Mother Rochel

Vayechi MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 9 TEVET, 5776 ב"ה וָאֶקְבְּרֶהָ שָּׁם בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶפְרָת הִוא בֵּית לָחֶם (בראשית מח, ז) I buried her there along the road to Efras, which is Beis-Lechem (Bereishis 48:7) A Mother's Sacrifice Rachel's burial place would naturally have been in Me'aras Hamachpelah, alongside her husband. Instead, Yaakov buried her on the roadside near Beis-Lechem. Rashi tells us that before Yaakov passed away, he explained to Yosef that his mother's burial there would one day serve an important role in hastening her children's return from exile. When they would pass her grave as they were led into exile, Rachel would emerge from her grave and weep and beg G-d's mercy for them. As the verse states (Yirmiyahu 31:14), "A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children." And G-d replies to her, "There is reward for your work… and the children shall return to their own border" (ibid 31:16). With this explanation, Yaakov consoled Yosef over his mother's seemingly second-rate burial place. For considering the benefit that her burial there would bring to her children, it was certain that Rachel too would have preferred to be buried there and not in Me'aras Hamachpelah. The willingness to sacrifice for her children that Yaakov attributed to Rachel epitomizes the Jewish woman's unique quality and role as the akeres habayis, the mainstay of the family. Whereas both men and women must equally serve G-d with every aspect of their lives, yet practically, only men are obligated in mitzvos that are time-sensitive, as well as the constant mitzvah to study Torah (see Talmud, Kiddushin 29a-b). Women are exempt from these time-oriented or constant obligations because a woman is constantly tending to the needs of her family and home. Thus, the Jewish woman "sacrifices" the satisfaction and spiritual experience that comes with the observance of those mitzvos, serving G-d instead by nurturing her family and caring for her home. This explains why, among Yaakov's wives, specifically Rachel was buried on the roadside and not in the holy and special burial grounds of Me'aras Hamachpelah. For as Rashi states elsewhere (Bereishis 31:4), Rachel was the akeres habayis of Yaakov's household. Therefore, just as she personified the "woman's sacrifice" in her lifetime, in her passing too, her unique place of burial allowed her to implore G-d on her children's behalf and to guarantee their return home. —Likkutei Sichos, vol. 30, pp. 239-240 Sponsor a Lightpoints email A project of Or Hachassidus ביוזמת ולזכות הרה״ח הרה״ת ר' ישעי' זושא ווילהעלם שליט״א להצלחה רבה לו ולכל משפחתו בגו״ר

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