girl!  

     Even though it ended up being for the good, how could this possibly happen to Yaacov? Yaacov was one of the most righteous men who ever lived. How could he possibly be subject to such fraud?

     It is called middah k'neged middah- (this portion corresponding to that portion).

     In last week's Torah portion Yacov hid himself taking his older brother's place, in order to fool his father so he would take the blessing that his father Yitzchak thought he was giving to Yaacov's older brother Esau.

     His hiding himself, thereby putting the younger brother in place of the older brother in order to fool his father Yitzchak, allowed Laban to hide his older daughter in place of his younger daughter and thereby taking the blessing of marrying Yaacov.

      We are told that the deeds of the Fathers are examples for our lives. What example does Yaacov's experience give to us? 

      Whatever comes to us, comes for a reason. Nothing just falls out of the sky. This is true for both our negative experiences and our positive experiences. Whenever something unusual happens to you, look to see what you did to open the door for it to happen. If you look carefully, you can guide what comes to your life.