* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
1) The mother of an entire nation. Today, the 11thof Cheshvan, we mark the yahrzeit of our matriarch Rachel. Although she was the biological mother of only Yosef and Binyamin, for generations she has been lovingly referred to as “Rachel Imeinu," our mother Rachel, who worries about her children when they are facing anychallenge or hardship.
2) A love that transformed years into days. Yaakov worked seven years to win the hand of Rachel in marriage. Regarding this love story, the Torah uses a famous but unusual phrase, a tribute to the power of love: “…but they (the seven years) appeared to him like a few days because of his love for her."
3) Protected her sister’s honor. When Rachel saw that her father was going to give her sister Leah to Yaakov-in her place-she didn’t shame her, butagreed to give him up. Precisely at the moment when her dreams were shattered, she decided to protect her sister’s honor. For this reason, Rachel has come to symbolize caring for others, and the willingness to sacrifice something precious to you for another person.
4) How do we commemorate this day? Today many people will visit her grave, Kever Rachel, near the town of Beit Lechem. But wherever you are in the world, you can light a candle in her memory, learn about her, connect with her special personality, and pray.
5) The tears that will end soon, with God’s help. The prophet Yirmiyahu describes Rachel as weeping for her exiled children and records God’s moving response to her tears:
“Refrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your work...there is hope for the future…and the children shall return to their own border."
For thousands of years, our mother Rachel has accompanied us through our trials and suffering, but ultimately, there is hope that the weeping will come to an end. God promises that her children will return home, the Jewish people will achieve its mission, and the redemption will come. May we merit the fulfillment of this prophecy speedily in our day, and may the memory of Rachel Imeinu be for a blessing.