Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav Kook
Yeshivat Nechmat Rachel - 1st anniversary
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The following remarks were made by HaRav Avraham Shapiro shlit"a, Rosh Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav, on the first anniversary of the establishment of Yeshivat Kever Rachel by Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav.
The address will be printed in two parts.
Yeshivat Nechmat Rachel - 1st Anniversary - Part TwoRosh Chodesh Adar, 5756
Kever Rachel - the Tomb of Rachel
[Part One]
Kever Rachel - the Tomb of Rachel - is a place of longing and prayer for Klal Israel.
I think this is the first time such a festivity has been celebrated here at Kever Rachel. Perhaps the Chassidim who come to Kever Rachel have had occasion to rejoice here at some time. But, through the long centuries, Kever Rachel has always been a place where people come to pray - and to weep.
Rachel Imenu lies here alone in her Tomb. All the other Matriarchs, Sarah, Rivka, and Leah, were buried in the Maarat HaMachpelah in Hebron. The Torah records that when Rachel was buried: "...Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave; the same is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day." (Gen. 35:20) This wording - "unto this day" - does not appear in the Torah in connection with anyone else. We must ask what this signifies. The Targum Yonatan explains the phrase in this way: "unto this day" - until the time of the coming of the Mashiach. There- where the tidings of Geulah (Redemption) come forth, during the long time coming of the Geulah- there, is a great solitariness.
"They shall come with weeping, And with supplications will I lead them;" (Jer. 31:8) Everything written in this chapter in Jeremiah relates to a prophecy concerning Rachel and to the particular blessing "thy children shall return to their own border." (Jer. 31:16) So has it been that this has become the place of prayer and supplication. So has it been that the yearning of Klal Israel for Geulah derives from Rachel's yearning for her children.
There is a passage in Genesis in which Jacob appears to justify himself before his son Joseph: "And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some way to Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath - the same is Bethlehem." (Gen. 48:7)
Rashi interprets this passage thus: "’...and I buried her there...` - and I did not bring her even into Beth-lehem...and I know there is [a grievance] in your heart against me, but know that I buried her there by Divine Command so that she might bring succor to her children when Nebuzaradan will send them into Exile [Jer. 52 - the Babylonian Captivity]. And when they will pass by there, Rachel will rise up from her Tomb before G-d and will weep and will ask for mercy for her children, as is written, ’Thus saith the L-rd: A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; She refuseth to be comforted for her children, Because they are not.` (Jer. 31:14) And G-d will answer her, saying: ’Refrain thy voice from weeping, And thine eyes from tears; For thy work shall be rewarded, saith the L-rd; And they shall come back from the land of the enemy. And there is hope for thy future, saith the L-rd; And thy children shall return to their own border`. (Jer. 31:15-16)"
Jacob says to his son Joseph, I know that you are vexed with me. But what was done was done with intent. For this place, on the road to Beth-lehem, near Beth-lehem, will be a place of comfort and consolation for Klal Israel.
When we were small children, learning in the "Cheder", we learned this Rashi to a tune of weeping, to a special sad melody. There is a story told of an incident which occurred in Paris toward the end of the last century. At that time many families from the religious communities of Galicia in Eastern Europe were migrating to France. The mother of one such family, living in Paris, had occasion to bring her sick child to Max Nordau, the Jewish philosopher and Zionist, who was then a practicing physician in the city. Nordau looked at the small boy, dressed in the manner of religious Jewish children, and asked him what he was learning in school. The proud mother stood her child upon a chair to recite for Nordau, and the child began to intone to a tune of weeping this Rashi: "...when I came from Paddan, Rachel died...and I buried her there....." (Gen. 48:7) Nordau was moved to tears and said, if such is our childrens' education we are not lost. That a small child in Paris weeps for the sorrow that Rachel's burial place will comfort - through this gate is the Geulah.
For, these passages which promise, "They shall come with weeping, And with supplications will I lead them;" (Jer. 31:8) are to be taken at their word. Kever Rachel occupies a unique spot on the road to Geulah.
They used to tell at Yeshivat Hebron how when the Yeshiva came to Eretz Israel they went by way of Bethlehem and stopped at Kever Rachel first before they went on to Hebron. The wife of the Sabah of Slobbodka, the Head of the Yeshiva, was a person of great simplicity and innocence. When she came to Kever Rachel she poured out all her sorrows in so great an exhortation that everyone there who heard it was moved and wept. She called upon Rachel Imenu to listen to all that we had undergone and to intercede for her prayers. A great wave of emotion infused all who heard this simple woman who was moved to speak by the place where Rachel Imenu was buried.
A matter of significance was brought to completion here. It was here that the covenant of the Tribes had its beginnings. For in addition to the covenant of the Fathers there is also a covenant of the Tribes. This is the covenant which is evoked in Habbakuk: "Thy bow is made quite bare; Sworn are the rods of the word. Selah Thou dost cleave the earth with rivers." (Habakkuk 3:9)
The reference to the Tribes in this passage is explained in Shemoth Rabbah (Vilna) - Parsha 44: "...Moses called upon G-d saying, just as You swore an oath to the Fathers and kept Your covenant with them, as is attested: ’...then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.` (Lev. 26:42) so too, did You swear an oath to the Tribes and keep Your covenant with them. And how do we know that G-d swore an oath to the Tribes. For it is written, `...sworn are the rods of the word. Selah...’ (Habbakkuk 3:9). And how do we know that G-d kept His covenant with them? For it is written, ’But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their G-d...` (Lev. 26:45) ’the covenant of their ancestors` - this is the covenant of the Tribes.
When did the covenant of the Tribes go into effect? To all intents immediately after Rachel gave birth to Benjamin and died in childbirth in completing the twelve tribes. Shortly afterwards appear the words: "...Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:" (Gen. 18:22)
Much that Klal Israel holds by right has accrued to them through the merit of Rachel Imenu. The Sages write that to Rachel was given the privilege of being close to the Beth HaMikdash (the Temple) in Jerusalem. Part of the Temple was built in the territory of Judah and part was built in the territory of Benjamin. Shiloh was located in the territory of Joseph. In Zevachim 118b the Gemara tells us that the Sanhedrin was located in Joseph's holding. And the Shechinah has always rested in the Temple in the holding of Benjamin.
The Covenant of the Tribes is a shield to preserve and defend the People. A covenant was made with each of the Patriarchs, but of the Matriarchs of Israel, a special covenant with Israel - the covenant of the Tribes - was made only through Rachel Imenu.
Every Jew who comes to the Land feels a spiritual bond with Kever Rachel. Every Jew knows with what power of prayer they are imbued when they come to the place where Rachel Imenu established the Covenant of the Tribes for all the People.
And, "They shall come with weeping, And with supplications will I lead them;".
Yeshivat Nechmat Rachel Home page
Yeshivat Nechmat Rachel - 1st Anniversary - Part One
Yeshivat Nechmat Rachel - 1st Anniversary - Part Two