Instructive Internment
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Fleeing for his life from his brother Esau and hoping to find a wife from his parents' family, Yaakov Avinu arrives in Charan. As he enters the city and speaks to the shepherds gathered around the communal well, Yaakov Avinu sees the beautiful Rachel Imenu, his mother's niece, approaching with her flocks. He runs to her, kisses her, and cries. While there can be many reasons for Yaakov Avinu to cry at this first meeting, through a full range of emotions, we will focus on a profound reason among those that Rashi presents: With prophetic vision, Yaakov Avinu saw that Rachel Imenu would not be buried with him for eternity in Meorat Hamachpelah.
It is only as Yaakov Avinu himself approaches his own death and requests that Yosef Hatzadik take him from Egypt and bury him in the burial plot of his fathers that Yaakov Avinu alludes to the reason behind burying Rachel Imenu on the road instead of in the family cave. Rashi fills in a gap in the dialog. "Know that I buried her there as instructed by Hashem, that she should be an advocate for her children when they are driven into exile." But this general reason too demands explanation. It would seem that Leah Imenu, the mother of a full six of the twelve tribes, would be the more appropriate matriarch to advocate for Bnei Yisroel in the midst of their tragedy. Why is it Rachel Imenu gravesite that we pass and cry at? Why is Leah Imenu's eternal rest alongside Yaakov Avinu while Rachel Imenu's is separate along the roadside?
Before we can answer that question, we must understand why Yaakov Avinu Avinu had to marry both Rachel Imenu and Leah Imenu. In Wellsprings of Faith, Rabbi Wolfson zt”l discusses the essence of Knesset Yisroel, Jewish historical national identity, and how Rachel Imenu and Leah Imenu each represented one aspect of this identity, embedded in each individual and in the Nation as a whole. We know that Hashem interacts with the world sometimes in a revealed aspect, when we can virtually recognize Hashem's presence [whether at Sinai, the battles of Chanukah, or the miracles after October 7, CKS], or when the world appears dark and Hashem's presence is hidden from us [our long exile, the Holocaust, October 7.CKS].
Yaakov Avinu's marriage symbolized the marriage of Bnei Yisroel with Hashem. As such, it was necessary for Yaakov Avinu to marry both Rachel Imenu and Leah Imenu. Rachel Imenu represents the open, revealed world where we can recognize Hashem's presence, while Leah Imenu represents the hidden aspect of Judaism. Rachel Imenu represents the holy city of Yerushalayim, and, since it is open and revealed, it is subject to destruction. On the other hand, Leah Imenu represents the hidden aspect, buried deep in the catacombs of Chevron. Since it is hidden, it can never be destroyed. Yaakov Avinu knew that Rachel Imenu was destined to die young. His plan was to marry Rachel Imenu first and, after her death, marry her sister Leah Imenu. Then, both could be buried alongside him in Meorat Hamachpelah, both aspects of God's presence would forever be revealed and manifest, and the destruction of His House and our exile would never have happened. The revealed world would have been cemented within the hidden world.
Although being married to two sisters simultaneously would only be prohibited after we received the Torah at Sinai, the sanctity of Eretz Yisroel, and especially of Chevron, precluded even this hint of a trespass and violation.
When Lavan substituted Leah Imenu for Rachel Imenu under the marriage canopy, he uprooted Yaakov Avinu's plan and created a tear in the continuum of the world. That is what we mean when we recite the Haggadah at the Seder and say, "An Aramean attempted to destroy my father, and they descended to Egypt.."
Rachel Imenu herself knew that marrying Yaakov Avinu was forming the foundation of Kahal Hashem. As much as she loved Yaakov Avinu and wanted to be the cornerstone of that foundation, she understood that this special nation could not be built upon the pain of another, of her sister, explains the Saba of Slabodka quoted in Letitcha Elyon. Therefore she gave Leah Imenu the signs that would identify her to Yaakov Avinu as his betrothed. Thereby she relinquished her right to be beside him for eternity. Lavan understood Rachel Imenu's dilemma and what her choice would be, and he capitalized on it.
