11 Cheshvan · Yahrzeit

Rachel Imeinu

Rachel Imeinu Yahrzeit - 11 Cheshvan Burial place - Beit Lechem One of the most important days in the month of Cheshvan is the 11th – the day our matriarch Rachel passed away. Rachel was the beloved wife of Yaakov and the head of the entire House of Israel. Counting from the first day of the year (1 Tishrei), the 11th of Cheshvan is the 41st day. And 41 is the gematria of the word אם – “mother” – the 11th of Cheshvan – the Day of the Jewish Mother. “Thus says Ha-Shem: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Thus says Ha-Shem: Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears… and your children shall return to their own border.” (Yirmiyahu 31:14) When Rachel continually weeps over the exile of her children, the Jewish people, the Almighty comforts her with the words: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your deeds… your children shall return to their border.” Literally, “shall return to their border” refers to the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. But on a deeper level, it refers to the return of our people to their spiritual roots – the faith of their ancestors – to their own boundaries. The gematria of the word “border” – גבול – is exactly the same as the gematria of the word “mother” אם – 41. In Hebrew, Cheshvan is written with four letters: חשון. The boundaries (first and last letters) of Cheshvan are “chet” ח and “nun” ן, which together spell the word “chen” – חן, meaning “beauty, grace.” The word “chen” – חן, “beauty” – equals 58. The 58th day of the year is the 28th of Cheshvan. Rachel is described as the most beautiful woman in the Torah. The gematria of the two middle letters, “shin” and “vav” – שו – equals “isha” – אשה, meaning “woman.” The gematria of the word Cheshvan equals the combined gematria of the words chen isha (feminine beauty). This hints that the month of Cheshvan carries a feminine and maternal nature. On the 11th of Cheshvan, Rachel Imeinu – the foremother of the entire Jewish people – passed on to a better world. Chronologically, the month of Tishrei, which precedes Cheshvan, is considered to have a paternal nature, and being filled with Jewish holidays, it influences the month that follows it, just as the sun pours its light upon the moon. (“Sila Tehilim,” based on the teachings of Rav Yitzchak Ginsburgh) It is known that the Brisker Rebbe mainly visited Meron and the grave of Rachel Imeinu. But it was specifically at Rachel's grave that he said: “This is a place of prayer.” In “Eshet Chayil,” the verse “She is like the merchant ships; she brings her food from afar” is connected to Rachel. A merchant ship must travel a long and difficult path to deliver the needed cargo to port. So too, Rachel had to travel a long path in prayer before she was able to plead for a son from G-d. Like a ship alone on its voyage, she too was alone. No one helped her, not even her beloved husband. When she asked him to pray that G-d give her a son, he answered: “Am I in place of G-d?” The Midrash says that regarding the birth of Yosef it is written: “And G-d remembered Rachel.” (Rachel, not Yaakov!) All the descendants of Rachel carry the symbolism of tzadikim (righteous ones), while the descendants of Leah carry the symbolism of baalei teshuva. Among Leah's descendants, passions will inevitably break out and wrong deeds will be committed, and only afterward, after the fact, will they need to correct what was done. (Chava Kuperman, Ohalei Yaakov) 11 Cheshvan – a segula for having children: https://silatehilim.com/йорцайт-рахель-имейну-сгула-для-рожде/ “Vayizkor Elohim et-Rachel vayishma eleha Elohim vayiftach et-rachma. Vatahar vateled ben vatomer asaf Elohim et-cherpati. Vatikra et-shemo Yosef lemor Yosef Ado-nai li ben acher”. (And G-d remembered Rachel, and G-d hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and said: “G-d has taken away my disgrace.” And she called his name Yosef, saying: “May G-d add to me another son.” (Bereishit, Vayetze 30:22) (This material was compiled and translated by “Sila Tehilim” – any copying without a link to the site is prohibited)

Pilgrimage site: Grave: Rachel Imeinu