Rachel Immenu (Our Mother) Yarzheit was today, Oct 28...

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My Rabbi reminded us that today, Sunday is the anniversary of the passing of our mother Rachel. She was buried alongside the road and not buried with Jacob in the cave of the Patriarch. The reason, it is taught, is that Mother Rachel will be praying and crying for her children when we are exiled, and will greet us when we return. This idea has kept the Jewish people alive while in exile...

Here are some videos which explain these ideas:
 


Just today there were 70,000 Jews at the Tomb of Rachel, all remembering her and the promise made to our people.

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http://www.inner.org/times/cheshvan/rachel58.htm

The Figure of Rachel, Our Matriarch


Our matriarch, Rachel's day of passing is the 11th of Cheshvan, which has been established as Jewish Mother's Day

Rachel is the spiritual matriarch of the Jewish People who are scattered throughout the world. Rachel personifies the cry for the spiritual and physical return of all Jews. Rachel is she who refuses to be comforted until the ingathering of her children is realized (see Jeremiah 31:14).

Following is a deeper understanding of the symbolism connected with Rachel Imenu, Rachel our matriarch.

For the Jewish People, our matriarch Rachel, Jacob's beloved wife, personifies the innate power of the soul and its conscious devotion to arouse God's mercy to redeem His children from exile and bring them to the promised land. This she does with tears and heartfelt prayer.

In the words of the prophet Jeremiah:

So says God: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeps for her children, she refuses to be comforted, for her children, who is not." So says God: "Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for there is reward for your effort, says God; and they shall return from the land of the enemy. And there is hope for your future, says God, and the children shall return to their border."

We recite this prophecy as the Haftorah of the second day of Rosh HaShanah.

Rosh HaShanah, the "day of remembrance," is the day that Rachel, after having been barren for many years, was remembered by God to bear a son. Thirty years afterwards, on the very day of Rosh HaShanah, her son, Joseph, was released from prison and appointed viceroy of Egypt.

The phrase "for her children, who is not," over whom Rachel cries in the above prophecy, refers to Joseph in particular, the spiritual representative of the exiled tribes of Israel.

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Here the Rabbi clarifies the point I made in another thread, that we do not pray TO the tzadik when we pray at the kever, we pray that in the merit of the tzadik our prayers will be heard and given merit in their name.

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Just found this song which conveys some interesting ideas about the Torahs narrative of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs...




The city was burning that night.
Children taken captive wept and stumbled,
Children of Jerusalem,
Who will go before the throne, to the King?
Who will plead for them?

Then Avraham our father stepped close
And said, "I would have killed my only son
For love of You, my King.
I was ready to die in the fires of Kasdin.
Yes, I had the courage to die
Oh, I had the courage to die for You,
And for what I gave, bring them home."

But silence filled the skies that night
As Avraham's tears fell to the ground
And Yitzchak, our father, stepped close,
Hearing his children's cries, he came to plead for them:
"Oh my King, I was young and strong
When I went with my father to the mountaintop.
I saw the knife in his hand,
And the tears of Your angels blinded me
But I had the courage to die
Yes, I had the courage to die for You,
And for what I gave, bring them home."

But the stones of the temple fell
And the streets of the city flowed red with blood
As Yaakov, our father, stepped close.
Hearing his children's cries, he came
To plead for them: "Oh my King, I was ready to die
When I stood alone against Esav's men
With no man at my side
Against four hundred soldiers I stood for them
And I had the courage to die,
Oh, I had the courage to die for You,
And for what I gave, bring them home."

But the gates of mercy were closed
Still a lonely woman stood by the wayside
Hearing her children's cries
Though the King Himself had turned away,
Still she spoke, to plead for them:
"Oh my King, when You took my love from me
On my wedding day, still I trusted You.
And then when You gave me no child
And my life was so bitter that I longed to die,
But I had the courage to live;
Oh, I had the courage to live for You."

And a voice cried from above:
"I will bring them home, Rachel, for you."

(Translation of Hebrew verses:

"Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears,
Because there is reward for your deeds
And they will return from a hostile land
And there is hope for your future...
And [your] children will return to their boundaries.")


Music and Lyrics (c) 1985 by Ashira Morgenstern
Based on a Midrash in Pesichta d'Aicha Raba. Hebrew lyrics are from Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 31.

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