Every Jewish soul is a miniature world and has within it both the revelation of Yerushalayim and the hiddeness of Chevron, continues Rabbi Wolfson. It is important to actively do mitzvoth, overt demonstrations of our connection to Hashem, but when we can't, our thoughts and desires should be toward Torah and mitzvoth. And when the world appears dark, when Torah and mitzvoth seem empty and void of meaning, look inward to the hidden strength of faith, Pray, even when the words seem empty; perform the mitzvoth even when you are performing them by rote, for that hidden aspect of a Jew, that pintele Yid, will never be extinguished. That holiness of the Avos remains within each of us, even in our darkest hours when we can't even see a glimmer of light. The hidden sanctity of Chevron can never be destroyed. It will be rebuilt, and be again revealed in Yerushalayim.
The Shvilei Pinchas takes us to the personae of Leah Imenu and Rachel Imenu. The Torah tells us that Leah Imenu's eyes were soft/weak, and the Zohar explains that her eyes were weakened from crying. What pained Leah Imenu so? People kept predicting that sisters Leah Imenu and Rachel Imenu would marry their cousins, Esau and Yaakov Avinu, the older marrying the older twin, Esau, and the younger sister marrying the younger twin, Yaakov Avinu. Leah Imenu constantly waited at the crossroads, hoping to hear better news of her future. She cried about her presumed fate, not wanting to be married to the wicked Esau, while Rachel Imenu was unconcerned and never cried. For her concern and cries to marry a tzadik, Leah Imenu was rewarded by lying for all eternity alongside the tzadik Yaakov Avinu, while Rachel Imenu, taking it for granted, lost that opportunity.
But there is a deeper significance and symbolism within the essence of Rachel Imenu and Leah Imenu. The Gemarra records that Hashem Himself has His own hidden place, a place where He chooses to "put Himself in the dark" so that He will feel the pain of Bnei Yisroel in their darkest times and cry along with them, for their lost glory and for His hidden glory. This is where Rachel Imenu joins Hashem in His tears, for she cries for the present pain of Bnei Yisroel and the invisible presence of Hashem. But there is also a place of oz vehadar, of splendor and majesty hidden within that dark place. Leah Imenu represents that hidden majesty, the joy of mother of many children, the joy she sees even when it is hidden. When we go to kever Rachel Imenu, we cry for personal and national pain. But then we need to move on to the depths of Chevron, to draw on our inner strength and faith.
Rachel Imenu knew that she was destined to marry Yaakov Avinu. She didn't daven contiuously because she relied on this perceived certainty, writes Rabbi Blau in Siach Yaakov Avinu quoting the Zohar Hakadosh. But one must always daven, for nothing is ever completely certain. One must daven for Hashem's help in every situation, for He is the One in control.
We incorporate this dichotomy in our daily prayers as we recite the passage of wearing the tzitzit. the four cornered garment with fringes on each corner, white threads with one techeilet/blue/midnight blue thread wrapped around them, writes Rabbi Besdin quoting Rav Soloveitchik zt”l in Man of Faith in the Modern World. The white threads represent not only purity, but also clarity, the self evident, that which is within our control. The techeilet, on the other hand, reminds us of the seas and the heavens, that which is beyond human reach and understanding, dark and unfathomable. Jewish history and the Jewish soul are a reflection of this dichotomy. Certainly, we would not exist if we operated solely in the realm of the white, nor would we keep fighting for our homeland in the face of our entrenched enemies if it were not for the intangible promise Hashem made to our forefathers that He would give us this land.
While it was Hashem's plan that Rachel Imenu be buried at the crossroads, not alongside Yaakov Avinu in the cave, Hashem does not mete out negativity unless an individual himself precipitates this punishment by his own behavior, writes Rabbi Wolbe zt”l. It was not so much that Rachel Imenu gave up her rights to Yaakov Avinu under the marriage canopy, but that later she was flippant about that sacred relationship. When she and Leah Imenu were sitting outside together, and Reuven brought his mother some wildflowers [according to tradition, these were used as a fertility drug,] Rachel Imenu asked Leah Imenu to have some, paying for them by ceding the privilege of this night with Yaakov Avinu. For this disrespect of intimacy with Yaakov Avinu, she was denied lying with Yaakov Avinu in eternity.
