B"H In the readings of the month of Kislev we see the last two of the matriarchs in beautiful detail. Bringing the twelve tribes into the world, they culminate the aspirations of both of the predecessors--birthing the nation of the Covenant. All the matriarchs were born into non-Jewish families. Well, we think, of course, because there were no Jewish families. Isaac was the first person to be "born Jewish", as it were, circumcised at eight days of age. What made him "Jewish"?--his mother, the righteous convert, Sarah. We are told by the sages that Sarah, named Sarai at birth, was of greater righteousness and possessed greater prophecy than Abraham. She was born to Abraham's brother, Haran, in Ur Casdim, where he, too, was born. We are ever impressed with Abraham's ability to know the One Gd, even in the idolatrous environment of Terah's household and Nimrod's kingdom. Yet Sarah was greater. Her exceptional beauty had to be a radiance of her soul's light. Rebecca was also born into the same idolatrous family. Her brother, Laban, was notoriously devious and wicked. She is called a rose among the thorns. When Sarah lit the candles for the Shabbat, they glowed through the week, until the next Shabbat. Her Sabbath bread stayed fresh from week to week. When she died, these miracles ceased. Rebecca entered Sarah's tent, and the miracles for Shabbat began once again. She was the perfect successor for Sarah. Leah and Rachel were Rebecca's nieces, Laban's daughters. Being born to such a wicked man, how did these two girls attain the righteousness that merited their being the mothers of Israel? Some suggest that perhaps Jacob taught them. The Midrashic tradition, however, says Leah, as the older sister, was destined to marry Esau, the older brother. Knowing he was a wicked man, she cried for years, begging Hashem for a reprieve. This Midrash indicates that she was righteous long before Jacob's arrival. Like the first two of the matriarchs, Leah and Rachel were also inherently righteous souls. Indeed, while from the birth of Isaac, the men were "born Jewish", the mothers were all "converts", coming into the people through their righteous merit.