"Mama Rachel Cries for Us."
"Rachel went into labor and had difficulty in her childbirth....
and the midwife said to her,
"Have no fear, this one too is a son for you,
"and it came to pass, as her soul was departing, -for she died-that she called his name Ben Oni,
but his father (Jacob) called him Benjamin.
Thus, Rachel died and was buried on the road to Efrat, which is Bethlehem.
Jacob set up a monument over her grave,
it is the monument of Rachel's grave until today."
Rachel was deeply distressed by her seemingly, never-ending barrenness.
She desired children so much
For years, she cried and begged God to bless her with children.
When she was blessed with a second child she died in childbirth.
Motherhood for her only lasted a short time.
Her older sister, Leah however was blessed to easily have children.
(She was blessed with 6 sons and 1 daughter).
In spite of being the mother of many children with Jacob,
she was unloved by him.
A love that she yearned for.
Jacob loved Rachel.
Paradoxically Rachel yearned for children which Leah was blessed with, andLeah yearned for the love of their husband which Rachel was blessed with.
As she was dying, Rachel named her son, Ben Oni-
son of my mourning/ of my distress.
This name was a recognition of the painful reality that he would continue in the world without her, and that she would not being able to love and raise him.
Jacob, however, changed his child’s name to Benjamin-
son of my 'right hand,' of 'my strength.'
He chose to change his name so that Benjamin's essence
would be one of strength, kindness and hope.T
herefore, Benjamin becomes both a sign of sorrow and suffering and
also, of strength and hope.
Perhaps we have inherited those traits,
since we are a people who can experience tragedy and
also live life fully and celebrate life wholeheartedly.
On the one hand we constantly mourn our losses, and are pained by life and
yet at the same time, we continue to live with hope, with strength and with a passion to live well.
Today, so many thousands of years later Rachel is known as,
Rachel Immeinu, Rachel 'our mother.'
Our matriarch, who birthed only 2 children and
who only mothered for a few years is remembered as,
"The mother of the Jewish people!"
Her whole essence was focused on being the quintessential mother who gives everything to her children, ultimately at her own expense.
Rachel was a mother who saw a bigger picture,
who personified compassion, mercy and love for others,
who yearned to protect and nurture her children and
who continues to pray and cry for them.
Mamma Rachel in essence is known to still be crying for us-
still storming the Heavens to bring peace to us, her children.
With tears in our eyes at all of our Jewish collective and individual sufferings
we cry out to Rachel, our mother.
It is to her that many turn to for help with the efficacy of their prayers to God.
We pray that:
Her tears along with ours will open up the gates of Heaven.
We, the Israelites will continue to benefit from her weeping and
advocating for us in the higher realms.
We will soon reach a day when we won't cry anymore,
because peace, health, wealth and tranquility will be ubiquitous.
Shabbat Shalom,
With much love
Elissa
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