רחל אמנו

Shavua Tov. Today’s Parsha has great emphasis on Rachel Imeinu. Her act of Chesed towards her sister, Leah, was one of the greatest acts of kindness in the entire Torah. Leah would have been a laughing stock and not been counted among the matriarchs of Israel.

When she cried out to Yakov that she must have children, and if not, מתה אנוכי, I am like a dead woman, was more than a cry for motherhood. She was demonstrating her desire to be a mother in Israel. She wanted to have her place in helping to establish the Jewish nation.

Rachel Imeinu was the only one chosen to be worthy of the prophecy of Jeremiah that we read on Rosh Hashanah. Her deep love for her children, and her sadness at seeing them go into Exile, left her crying relentlessly. Jeremiah comforts only her and tells her to stop her crying. There is reward for her actions. She will again witness her children returning to their sacred land, as our long and painful Galut is finally ending.