Imrei Chen suggests that it was a disrespect of Leah Imenu rather than of Yaakov Avinu that was the reason Leah Imenu was buried with Yaakov Avinu in Rachel Imenu's stead. When Yaakov Avinu overheard his brothers-in-law discussing how Yaakov Avinu was getting rich at their expense, he relayed this information to his wives, hoping they would suggest it was time to leave their father's house. Rachel Imenu, although she was the favorite wife, was younger sister. Nevertheless, she spoke first when she should have deferred to her older sister. It was this infraction, suggests the Midrashthat Rachel Imenu was not buried in Meorat Hamachpelah, and as the Imrei Chen suggests, that was the catalyst for Rachel Imenu dying before Leah Imenu.
Why was it specifically Rachel Imenu who needed to be buried along the road as part of Hashem's plan to cry for her children when Nevuzaradan would exile them, asks Rabbenu Yosef Hatzadik Nechemiah Kornitzer? To answer this, we need to go back to discuss the essence of each of these matriarchs. We have said that Rachel Imenu represented the outer world. This includes the world of sovereignty as well as the world of action. Leah Imenu, on the other hand, represents the inner world of thought and contemplation. It is therefore reasonable to see that exile would impact Rachel Imenu's world more than Leah Imenu's. While in Leah Imenu's world, Bnei Yisroel could still study Torah, could dream of doing the mitzvoth tied to the Land and be rewarded for this, Rachel Imenu, living in a world of reality and action, needed to actually perform the mitzvoth. In exile, her children had neither the Land nor often the opportune time to perform the mitzvoth. Given these differences, Rachel Imenu would more deeply feel the pain of their children as they go into exile than would Leah Imenu who could still study Torah, dream, and maintain the ideological connection to Hashem. While we certainly need to dream, to have an intellectual and emotional connection to Hashem through His Torah and mitzvoth, the actual performance of the mitzvoth is more important. After all, when we accepted the Torah, na'aseh/we will do preceded nishma/we will hear and obey.
Rabbi Wolbe zt”l explains why, although thought precedes action, action is more important. It is repeated action that trains and builds character, not mere thought. As an example, many may dream of giving tzedakah, but one trains oneself in generosity and feeling for others by repetitive acts of giving, not by dreaming of giving. In a beautiful image, the act of extending one's hand to give to another is the embodiment of Hashem's four lettered Name: The small coin represents the yud, the five fingered hand holding the coin represents the heh, the extended arm represents the vov, and the hand of the receiver represents the second heh.
Every mitzvah we do brings Hashem's presence down to earth and builds a closer bond with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Avraham Avinu demonstrated this reality when he left Hashem's actual presence to greet his guests and provide for them..
Because we have control over our thoughts and our desires whereas we have no control over outcomes, we are held to a higher standard for our thoughts, writes Rabbi Schorr, the Ohr Gedalyahu. Therefore we pray that Hashem will enable us to act in accordance with our positive desires. We have both these elements within ourselves, and indeed we need to optimize them by creating a proper balance between them.
In the final analysis, what was most important to Rachel Imenu was the children. She was willing to give up being buried alongside her beloved Yaakov Avinu in exchange for the possibility of having children through the purchase of the fertility flowers, writes Vayovinu Bamikra. Rachel Imenu is described as ‘coming with the sheep’ she is the ‘shepherdess’ par excellence. Rachel Imenu prayed to Hashem, but she also took action within the confines of her reality. Her sacrifice enabled our tears to connect to her tears that ultimately connected to Hashem's tears. May these tears be turned to tears of joy, and may we soon experience the joy of Leah Imenu, the biological mother of half the tribes of Bnei Yisroel.